Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Analysis of curriculum content about accessibility and universal design in undergraduate architecture and occupational therapy programs in Brazil

Abstract

Accessibility and Universal Design concepts were initially directed toward the conception of objects, equipment and the physical space of the Person with Deficiency. These themes became more relevant insofar as their use included people in general, independent of their physical, cognitional and sensorial limitations. Considering the importance of these themes to the professionals of Occupational Therapy, Architecture and Urbanism and the current legislation related to these themes, the purpose of this work is to investigate how the concepts of Accessibility and Universal Design are present on curriculum content of undergraduate programs for those professions, in both Federal and State Brazilian Universities. Curriculum content of undergraduate programs available on-line were analyzed considering their political-educational projects, syllabus, objectives and contents. The data were analyzed using the Content Analysis. The sample was constituted of 32 undergraduate programs of Architecture and Urbanism and 8 of Occupational Therapy. The results show that the activities of the occupational therapist and the architect are complementary: while the focus for accessibility in the case of the Occupational Therapy is the user, for the Architecture and Urbanism is the space. It was possible to see several different ways of analyzing accessibility according to the different courses. This shows a lack of homogeneity among the universities, in both areas. Concerning the concept of Universal Design, it is included broadly in Architecture and Urbanism programs although there is a significant gap of this content in Occupational Therapy programs.

Keywords:
City Planning; Professional Training; Architectural Accessibility; Occupational Therapy

Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Terapia Ocupacional Rodovia Washington Luis, Km 235, Caixa Postal 676, CEP: , 13565-905, São Carlos, SP - Brasil, Tel.: 55-16-3361-8749 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: cadto@ufscar.br