Adoção de reserva de vagas para negros/negras na pós-graduação em educação: análise das universidades federais de Mato Grosso do Sul no período de 2016 a 2022

Abstract

This Ph.D. thesis aims to analyze to what extent the process of adopting reserved seats for Black individuals in the Postgraduate Education (PGEd) programs of two Federal Universities in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) effectively functions as an affirmative action policy. For this purpose, three specific objectives were defined: a) characterize the affirmative action policy to understand the access of Black individuals to Brazilian higher education, particularly to postgraduate programs; b) present Brazilian postgraduate education and PGEd in the Midwest region and in MS. Additionally, describe and analyze the historical-educational aspects of two PGEd programs at the Federal Universities of MS (UFGD and UFMS/CG); c) contextualize the adoption of reserved seats in these two programs from 2016 to 2022. The problematization question is: Does the adoption of reserved seats in the two PGEd programs of the Federal Universities in MS (UFGD and UFMS/CG) effectively serve as an affirmative action policy that ensures access for Black individuals to this level of education? The theoretical and methodological framework was based on qualitative research, bibliographic and documentary sources, and field research. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with former coordinators of PGEd, former pro-rectors of the institutions, and some faculty members who participated in the process of creating and adopting reserved seats in the two universities. Content analysis was used for data treatment. Document analysis was guided by “three themes”: year of reserved seat adoption, percentage allocated to reserved seats, identification of the use of reserved seats in the final results announcement. The empirical data were supported by “four recurring themes”: compliance with Normative Act No. 13/2016; process of adopting reserved seats for Black individuals in the Federal Universities of Mato Grosso do Sul; process of adopting reserved seats for Black individuals in the PGEd programs; monitoring and evaluation of the process of adopting reserved seats for Black individuals in the Federal Universities of Mato Grosso do Sul and in the PGEd programs. The thesis statement that “the Federal Universities in MS only adopt reserved seats in their merely comply with the provisions of Normative Act No. 13 or guidelines from the programs and do not effectively serve as affirmative action policies” was confirmed, as they University Councils, and the provision of access through reserved seats does not guarantee the occupation of those seats by Black individuals in PGEd, as a significant portion of those seats are reverted to general competition. Based on the obtained results, it can be inferred that the two researched universities have perpetuated institutional racism, sometimes covertly and sometimes visibly, with faculty and administrators opposing affirmative actions, limiting the democratic access of Black individuals to PGEd and resulting in their underrepresentation. These positions contribute to the silencing and invisibility of the Black population in the academic context, the systematization and structuring of racism, and the validation of white privileges, with misguided views and racist conceptions that attempt to eliminate race as a fundamental criterion of affirmative action policies.