ABSTRACT:
This work was conducted as part of the thesis entitled Curriculum building in tourism bachelor degree courses: pathways to professional training in tourism. The objective of this article is to understand the social representations of graduates as professionals, in order to unravel the identity and reality of their education. The research was based on Theory of Social Representations, which makes a significant contribution to the understanding of social phenomena. It is justified that the bachelor in tourism builds his or her professional identity through his training and daily experiences and practices. Based on a qualitative approach, the research was conducted with graduates of tourism courses at the Federal University of Paraíba, the Federal University of Pernambuco, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Data were collected through focus group interviews with graduates of selected courses at the above mentioned educational institutions. The results enabled us to identify the social representations of the bachelor graduate in tourism, as a professional who is presented in the notion-image of a manager, and as a tourism planner who is materialized as a professional identity, and the discourse of curricula prescribed in tourism courses emerges, which gains form shape and specific configuration throughout the vocational training process.
KEYWORDS:
Social Representations; Bachelor of Tourism; Professional Training