Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis handel oor die volgende: Hoofstuk 1 dek die agtergrond, probleemstelling en ‘n kort oorsig oor die vaardigheidsgapings wat opgemerk kan word binne die konteks van die kennis-ekonomie. Hoofstuk 2 handel oor kernkonsepte, naamlik “kritiese denkvaardighede”, die kenniskonomie en wersvaardighede. Hoofstuk 3 sit ‘n gevallestudie uiteen. Dit beskryf die metode wat gekies is, die monster asook die uitvoering van die projek. Hoofstuk 4 bied ‘n ontleding aan van die data. Die laaste hoofstuk bespreek die resultate en hulle implikasies. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis covers the following chapters Chapter 1: Background and Research Objectives This chapter focuses on the background, the problem and its setting and also includes the overview of the knowledge economy and the existing gap in skills. Chapter 2: Critical thinking and Employability Skills The focus is on an introduction and definitions of key concepts, namely critical thinking skills, the knowledge economy, and employability skills. Chapter 3: The Case Study This chapter offers the chosen research method and design, as well as the reasons for selecting this design, and will describe the methods. The discussion will include the research approach, sampling and data management. Chapter 4: Presentation and Discussion of the Findings The discussion includes data interpretation, specific techniques employed and reasons for such strategies. Chapter 5: Aspects of the Skills Gap This is the final chapter and it discusses the findings, makes recommendations, and concludes the study.

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-06-10T17:50:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LAÍLA ALVES MARINHO DANTAS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGDesign 2016..pdf: 7152334 bytes, checksum: a02330b68b291df42f791e0d0a62313a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-10T17:50:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LAÍLA ALVES MARINHO DANTAS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGDesign 2016..pdf: 7152334 bytes, checksum: a02330b68b291df42f791e0d0a62313a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / A pesquisa procurou identificar o perfil profissional dos egressos do curso de Design da Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, que se formaram entre os anos de 2005 a 2014, submetidos ao Projeto Político Pedagógico implantado no ano de 2001. Além disso, buscou analisar a percepção destes sobre a formação recebida. O estudo possuiu enfoque misto e caracterizou-se como Exploratório Sequencial de caráter comparativo, o qual constituiu-se de uma primeira fase de pesquisa qualitativa sobre temas importantes para o estudo, permitindo a construção de uma base de dados para a elaboração do instrumento de pesquisa da segunda fase. Esta, por sua vez, caracterizou-se como uma survey, na qual foram coletados dados quantitativos por meio de um questionário autoadministrado à amostra via internet, resultando em uma taxa de respondentes de 72%. Dentre as principais inferências, destaca-se a identificação de um maior número de atividades exercidas em atividades não ligadas à área de formação, como o design gráfico e o design de interiores, em detrimento daquelas ligadas à área do design de produto. Observou-se que existe uma incompatibilidade entre algumas das áreas abordadas no curso e as principais áreas exercidas pelos egressos, ou seja, uma incompatibilidade entre a vocação do curso e a vocação produtiva local, visto que a grande maioria dos egressos exerceu suas atividades profissionais na Paraíba. Identificaram-se ainda as práticas pedagógicas dos docentes, a pouca aplicação dos projetos à realidade regional, a pouca interação com o mercado de trabalho e a pouca interdisciplinaridade no curso como alguns de seus principais pontos fracos. Contudo, de forma geral, os egressos acreditam que a graduação foi satisfatória para o exercício de suas atividades profissionais. / This research aimed to identify the professional profile of Design graduates at Federal University of Campina Grande, who earned their degrees between 2005 and 2014, under the pedagogic political project inaugurated in 2001. Moreover, it sought to analyze the perception of those graduates on the education received. Accordingly, this sequential exploratory study under a comparative perspective adopted a mixed focus and was accomplished in two phases. The first one consisted of a qualitative research on relevant issues to the study, which allowed the construction of a database for the development of the research instrument to the following phase. The second one utilized a survey to collect quantitative data using a self-administered questionnaire via the Internet, resulting in a respondent rate of 72%. Among the leading conclusions, it is stressed the identification of a greater number of activities carried out in jobs not connected to their former area of education, such as graphic design and interior design. Inaddition, there is an incompatibility between some of the areas covered in the course and the main areas performed by the graduates, unveiling a mismatch between the vocation of the course and the local productive vocation, as the vast majority of graduates worked in Paraíba. Finally, this research also brought to light the pedagogical practice of teachers, the poor application of projects to the regional reality, the little interaction with the job market and thelittle interdisciplinarity in the course as some of its major weaknesses. Nonetheless, graduates believe that, in general, their course was satisfactory to their professional practice.

Esta pesquisa tem como tema central as narrativas dos egressos do Programa de Ações Afirmativas da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), suas trajetórias sociais, a possibilidade de construção do conhecimento e a reconversão do capital cultural e habitus, a partir de uma ótica bourdiana. Buscou-se investigar, a partir de suas memórias, como foram as experiências desses alunos no programa institucionalizado desde 2007, que estabeleceu o sistema de cotas através de ingresso por reserva de vagas para acesso a todos os cursos de graduação na UFRGS. O referido programa passou por um processo avaliativo em 2012, sendo a Política de Cotas renovada por mais dez anos. Também em 2012 foi sancionada a Lei nº 12.711/2012, que garantiu que 50% das vagas em cursos de graduação das Universidades Federais fossem reservadas aos candidatos cotistas até 2016. A pesquisa abrangeu o período de ingresso dos cotistas entre 2008 e 2012. O percurso teórico teve como foco a memória social e as categorias de habitus, classe e capital cultural de Pierre Bourdieu. Realizou-se pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a temática da pesquisa, levando-se em consideração o período de 2010 a 2015 em três diferentes Bases de Dados. Os resultados demonstraram o ineditismo do estudo quanto à abordagem dos egressos e suas narrativas de memória. O percurso metodológico utilizado foi o de uma pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa, do tipo bibliográfica, documental e exploratória, a partir da história oral. Foram enviados questionários on-line para todo o universo de diplomados, contudo a amostra dessa pesquisa se concentrou em 155 questionários. Também foram realizadas entrevistas temáticas com dez egressos do programa. Os dados obtidos foram analisados e interpretados a partir de gráficos e da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados da pesquisa revelam que a experiência vivida pelos alunos cotistas nessa amostra proporcionou uma ressignificação no seu capital cultural e habitus. Os dados dos questionários e das entrevistas evidenciaram que o Programa de Ações Afirmativas da UFRGS é uma política de educação inclusiva positiva e apresentou avanços significativos no que se refere às relações étnico-raciais no ambiente universitário e que a participação no Programa foi uma oportunidade muito importante para esses alunos, repercutindo na sua trajetória social. O produto dessa pesquisa ficou sistematizado no vídeo intitulado “As vozes dos Cotistas Egressos da UFRGS”. / The central theme of this research are the narratives of graduate students from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul who participated in the Affirmative Action Programme. Guided by a Bourdieusian perspective, we also focus on social trajectories, knowledge construction and the reconversion of cultural capital and habitus. Through their memories, we set out to examine the experiences of these students within the institutionalized Programme that was established in 2007 and sanctioned a quota system through which candidates were granted admission to this university into reserved places. The Affirmative Action Programme was reassessed in 2012 and the Quota Policy was renewed for 10 more years. In the same year, Federal Law n° 12.71/2012 was sanctioned, guaranteeing that 50% of all places at the undergraduate level in federal universities be reserved for ‘quota candidates’ until 2016. The time period chosen for our research on 'quota student' admission spans 4 years, between 2008 and 2012. Our theoretical framework was anchored by the concept of social memory, as well as the Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, class and cultural capital. In three data bases, a literary review was carried out concerning the topic of our research, in publications issued between 2010 and 2015. Results showed the novelty of our particular focus on graduate students and memory narrative. Regarding our methodology, which is applied to oral history, we developed research that is both quantitative and qualitative, of the bibliographic, documentary and exploratory type. Online questionnaires were sent to all graduates with diplomas, and samples from 155 of these participants were collected, along with 10 theme-centred interviews. The obtained data was analyzed and interpreted in accordance with graphs and the technique of content analysis. The results of our research show that the experiences of this sample of ‘quota students’ provided for a resignification of their cultural capital and habitus. Our research data show that the graduates perceive the Affirmative Action Programme at UFRGS as a positive inclusive education policy as well as an advance in ethnic and racial relations in the university environment. Additionally, we observed that these graduates seem to consider their participation in the Programme as a significantly important opportunity which has influenced their social trajectory. The final product of our study was systemized in a video entitled "The Voices of Quota Graduates from UFRGS".

The study provides an econometric analysis of the impact of economic growth on the matric pass rate in South Africa. The model used provincial pass rates from the year 2008 to 2013 as well as the economic growth rates of each province from the same period. A panel data random effects model was used to run the model and produce the results. An extensive literature review was conducted to analyse the pass rate in the Eastern Cape which has been the lowest in South Africa for some years. The results of the model suggest that economic growth in the different provinces has a positive effect on the matric pass rate except for the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The model also produced a low R2 indicating that economic growth does not sufficiently explain the matric pass rate in the different provinces and other factors which were not included in the model are important.

This thesis deals with the managerial competencies, which regards them as a means to develop students' vocational profiling of Economics University of South Bohemia. The aim of this thesis was to determine the competencies should students or graduates of universities with economic focus, to have. Based on these findings have been recommended and proposed activities, which should lead to improved professional development of students of EF JU and their better employability. The main method to determine the competencies required to survey. Another part of this thesis is to analyze the situation on the labor market with a focus on the graduates of universities with more detailed specification of graduates? economic fields.

The aim of the Diploma Thesis is to present a German teacher profile and upcoming teacher profile in the Czech Republic, to specify basic elements of German language teacher and to analyze current profiles of College of Education graduates ? German language specializations, which are introduced by College of Education Departments of German language at universities in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part deals with current situation in Czech educational system, curriculum documents and competence issues. In reference to a presentation of standard´s proposal of the Czech Republic and standard´s proposal of Germany in the practical part, the German educational system state is also described. With regard to a conception of standard, the Thesis also deals with competence issues. The profiles of College of Education graduates are compared in the practical part, from several departments with each other and also with a German standard. Based on the PAneCZ project realized by international cooperation of Passau University and University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, which the author of this Diploma Thesis took part in, a questionnaire analysis is made public in the practical part. This questionnaire was focused on imaginations and opinions of secondary schools´students about teaching profession. The analysis sums up what competences a primary school teacher should hold.

This study focused on a topic at the intersection of two contexts, namely curriculum responsiveness and industrial/organisational psychology (IOP). The rationale for this study is based on two considerations. Firstly, a review of the IOP curricula offered at ten prominent South African universities revealed little overlap. This suggests that academic departments are not guided by shared principles when they implement decisions about the content or sequencing of curriculum content. Secondly, the Department of Education urges academics to design curricula that are relevant and responsive to contemporary conditions. These two considerations motivated the investigation of the following research question: What key performance areas (KPAs) do employers specify when they advertise positions suitable for IOP graduates? The investigation had two aims, namely (a) to systematically analyse the KPAs specified in job advertisements and (b) to compile KPA templates that may be used by IOP departments who wish to revise or transform their curricula. The research design of this study has five characteristics, namely that it is: (a) qualitative, (b) naturalistic, (c), descriptive, (d) applied, and (e) strategic. The study employed a purposive sampling strategy that involved the collection of documentary data (job advertisements aimed at recruiting IOP graduates) over a 52-week period (N=1115). The data was content analysed by means of a six-step documentary analysis method. Specific strategies were employed to enhance the validity of the findings. These strategies focused on credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Similarly, the ethical standing of the investigation was promoted by addressing four considerations, namely autonomy and respect for dignity, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. The data analysis procedure produced comprehensive and detailed qualitative descriptions of (a) 21 occupational categories, (b) 4070 KPA themes and (c) 84 KPA clusters. In addition, the number of occupational categories, KPA themes and KPA clusters were recorded and interpreted. In addition, the data analysis procedure produced comprehensive KPA templates that IOP departments may find useful. The templates reflect the KPAs specified by advertisements aimed at recruiting IOP graduates for a range of occupational categories and were designed to be used as benchmarks against which the economic responsiveness of curricula can be compared.

The role of higher education in developing human capital and contributing to economic growth, competitive advantage and societal progress of any country is well documented. The direct link between the economic performance of a country and the level of education of its citizens cannot be repudiated. Furthermore, the demands of a growing economy, governmental pressure and the competitive international business environment have put pressure on South African businesses. This is aggravated by a “skills crisis” and the need to deliver more goods and services to increasingly more diverse customers. There is consensus amongst experts that the shortage of skills and high-level managerial human resources in South Africa constitute a major threat to the country’s future economic development and productivity growth. As the business world becomes increasingly sophisticated and challenging, so does the need to continuously review and assess the business qualifications that equip managers to cope with the challenges facing them. The competencies that come with a Commerce degree are relevant in every corner of society from managing successful private companies, public organisations, for governments to be able to contribute to the greatest good of society, to socially effective not- for- profit organisations. Despite the importance of a degree in Commerce there are some criticisms about the degree and Commerce graduates. The problem statement of this study is therefore vested in the continuum of praise and criticisms of Commerce graduates and the Commerce curriculum and, the reported imbalances between higher education institutions and the needs of the labour market. The question is whether such praise and criticisms are justified and whether higher education institutions specifically meet the requirements and expectations of both the graduates themselves and of business practice. The primary research objective of this study was, therefore, to obtain the opinions of Commerce graduates and Commerce graduate employers on the overall perception of Commerce graduates produced by a prominent HEI in the Eastern Cape Province in South iv Africa. To achieve this objective and based on in-depth analysis of secondary sources, two independent empirical surveys, aimed at two population strata were conducted, namely: • The Commerce graduates with known email addresses (N = 1 870) were extracted from the HEI’s alumni database. A total of 231 usable questionnaires were received from these Commerce graduates. • The employers with known addresses (N = 85) were extracted from the selected HEIs Career Centre database. A total of 47 usable questionnaires were received from the employers of the Commerce graduates. The main findings in this research pertain to aspects concerning core courses in the Commerce curriculum offered by the selected HEI, management skills and traits as required in the work environment, commerce curriculum outcomes and perceived experience as a student in the Faculty of Commerce at the selected HEI and Employer perceptions on the profile of the Commerce graduate. In this regard, the main findings are therefore summarised below: • Both graduates and employers assigned high relative importance scores to seventeen of the 19 core courses, supporting the multi-functionary interdisciplinary approach to the Commerce curriculum. Concerns were expressed by the Commerce graduates with the quality of tuition they had received in most of the core courses. Likewise, employers were not always satisfied with the Commerce graduates’ proficiency in some of the core courses, relative to the importance of core courses for running a business. • The Commerce graduates and employers strongly endorsed and supported the importance of the 43 management skills and traits in the work environment. Commerce graduates expressed concerns about the extent to which their management skills and traits had been developed through tuition. Concerns about the proficiency of the Commerce graduates in all the management skills and traits, relative to the importance in the work place, were conveyed by the employers. • On average the perceptions on the outcome of studies in the Faculty of Commerce were very highly regarded by the Commerce graduates. The highest mean score was for the item “Studying in the Faculty of Commerce contributed to an increase in my knowledge and abilities.”• The perceived experience of Commerce graduates as students in the Faculty of Commerce at the selected HEI was very highly regarded, implying that the selected HEI was meeting the expectations of its Commerce graduates. • Employer perceptions of what would constitute an ideal Commerce graduate were not fully met by the profile of the actual Commerce graduate from the selected HEI.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-18T13:12:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015 / A educação superior em Enfermagem vem sendo alvo de inúmeras reformulações, que são reflexos do contexto histórico e político de nossa sociedade. Com vistas a assegurar que a expansão de cursos nesta área tenha critérios de qualidade, torna-se premente a avaliação do processo de formação. Diante disso, objetivou-se conhecer a literatura científica acerca da qualidade da educação superior em Enfermagem e da percepção de egressos acerca desta qualidade; compreender os parâmetros de qualidade que embasaram a elaboração dos Projetos Político- Pedagógicos (PPP) de cursos de graduação em Enfermagem; analisar a percepção dos egressos destes cursos sobre a qualidade do ensino ofertado. Métodos: pesquisa bibliográfica; pesquisa documental: análise dos PPP dos cursos de graduação em Enfermagem do município de São Paulo que disponibilizam o documento para consulta pública nos sites de suas respectivas instituições de ensino superior (IES); pesquisa empírica: 60 egressos dos diversos cursos de graduação em Enfermagem responderam ao instrumento do tipo Likert, contendo 41 assertivas, organizadas em cinco dimensões: 1. competências técnico-científicas; 2.competências atitudinais; 3. práticas docentes; 4. organização didático-pedagógica/infraestrutura da IES e 5. cenários de prática) e 3 questões abertas. Resultados: a pesquisa bibliográfica permitiu conhecer os principais parâmetros de qualidade que subsidiaram a análise dos PPP, revelando que a maior parte das competências preconizadas nas DCN de Enfermagem esteve presente nos documentos analisados. O índice de confiabilidade do instrumento Likert foi de 0,94, garantindo excelente sustentação estatística para os dados encontrados. As dimensões 1, 2 e 3 situaram-se na zona de conforto, não necessitando de ações de intervenção imediata por não prejudicarem o processo de formação. As dimensões 4 e 5 situaram-se na zona de alerta, o que requer intervenções para melhorias. Os egressos realizam uma avaliação satisfatória dos cursos, porém sinalizam aspectos a serem aprimorados, que dizem respeito ao desenvolvimento das competências gerenciais e da liderança; ao reconhecimento dos perfis epidemiológicos das populações; ao trabalho multiprofissional; à infraestrutura das IES; à postura dos docentes, com marcas do modelo tradicional de detenção do conhecimento e com adoção da avaliação somativa; à escassa participação dos discentes na elaboração dos PPP; à articulação ensino/serviço. Os aspectos positivos foram: desenvolvimento das competências para atuar na promoção, prevenção, assistência, recuperação e reabilitação da saúde, avaliação, sistematização e decisão da conduta mais adequada na assistência à saúde; compromisso com os princípios do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) e compreensão da saúde em todas as dimensões humanas; equilíbrio entre os aspectos técnico-científicos e humanistas; incentivo à educação permanente, à postura crítico-reflexiva, ao senso de cidadania, à responsabilidade social e à capacidade de mudança da realidade; corpo docente qualificado tecnicamente e com bom relacionamento interpessoal; articulação entre saber, saber fazer e saber conviver; compreensão dos níveis primário, secundário e terciário da assistência. A adequação dos cursos de Enfermagem para atender às necessidades do SUS demanda ações constantes. Nesta pesquisa evidenciam-se aspectos relevantes que sinalizam movimentos de mudança, mas apontam-se aspectos que precisam ser aprimorados, requerendo a participação de todos os atores envolvidos. / The higher education in Nursing has been the target of numerous reformulations, which are a reflection of the historical and political context of our society. Seeking to ensure that the expansion of courses in this area be accompanied by the quality, it’s urgent to review this academic learning process. Given this, was aimed to know the scientific literature about the quality of higher education in Nursing and the perception of graduates about quality; comprehend the quality parameters that supported the development of Political-Pedagogical Projects (PPP) of the graduation courses in Nursing; know the perception of the graduates of these courses about the quality of offered education. Methods: A literature review; documentary research: analysis of the PPP of graduation courses in Nursing in São Paulo city, that provide the document for public consultation on the websites of their higher education institutions (HEIs); empirical research: 60 egresses of various graduation courses in Nursing that responded to a Likert-type instrument, containing 41 assertions, organized in 5 dimensions (1. technical and scientific skills; 2. attitudinal skills 3. teaching practices; 4. didactic-pedagogical organization/infrastructure of the HEIs; 5. practice scenarios) and 3 open questions. The literature research allowed knowing the main parameters of quality, which, in turn, subsidized the analysis of the PPP, revealing that most of the skill provided by National Curriculum Guidelines of the Nursing Graduation Courses was present in the analyzed documents. The confiability index of the Likert instrument was 0.94, ensuring excellent statistical support for the found dates, The dimensions 1, 2 and 3 were in the confort zone, not requiring immediate intervention actions, because don't harm the training process. The dimensions 4 and 5 stood in the alert zone, which requires interventions for improvements. The graduates participate in a satisfactory evaluation of the courses, but have signaled aspects to be improved, related to the development of managerial skills and leadership; the recognition of epidemiological profiles of the populations; the multidisciplinary work; the infrastructure of HEIs; the attitude of teachers, with marks of the traditional model of detention of knowledge and with the adoption of the summative evaluation; the exclusion of students in the development of the PPP; the need for linking the teaching/service relation. The positive aspects were: development of the skills to work in promotion, prevention, assistance, recovery and rehabilitation, to assess, systematize e decide the proper conduct in health care; the commitment to the principles of our National Health System (NHS) and the comprehension of health in all human dimensions; the balance between technical-scientific and humanistic aspects; the incentive to the permanent education, critical-reflexive attitude, sense of citizenship, social responsibility and to the capacity to change the reality; technically qualified teaching staff and good interpersonal relationship; articulation between knowledge, know-how and knowing how to live together; comprehension of the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of assistance. The adaptation of the Nursing courses to attend the NHS needs demand constant actions. In this research, were evidenced relevant aspects that demonstrate change movements, but were pointed other aspects that need improvement, requiring the participation of all involved.

The present research was developed with the purpose of studying the habit and level of reading comprehension that the administrator professional postgraduated in courses of specialization in Administration present, considering the variants that influence the learning and teaching process. The reading is a complex activity, plural, which is developed in a lot of directions. Ruled by the constructivism learning orientation related to the process of learning manifest in adults, with the worry of studying the habits and the reading comprehension, while a phenomenon inherent in the human condition in the current situation, the study is justified by the moment which is marked by paradigmatic changes in science, in the values, in the organizations. It requires, by one hand, a wider comprehension of the environment, which is in constant transformation and, by the other hand, a permanent individual, collective and organizational learning, trying to search for the human being s self achievement. 12 subjects postgraduated in Administration took part in this study, 6 of them graduated in Administration and the 6 of them graduated in the most different areas of knowledge. The university environment of the postgraduate course lato sensu is taken as a space for the research, it is studied with the qualitative method of analysis and the technique of analysis of the content for the data treatment; the model proposed by Witter (1997) for the validation of the results related to the reading habits and Cloze s technique for the analysis of the level of reading comprehension. The results point out that the model proposed by Witter (1997) does not fit the reality of the students postgraduated in Administration, the ones who have a universe as readers constituted by the life history as readers, familiar contingences, academic contingences, personal characteristics and future perspectives of the clinic form, differently from the model proposed, the one which highlights the availability of material as one of the influencing variants in the process of learning through the reading. The evaluation of the level of text comprehension revealed that the most significant part of the responding subjects (41,67%) possess an instructional reading level, that is, they present difficulties of comprehension in some parts of the text, but they are able to understand the thematic. Compared to other professionals, the administrators are not in the same level of text comprehension. It is suggested that other works, aiming to identify the specific difficulties that are present in the text comprehension, can be carried out with a wider sample than the one used in this study, involving the teachers too / A presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida com o propósito de estudar o hábito e o nível de compreensão de leitura que o profissional administrador pós-graduado em cursos de especialização em administração apresenta, considerando as variáveis que o influenciam no processo ensino-aprendizagem. A leitura é uma atividade complexa, plural, que se desenvolve em várias direções. Pautado na orientação construtivista da aprendizagem em relação ao processo de aprendizagem manifestada em adultos, na preocupação em estudar os hábitos e a compreensão da leitura, enquanto fenômeno inerente à condição humana na situação atual, o estudo justifica-se pelo momento marcado por mudanças paradigmáticas na ciência, nos valores, nas organizações. Isso requer, por um lado, uma maior compreensão do ambiente, que está em constante transformação, e, por outro, um aprendizado permanente em nível individual, grupal e organizacional, como meio de buscar a auto-realização do ser humano. Participaram do estudo doze sujeitos pós-graduados em Administração, sendo seis formados em Administração e seis nas mais diversas áreas do conhecimento. Toma-se como espaço da pesquisa o ambiente universitário em nível de pós-graduação lato sensu, estudado com o método qualitativo de análise e a técnica análise de conteúdo para tratamento dos dados; o modelo proposto por Witter (1997) para validação dos resultados relativos aos hábitos de leitura e a técnica de Cloze para análise do nível de compreensão de leitura. Os resultados apontam que o modelo proposto por Witter (1997) não se identifica com a realidade dos pós-graduados em Administração, os quais possuem um universo como leitor constituído pela história de vida como leitor, contingências familiares, contingências acadêmicas, características pessoais e perspectivas futuras de forma cíclica, diferentemente do modelo proposto, o qual destaca a disponibilidade de material como uma das variáveis influenciadoras do processo de aprendizagem pela leitura. A avaliação do nível de compreensão de leitura revelou que a maior (42%) parte dos sujeitos respondentes possui nível instrucional em relação à leitura, ou seja, apresentam dificuldades de compreensão em alguns trechos do texto, mas conseguem abordar a temática. Comparativamente a outros profissionais, os administradores não se apresentam no mesmo nível de compreensão de textos. Sugere-se que sejam desenvolvidos outros trabalhos com uma amostra maior que a utilizada neste estudo com o objetivo de identificar as dificuldades específicas que se apresentam na compreensão de textos