STUDENT ASSISTANCE AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS: A STUDY ON MATERIAL AND SYMBOLIC CONDITIONS

Abstract

This article is the result of a research that sought to understand the student assistance policy adopted by three federal universities in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Therefore, we question: what are the material and symbolic conditions that favor the permanence of freshmen students through Affirmative Action Policies (from the Portuguese, Políticas de Ações Afirmativas; PAA)? The study is qualitative in nature and the methodology adopted included a bibliographic survey, document analysis and a questionnaire applied to managers. The results show that the process of democratization in higher education is intrinsically related to access, but also to the guarantee of material and symbolic conditions capable of ensuring the permanence of this new black subject entering higher education through PAA.