Jovens de camadas populares na educação superior pública do Amazonas: acesso e permanência

Abstract

Brazilian higher education fieldin the last decades has experienced a significant increase in vacancies, number of enrollments, opening of universities, new courses, and restructuring of existing ones. In this expansion scenery new policies were implemented in the schools in order to give more opportunities to young people from low class participating in this education’s level. This study is part of the field of education sciences and public policies and it was proposed to analyze the situation of the young people of popular classes in public higher education in Amazonas, taking into account access policies’ and permanence of the students at Federal University of Amazonas, in Institute of Health and Biotechnology - located in the Middle Solimões (Instituto de Saúde e Biotecnologia - Campus do Médio Solimões). In order to get to know questions related to the access and permanence of these young people who entered the ISB during the period of 2010 - 2016, this study was carried out with 50 students who were enrolled in the six ISB courses, 05 professors and 06 administrative technicians. The process of collecting data was done through the application form and semi-structured interview with the three groups of participants. Methodological approach that guided this study was the model of the four poles of Bruyne, Herman and Schoutheete (1977). The analytical treatment of the data was carried out in a critical and dialectical perspective from the integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study made possible to have clearness on the impact of the access and permanence of students from popular classes who entered the undergraduate courses of the Institute during 10 years of existence. Data revealed a reality of higher education that receives students from various locations, an expressive participation of young people in the age of 18 to 24 years old. Most of these students are included to the programs and actions that help their staying in the University. Based on the participants’ statements, it was observed that internalization has actually widened the access of young people from popular classes and the aid under the National Program of Student Assistance is indispensable for the permanence of these students in higher education, such as, housing, academic and food. Participants pointed out retention and abandonment as emotional and financial problems caused by distancing of their families from other localities and deficiencies in schooling process from previous levels. In this understanding, it is accepted that the expansion of youth participation in higher education must be followed by political measures that can face challenges due to social inequalities that these students will have to face at when their insertion in the university. In a different situation, the project of democratization of this education’s level in the popular classes becomes impracticable.