An overview of the degrees in Physics in Brazil: Descriptive analysis of microdata from the Census of Higher Education of INEP

The results of a research that aimed to present an overview of the undergraduate courses in Physics in the country are presented from an analysis of the Microdata of the Census of Higher Education of National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). The study is justified by its potential contribution by generating theoretical subsidies that can support the public and academic debate about the emergence of actions aimed at improving Physics education in Basic Education. Different information on the characterization of the courses was descriptively analyzed. As results, it can be verified the existence of 263 physics degrees (teacher training) offered by 153 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), as well as, it was perceived, among other things, that: the distribution of courses does not occur uniformly throughout Brazil, focusing on the Southeast and Northeast regions; 73% of the currently active degrees were created after the 2000s; a possible association was identified between quality indicators of the INEP and the performance of graduates in exams such as National Student Performance Exam. It is suggested that in future studies the curriculum of physics courses be explored in greater detail in order to analyze points of convergence between them.

Keywords
Degree in physics; Teacher training; Higher education; INEP.