THE MANDATORY AND NON-MANDATORY CURRICULAR INTERNSHIP AS A FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE IN INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING: the perception of students on the Pedagogy Course at Centro Universitario do Espírito Santo –UNESC

This study aims to examine the development of mandatory and non-compulsory curricular training practices, as perceived by teachers at the University Center of Espírito Santo (UNESC), with a focus on the perspective of Pedagogy course students. The objective was to conduct research through a documentary analysis of materials used in the execution of both mandatory and non-mandatory internships. These materials included structured models for mandatory curricular internships and course reports from the higher education institution for non-compulsory internships. The study sought to explore students' perceptions at UNESC concerning the impact of both mandatory and non-compulsory internships on their initial teacher training. The research involved gathering and organizing all available materials from UNESC and utilized Google tools for structuring the data. Thematic document analysis was applied tostudy the identified categories, specifically focusing on internships as a means of bridging practical and theoretical aspects of teaching. Following the categorization process, the collected information was organized into spreadsheets and graphs to provide a clear and objective representation of the highlighted aspects. It is worth emphasizing that throughout the categorization process, the study remained aligned with its research objectives and the relevant epistemological paradigms.