Falling short of university admission in Brazil: responses from cursinhos populares social movements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cursinhos populares are grassroots experiences organized to overcome the small proportion of marginalized groups in prestigious universities, and an example of activism against inequality in Brazilian higher education. They constitute a critique of hegemonic models promoted by the market as well as from the state and thus can be considered an example of commons education: by their prefigurative politics, they build curricula and activism towards the reshaping of university admission. They contribute to the building of a commons perspective rooted in Latin-American social movements tradition. Drawing from our experience as educators in Rede Emancipa, we discuss the question ‘why does a group of students, mostly Black young people from peripheric territories, fall short of public universities admission in Brazil?’. We review possible answers both from the hegemonic and the alternative point of view. We problematize what is conceived as ‘quality education’ expressed in the standardization of curricular time and teaching material, considering political and pedagogical aspects. Finally, we report two experiences developed within Rede Emancipa - ‘Emancipa circles’ and ‘free time’. These experiences reflect on the use of time in a cursinho popular, exercise the integration of knowledge, and stimulate taking a stand by all the subjects of this movement.