Teaching of psychology in Brazil

Abstract

P sychology programs were first recognized in Brazilian universities during the mid-20th century. Prior to that, psychology had been taught in conjunction with other programs such as medicine, law, and education. The growth of psychology programs has been rapid in the last 25 years. From the time the Brazilian government first established a 5-year degree program in 1962, the number of psychology programs regulated by the Ministry of Education has increased to about 150. Graduate programs, established in 1965 and 1968, are also rapidly expanding. Psychology teaching draws on both European and US traditions in content and teaching methodology. A sociocultural psychological orientation is emphasized. Psychologists are prepared in 5-year undergraduate programs including 2 years of internship and extensive coursework in all areas of the discipline, including neurophysiology, psychobiology, social psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, and organizational psychology. Programs must follow national curriculum guidelines. There is no consensus as to which textbooks to use in particular courses and these decisions are generally left to the discretion of the professors. The preference is for use of customized collections of readings rather than books. Textbooks are thought to provide one-sided perspectives and to discourage library research. The increasing availability of on-line journals and e-books has revolutionized information access in Brazil, as in the rest of the world, and these are often used. The goals of undergraduate psychology programs are to prepare capable psychologists to work in a variety of capacities to benefit Brazilian society as a whole. The majority of psychologists practice in urban areas. Community organizations and social movements operating in rural areas may also have psychologists on staff. The optimism, respect for diversity, and dedication to democratic principles that are leading Brazil quickly into strong economic and social prominence in the 21st century are reflected in the teaching of psychology.L es programs en psychologie furent d'abord reconnus dans les universités brésiliennes vers le milieu du vingtième siècle. Auparavant, la psychologie était enseignée en conjonction avec d'autres programs tels que la médecine, la loi et l'éducation. La croissance des programs de psychologie fut rapide au cours des 25 dernières années. À partir du moment où le Gouvernement brésilien a mis sur pied un program de 5 ans en 1962, le nombre de programs en psychologie gérés par le Ministère de l'éducation a augmenté à environ 150. Les programs d'études supérieures, établis en 1965 et 1968, ont aussi rapidement pris de l'expansion. L'enseignement de la psychologie se base à la fois sur les traditions européennes et états-uniennes sur le plan du contenu et de la méthode d'enseignement. Une orientation socioculturelle psychologique est mise de l'avant. Les psychologues reçoivent une formation de 5 ans incluant 2 ans d'internat et de cours intensifs dans tous les domaines...

Rapid Growth of Psychology Programs in Turkey

“…The current findings suggest that there is an urgent need for qualified academic personal, especially in private universities. Similar differences between state and private universities regarding the quality of psychology education and admission criteria in favor of state universities have also been reported for other developing countries such as Brazil (see Hutz et al, 2006), implying that implementation of quality assurance standards are imperative, especially for the departments in the private universities. Because contemporary psychology education in Turkey has been shaped by academicians who were trained in the United States and Northern Europe, results demonstrated that the basic structure of psychology curriculum in the majority of psychology departments is similar to the U.S. system (see Brewer, 2006;Perlman & McCann, 1999a, 1999bStoloff et al, 2010) in which students begin with basic skills in introductory courses in general psychology, research methods, and statistics and then are exposed to introductory courses in the main subareas in the first 2 years.…”

“…The current findings suggest that there is an urgent need for qualified academic personal, especially in private universities. Similar differences between state and private universities regarding the quality of psychology education and admission criteria in favor of state universities have also been reported for other developing countries such as Brazil (see Hutz et al, 2006), implying that implementation of quality assurance standards are imperative, especially for the departments in the private universities.…”

“…For instance, while some of the developed Northern European countries, such as the United Kingdom, have established national curriculum benchmarks for undergraduate psychology education, the majority of Southern European and developing countries in Eastern Europe do not. The rapid growth of psychology departments in Turkey exemplifies the situation not only in South and East Europe but also in other developing countries, such as China (Zhang & Xu, 2006), Brazil (Hutz, Gomes, & McCarthy, 2006), the Philippines (Gines, 2006), and Russia (Karandashev, 2006).…”

Differences in Student Learning Outcomes that Utilize High Impact Practices

“…The few studies that have systematically assessed the impact of internships on student learning point to the transformation of student attitudes (Sweitzer & King, 2009). Several researchers describe internship components (Bailey, Barber, & Nelson, 2017;Miller, Carr, Utter, Styron, & Steiner, 2017;Motiff & Roehling, 1994;VandeCreek & Fleischer, 1984) or explain how fieldwork assists students achieve learning goals (Hutz, Gomes, & McCarthy, 2006;Von Dras & Miller, 2002). Reddy and Hill (2002) conducted focus groups with 32 psychology majors and discovered that students acquire communication skills, timemanagement, and responsibility through participation in an internship.…”

SIB health psychology in Brazil: The challenges for working in public health settings

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