University community work from the perspective of the undergraduate students in health degree courses

Abstract

DOI: 10.12957/interag.2016.15897

The universities, through Teaching, Research and Community work, have the task of producing knowledge and thus forming citizens and socially committed professionals. In this perspective, we emphasize the transformative relation between University and Society by means of community work. Based on that, the purpose of this descriptive exploratory study was to understand students’ perceptions of the university community project and its social activities. We took into consideration the perceptions of students who participate in projects for Nursing and Physical Education courses in a state university in the countryside of Ceará. We used the focus group as a method for gathering information, which were subsequently categorized. Thus, we found that the reference that students had concerning community work was related to the democratization of knowledge through knowledge exchange and social return. In addition, there is recognition of community work as an area of solidarity, where you can combine theory and practice to enter the professional field. However, we identified weaknesses, such as scarcely developed actions, strong welfare aspect and lack of financial resources. In this sense, the need of community appreciation is reaffirmed and enhancement of its inseparability from teaching and research as a way to ensure comprehensive training that addresses the three components of the tripod that supports the university.