Subjective Experiences of a Student Entering the Quota System at a Brazilian Public University

Abstract

The Brazilian Federal Law 12711/2012 expanded access to public federal higher education by reserving places for students who graduated from high school in public schools. The research aimed to understand how the university student condition is subjectively configured for a quota student at the University of Brasília, identifying the tensions and challenges experienced in her life trajectory. The study is based on the Theory of Subjectivity and Qualitative Epistemology, from a historical-cultural perspective. In methodological terms, a case study was carried out based on the principles of the Constructive-Interpretative Methodology, organized through conversational dynamics and inductive instruments of subjective production. The analysis of the information showed that, in the course of the student's experiences in the university socio-relational space and in other contexts, subjective resources were generated that favored new processes of subjectivation, breaking with the hegemonic normative system of not belonging to the university and positioning themselves in the condition of subject, active, participative and citizen. It is concluded that as the hegemonic values of the school, university and society in general are still marked by discriminatory acts against students in a situation of socioeconomic vulnerability, it is recommended that managers promote actions that seek social and academic integration, enabling student development.