A escolha do curso de Medicina no contexto de implementação de políticas de democratização do acesso ao Ensino Superior

Abstract

This thesis investigates the choice of the course of Medicine at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and at the Federal University of Ouro Preto after the adoption of the Unified Selection System (SiSU) and the Quota Law, using the perspective of the Sociology of Education as its theoretical and methodological basis. The purpose of the research is to elucidate the choice of the medical course in this scenario, since it is elitist and generates high competition levels among the University courses offered by the public institutions of the country. According to the theories elaborated by the Sociology of Education, distinct social groups would tend to elaborate the choices for the higher course in different ways, as a rule, and to limit their choices to the possibilities of access to these courses. Considering the high degree of difficulty for approval in the selective processes to gain access to the medical course, the study investigates the paths taken by the students of distinct groups for the elaboration of the choice for Medicine, searching for the perception of similarities and differences between these groups, as defined by the Quota Law. Samples of students who accessed the two institutions through the SiSU in 2016 are studied. The methodology used was the submission and analysis of specific questionnaires prepared for the study, and the conduction of semi-structured interviews, in a select group of students. Intersections between the groups of students surveyed are identified, mainly after the analysis of the questionnaires: the population studied is mostly young, from 18 to 20 years of age, with a prevalence of white and scant representation of black students; the parents' educational level is generally high. Choices for Medicine are almost always elaborated in earlier times of life, in relation to the moment of enrollment in the SiSU, and the candidates are approved in the first of the options offered by the system platform. Differences can also be perceived, on an individual scale, such as, for example, the greater instability of students from less favored social groups in their school trajectory, even when they consider themselves dedicated students. The results suggest that the population of these groups has been superselected and doesn't have the characteristic school profile of their social groups of origin. It is also noticeable that the SiSU places the students who are more successful in the ENEM in situations which are more favorable when compared to their competitors, regarding the choice of the most prestigious and geographically better situated institutions.