Permanência na educação superior pública : o curso de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus Universitário de Sinop

Abstract

The policies of permanence in public higher education got noticeable visibility from the first Lula government, principally demarcated by the Support Program Plans for Expansion and Restructuring of Federal Universities (Reuni, in Portuguese) and the National Student Assistance Plan (PNAES, in Portuguese), both approved in 2007. From this point of view, this research examines the factors that determine the permanence of students in public higher education, with emphasis in Nursing course of Sinop University Campus, Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT, in Portuguese), seeking to identify the educational socioeconomic profile of these graduates and the factors that presents themselves as threatening the permanence in college path. It is a research with qualitative approach, in which the empirical data collection took place in two stages. First, through the application of a structured questionnaire to 20 graduates of the first semester of the 2014 academic course with 32 different subjects. In order to complement and deepen these data, semistructured interviews were carried out, recorded, and transcribed with three academics who responded to the questionnaire. It was observed that the predominant profile of students who managed to remain in the nursing program of this Campus was that of women aged between 18 and 24 years old, white and brown, single, who did not have children, from towns in the state of Mato Grosso who had their own means of transport, did not work, were the first member in their families to attend this educational level, with mothers more educated than fathers, attended the elementary and secondary education wholly or predominantly in public school, had a monthly per capita income of 1.5 minimum wages, and ultimately manifested themselves decided on the choice of such profession. Regarding the factors that favored the permanence in the university are: the encouragement and family support, satisfaction with the quality of the course and teaching, participation in qualifying actions of training (monitoring, research, and extension), monitoring by the student assistance programs and the relationship established between teacher and student. Regarding the factors that threatened the permanence of these students during the college path we can highlight the condition asstudent worker, the difficulties encountered in the initial semesters of the course, the poor structure of the Campus, the lack of a process of reception and welcome, lack of psychological support, insufficient student assistance and the reduction of quality of life as graduation goes by. This scenario highlights the centrality of the teacher, both in the proposition and monitoring of qualifying educational actions as well as in the attitude and conduct on the welcome of freshman students. It is concluded that student assistance policy of the UFMT boasts the student service with socioeconomic vulnerabilities, providing predominantly arrangements for financial assistance as a residence support. It is observed, in short, the importance of institutional actions related to permanence, considering the qualifying educational actions in general as well as the financial condition of the student.