Diagnosing learning structures and learning capacities in a Public University from Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study is to diagnose structures and capabilities of Learning Organizations (LO) in a large, public, Federal Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the Northeast of Brazil, in order to promote them and improve their performance and that of their employees. The quantitative research, of the survey type with a non-random sample, uses the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire - DLOQ, and the qualitative research is carried out by documentary analysis. The thematic documentary analysis allows us to contextualize the northeastern HEI in the educational sector in the world and in Brazil. Of the total of 7638 questionnaires sent to the employees, 403 were returned and 378 were valid. The data are analyzed globally and among professors and technical-administrative workers, and the DLOQ's intra and inter-factor correlations are calculated. The HEI shows weaknesses in LO structures and capabilities at the individual and, more strongly, group and organizational levels. Individual-level learning structures and capabilities correlate more strongly with those at the group level and the latter with those at the organizational level. Teachers evaluate learning structures and capabilities better than technical-administrative employees. The results indicate that the interinfluence chain of the HEI's OA factors is not activated in all its positive potential and that those surveyed do not recognize the HEI as a learning organization. By devoting a contextualized and open-minded look at capturing differences internal to the HEIs as learning organizations and focusing on the interinfluence chain of OA factors, the research highlights non-trivial aspects in articles on OA.