GRADUATE STUDIES AND THEIR ROLE IN STIMULATING SCIENCE: ACTION TO ACHIEVE BASIC EDUCATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.16891/2317-434X.v13.e5.a2025.id2295Keywords:
University extension, One health, CitizenshipAbstract
University extension in Brazil, stipulated by Law No. 9,394 of December 20, 1996 (Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education), is a fundamental activity for the development of education in the country. One of its goals is to promote integration between basic and higher education and to reduce the existing gaps between them. In the Graduate Program in Health, Well-Being, and Sustainable Animal Production at the Southern Border (PPG-SBPAS) of the Federal University of the Southern Border, extension activities are carried out annually, bringing graduate students Stricto sensu to public schools in the region. The graduate students are tasked with developing alternative and active methods to introduce children to science and knowledge. The objective of the course is to achieve the indirect transfer of information from the child to their guardians, a process already reported in the literature. Various activities addressed topics such as animal welfare, zoonotic diseases, foodborne illnesses, and care for the vaccination and nutrition of companion animals, with encouragement for bilingual language use, justified by the university's border location. This work describes the actions of socializing graduate education with basic education, in eighteen activities carried out in twelve municipalities in the Mercosul border region. These actions are important for the development of both the students and the target audience, the children of Brazilian public schools. Similarities with works reported in the literature further highlight the relevance of these initiatives and their benefits for the development of citizens and society.