Análise da disciplina "Estatística" no curso de administração de empresas

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to determine what is being taught in the discipline of Statistic in the Business Administration courses of the city of São Paulo. This study begins with an explanation of the development of the college education and of Business Administration courses in Brazil. It analyzes the planing of the Business Administration course in an attempt to verify whether the teaching of Statistics complies with the current legislation. It examines the proposals of the Curricula Guidelines, which have been submitted to the Ministry of Education - MEC for approval. The methodology used in this study included surveying the course planning programs adopted by the institutions in the city of Sao Paulo, which have their Business Administration course approved by the MEC. This data gathering resulted in 18 planing programs collected among 35 institutions. The analyses of these plans included all topics they should cover. However the findings showed that the institutions do not take plans totally into consideration and, although they are compatible with their stated purposes, their contents are not consistent with the actual demands of the professional market. Basically, all institutions employ the same methods and teaching techniques mentioned in the planning programs, that is, lecture sessions followed by practical exercises. The assessment criteria is practically the same among all institutions with testes and lists of exercises. More importantly, there is an excessive number of reference books of which many titles are sold out or outdated. We believe that this study may be useful not only for university teachers but also for School Managers. The conclusions may lead teachers to reflect on needed improvements in the teaching of Statistics, and School Managers, to reflect on the course curricula.