Transição da formação técnica de nível médio para o ensino superior: itinerários de alunos da Rede Federal de Educação Profissional de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Studies focusing on the transition to higher education are relevant in the current Brazilian context due to the trend in increased schooling, mainly because of the difficulties in finding employment and the raising standards of qualification demanded by the labor market. This study examines the student transition from federal technical schools to higher education in Brazil. Since the government funds these technical institutions, thereby being free of charge for students, there is a societal expectation that the investment of public taxes in vocational training should result in a high return on capital to the market. When students do not enter the labor market immediately after completing vocational courses, but instead decide to attend university, this can suggest that government funding has not achieved the intended aim to provide jobs for students in the vocational market. However, little research was done on student's trajectory after vocational courses and their transition to higher education. From this context, the following questions guide this research: What student and school context factors are associated with the transition from vocational education to higher education? What role does technical training play in the transition to higher education? This study argues that the transition, instead of being a waste of public funding, can mean educational and occupational progress for the students since the area of study at university often connects directly with their previous technical training or work. Continuing to study can also be an opportunity for a career change when the students do not identify with the vocational course, especially because this option have occurred at an early age.The study approaches theoretical perspectives linking educational transition to student features (personal, socioeconomic, professional and academic profile) and contextual features of vocational courses and schools (location and type of institution, course modality, study field, and timetable). To address the two research questions, 1,570 surveys and 10 focus groups (63 participants) were conducted with students who graduated or dropped out of their vocational courses between 2006 and 2010 in 37 vocational schools in Minas Gerais. Among them, 969 (62%) entered higher education and 601 (38%) did not. Different methods of quantitative and qualitative analyses were combined aiming to identify their motives for entering or not entering higher education. Among the entrants, the most influential factors included personal interest and realization, career and wage expectations, and university and higher education course characteristics (perceived high quality education, convenient location, and no cost of the course). The main factors for those who did not enter higher education included lack of time and money, perception that the educational level reached was enough, unpreparedness and difficulty of entrance exam, and lack of access to institutions and courses. These results have potential benefits for students, educational/vocational counselors, public and private vocational schools, as well as well as policymakers and evaluators of educational policies.