“So Far, Away From Me”, but in the future I hope to be graduated: Affirmative Actions at Unicamp from the perspective of public school students

Abstract

This research analysed how the perspective of continuing studies is perceived by graduating high school students, teachers, and pedagogical coordinators of public schools in the municipality of Campinas, where the largest campus of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) is located. The purpose was to analyze the extent to which the university’s affirmative action programs are part of the school culture, the future prospects of these young people from public high schools, and the extent to which they demonstrate a process of appropriating these rights. The research was carried out through questionnaires with students and teachers and interviews with pedagogical coordinators from a representative sample of ten public schools. It was observed that among students, there is a significant difference between abstract plans and the concreteness of applying to selective processes. Teachers play a relevant role as a source of information that expands students’ choices. Additionally, in the case of the university, there is the potential for expanding slots in the ENEM modality and a need to pay attention to communication strategies to make their inclusion policies more effective.

Keywords
higher education access; afirmative action; high school graduates; COVID-19 pandemic