Critical analysis of the relationship between the professional and technological education offerings at IFRJ engenheiro Paulo de Frontin campus and the local productive arrangements of centro-sul fluminense

Abstract

The Engenheiro Paulo de Frontin campus of the Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro is part of a network committed to technical and technological solutions aligned with social demands and regional peculiarities. It aims to strengthen Local Productive Arrangements (APLs) of an economic, social, and cultural nature, identified through mapping development potentials. Based on these foundations, we aim to critically analyze the level of adherence of this unit's Professional and Technological Education offerings to the territorial characteristics and Local Productive Arrangements (APLs) of the Centro-Sul Fluminense region, its priority area of operation. To this end, we conducted exploratory research based on a qualitative approach, grounded in a critical dialectical method, and systematized through a literature review and institutional document analysis. The results indicate a misalignment between the educational pathways offered—centered on the information and communication axis—and the regional socioeconomic demands, predominantly linked to tourism, services, and agribusiness. We conclude that the implementation of the Informática para Internet and Jogos Digitais courses without the diagnostic studies that characterize the campus's surroundings compromises the unit's institutional mission, distancing it from the principles of territorialization of the Federal Network of Professional and Technological Education.