Discrimination in Higher Education: Experiences of Teachers and Students at a Public Institution

Abstract

The profile of students in Higher Education has changed as a result of policies that have increased access for the poor, the black community, quilombolas and people with disabilities. Considering the elitist heritage of this level of education and the challenges of democratizing it, our aim is to understand the processes of discrimination experienced by teachers and students in Higher Education at a Federal Institute in Northeastern Brazil. In total, 60 teachers, 211 students and 5 managers took part in the research using a mixed methodology. The quantitative phase used an online questionnaire, analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions 21.0 software, and the qualitative phase involved focus groups and field diaries, which were analyzed using critical hermeneutics, with the support of the Atlas.ti software. The results indicated that 70% of teachers and 88.6% of students had experienced discrimination due to their economic status, body image and gender, especially cases of harassment, marked by silence and shame. Color/race as a reason for discrimination was barely mentioned, despite the large number of brown people among the participants, making its impact on subjectivity invisible. We highlight the need for a policy of continuing teacher training for Higher Education that promotes literacy in Human Rights, contributing to tackling inequalities and oppression.