Rhizomatic Higher Education: curricular flexibility proposed by UFABC

Abstract

Even though the curriculum of the bachelor’s degree in science and technology (BC&T) by the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) presents a flexible proposal for higher education, such flexibility changes, when the project is carried out, by a set of limiting factors whose implementation makes it very similar to a traditional curriculum. The main objective of this article can be summarized to understanding the agencies the course is circumscribed within by identifying the aspects that make it closer to the rhizomatic curriculum as well as the molar lines of escape of this formative project. Therefore, an archaeological survey of the discourses was conducted based on semi-structured interviews focusing on performing the original project and on official documents, including the revisions of the original pedagogical project for BC&T and regulations affecting the course in the university. The concomitance of the interdisciplinary formative itineraries and specific professional training, the high number of class hours in curricular units chosen by the students and the absence of prerequisites altogether allowed the students to single out their education, avoiding the curricular unit desired in the traditional curricular grids. Such possibilities for a rhizomatic comprehension of the curriculum proposed by UFABC come into conflict with the traditional teacher education and into the options for a traditional management of the curriculum, which push the pedagogical project towards a traditional and positivist formation.