Reflections on the Thesis "Access, in reverse: inequalities in the shadow of the expansion of Brazilian higher education, 1991-2020"

Review

Abstract

Over the last three decades, there has been an increase in the number of enrollments in higher education in Brazil. This expansion has been in line with the expansion of policies for access to higher education in the public and private sectors, resulting in greater diversity among students at this level of education. However, this scenario of increased enrollment, which marked a bright side of public policy, has outlined a great paradox. That is, while opportunities for young people to enter higher education were expanded, in counterpart, social disparities still caused many to be excluded from universities, thus intensifying a competitive environment for graduates, marking a dark side of the access expansion process. Therefore, the thesis presented here is dedicated to investigating these issues, with the objective of “Investigating the transformations in access to undergraduate education between 1991 and 2020.” To address this challenge, the research took a mixed approach, divided into three levels of analysis: macro, meso, and microsociological. Thus, during this review, the main conceptual and methodological aspects, as well as the results of the thesis, will be further detailed, reflected upon, and discussed.