Business Administration Courses: An Analysis in the Competencies View

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the inclusion of the notion of competencies in undergraduate Business

Administration courses. The main aspects here analysed are concerned with the construction of a

concept, teachers’ and students’ profiles, and the articulation between competencies and the

curriculum as well as the academic structure. The method used was multiple case study, carried

out in eight Higher Education Schools. Data collection was done through documental analysis and

interviews with the people in charge of the courses. The preliminary outcomes show a somewhat

timid behavior of the colleges studied, as their actions are meant to meet the Ministry of Education

requirements. Furthermore, it is evident that the notion of competencies has still been distant from

the colleges’ academic and curricular reality, whether for the lack of knowledge of its meaning,

whether for the necessary preparation for its adoption by teachers or students, or by checking

mechanisms that may protect interests and perceptions, or by the teaching proposal of each

institution.