Between historical reparation and social justice: the ideas behind affirmative action policies in public universities

Abstract

The article examines which ideas underpinned the adoption of affirmative action by Brazilian public universities (federal and state) between 2001 and 2012, prior to the enactment of the “Federal Quota Law” (BRASIL, 2012), and how these ideas influenced different policies for access to higher education. The methodology involved content analysis of official documents belonging to 54 public universities (resolutions of higher education councils, minutes of meetings, public notices, among others). It was concluded that the recurrent ideas refer to: social justice, historical reparation, diversity and meritocracy. It was also found that the argument of historical reparation was predominant in the delimitation of the problem and its inclusion in the agenda of the institutions, while the idea of social justice was more influential in the design of the programs, being an abstract ideal that is not necessarily linked to a specific type of quota policy.

Keywords:
public policies; higher education; affirmative action; quotas; ideas