This dissertation discusses the graduation of company managers, by analyzing the curriculum and the teaching practices of
three
educational institutions and their interface with the Brazilian National Curriculum Guidelines (Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais) and the market demands for an ideal manager profile. The research aimed to discover the extent to which the curricular-pedagogical project of these courses and the pedagogical practices of the teachers are linked to the official proposals as an expression of the experts in the field. It was carried out in three private universities: two are located in the state of Goiás (in Goiânia and in Rubiataba) and one in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (in Campo Grande). In this case study documents referring to the curriculum guidelines, the pedagogical projects and the curriculum matrixes, and the lesson plans of the teachers were analyzed. In the field research, questionnaires were applied and interviews done with the coordinators, teachers and students of the courses. Through an analysis of these documents and empirical data it was possible to identify how the curriculum and the teaching methodology really worked, which, indeed, revealed the characteristics of each institution. Also, a comparison was made between what had been established as an ideal formation and what really happened in the process. The most common problems detected in the three institutions were: incongruence between the objectives declared in the projects and the effectiveness of the curriculum and of the teaching practices; as for the majority of the students, a lack of an ideal profile in skills and capabilities expected from the curricular guidelines; an eminently traditional educational practice in the administration courses; the students' apathetic behavior in the classroom, their indifference towards reading, their writing difficulties and their low expectations of success; and flaws in the pedagogic coordination, resulting in little creativity in the discussion of the pedagogic project and of the curriculum, and in the development of the didactic pedagogy. Such affirmations lead to the conclusion that the manager's formation in these institutions does not correspond to the Brazilian National Curriculum Guidelines, nor to the current demands of the job market. However, a feeling of bankruptcy of the traditional model of teaching and a desire to look for innovative practices were verified. Some teachers experiment with innovative ideas in the curriculum and in teaching practice, as a way of preparing the students to become more reflexive and critical professionals. The research concludes there is a need for renewed efforts to spread such practices through discussions in the class associations, the educational institutions and the teaching staff.