Estágio não obrigatório no Serviço Social: o desafio da supervisão na formação profissional

Abstract

The present study analyzed the demands and challenges that the non-mandatory internship imposed on the training of social workers, focusing on students of the Social Work course at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM). The internship was understood as a central element in the professional training process, as it articulates theory and practice, allowing students to get closer to the social reality and the exercise of the profession. The general objective was to correlate the learning acquired in the internship with the teaching activities, while the specific objectives sought to identify the impacts of the non-mandatory internship, problematize academic supervision, trace the profile of the students in terms of competencies and skills and characterize the socio-occupational spaces where the internships were carried out. The research adopted historical and dialectical materialism as a methodological framework, using documentary and empirical approaches. Forms and qualitative interviews were applied to students of Social Work at UFAM involved in non-mandatory internships. Data analysis was conducted based on categories such as supervision, theory-practice articulation, and precariousness of higher education. The results indicated that the non-mandatory internship was, to a large extent, sought as a strategy for financial maintenance, being essential for the permanence of many students in the university. However, this search often compromised the formative dimension, due to the lack of qualified supervisors in the internship field and the predominance of activities aimed at productivity, to the detriment of learning. Despite these limitations, it was found that the internship provided important opportunities, such as contact with real work situations and the development of professional skills aligned with the principles of the Ethical-Political Project of Social Work.