Social and cultural inequalities in the dropout student profile: the case of entrants prior to the quota policy

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to analyze the conditions that led to the withdrawal of two agents from the lower classes in undergraduate courses at the Faculdade de Ciências e Letras of Universidade Estadual Paulista – Campus de Araraquara, entrants in the period prior to the implementation of the quota policy, identifying the main difficulties and confrontations of these students in the face of their interrupted course at the public university. For that, a structured interview was developed based on the concepts of Boudieusian theory, namely: habitus, social capital, cultural capital, economic capital. The testimonies analyzed revealed conflicting relationships and insecurities with the academic universe during the course of the interviewees at the university, showing that cultural capital directly influenced the trajectory of agents and their relationship with the university environment, added to the difficulties arising from the economic instability that permeated their academic itineraries.