The use of the Theory of Change to evaluate the curricular integration of university extension

Abstract

International organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), and World Bank have warned about the present and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially concerning the challenges to be faced with the increase in poverty, social inequalities, violence and the need for quality education. Added to this are the growing pressures of society for transparency and relevance of higher education institutions, especially public institutions, sparking discussions on greater engagement with society from teaching, research, and extension missions. Given this context, in this work, we propose using the Theory of Change to assess the impacts of the integration of university extension to higher education curricula, which we call IEE – teaching-extension integration. The theoretical framework on which this research is based is that of the Civic University, from which we reflect on expected short, medium, and long-term results. This reflection made it possible to propose indicators for monitoring and evaluating the IEE for three different actors: students, higher education institutions (HEIs), and other members of society. The results are helpful for HEI managers, as well as policymakers, to predict ways to improve the IEE.