ROLE TRANSITION FROM TEACHER TO TEACHER-MANAGER:

a study with coordinators of graduate courses at a Federal Institution of Higher Education

Abstract

This article aimed to understand the process of transition from the role of professor to professor-manager of course coordinators who work in the postgraduate context. The research is characterized as qualitative, field and exploratory. Thematic oral history was used as a method, with 15 (fifteen) coordinators of graduate programs at a Federal University of Higher Education as research subjects. The data collection instrument used was a narrative interview script and, to carry out the analyses, the analytical developments proposed by Alves and Blikstein (2006) on narratology were taken into account. Most of the teacher-managers' narratives draw attention, as they demonstrate a lack of interest in management positions, thus revealing course coordination as an unwanted function, since, in most cases, the teachers assumed these functions due to the unavailability of other people and participated in a “rotation” system. In addition, the narratives showed a limitation in the formation of the subjects, since only one interviewee pointed out having a course in the management area and, still, the majority highlighted having assumed the function without having received managerial training, and, in some cases, previous experiences of these subjects, aspects that influenced the transition from the role of teacher to teacher-manager. Therefore, these findings allowed reflecting on the importance of investments by the institution that can better prepare and train professors for university management.

Keywords: Teacher-manager. Course coordinator. Postgraduate studies.