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Correspondence to the Authors
¹ Emerson Augusto de Medeiros
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Brazil
E-mail:emerson.medeiros@ufersa.edu.br
CV Lattes
http://lattes.cnpq.br/5799425932852626
2 Giovana Carla Cardoso Amorim
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do
Norte, Brazil
E-mail: giovana_melo@hotmail.com
CV Lattes
http://lattes.cnpq.br/1362421755496261
Submetido: 03 abr. 2021
Aceito: 21 ago. 2022
Publicado: 11 set. 2022
10.20396/riesup.v9i0.8665181
e-location: e023024
ISSN 2446-9424
Checagem Antiplagiarismo
Distribuído sobre
The sociocultural profile of undergraduate students
in education in the Universidade Federal Rural do
Semi-Árido field – which subjects in the semi-arid do
we speak of?
Emerson Augusto de Medeiros¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3988-3915
Giovana Carla Cardoso Amorim2 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6291-3169
ABSTRACT
This text, presents an analysis about the sociocultural profile of students of
the Interdisciplinary Degree in Field Education of the Rural Federal
University of the Semi-Arid (LEDOC/UFERSA). Based on a documentary
survey, it takes information from 257 students of that graduation for
analysis. The analysis is systematized in five "thematic axes", namely: a)
number of male and female students; b) age group of the trainees; c) ethnic-
racial belonging; d) family income range; e) the naturalness of the students.
In conclusion, we assume that most of the students are women, are between
17 and 25 years old, self-declared brown or black, have as family income
up to two minimum wages and have naturalness referring to cities
circumscribed in the Mesoregion of Western Potiguar of the State of Rio
Grande do Norte. These aspects point, among others, to the feminization in
the training of teachers of The Field Education and to the inclusion of social
groups of the semi-arid potiguar in Higher Education, which were
marginalized in the formation of Brazilian society.
KEYWORDS
Field education. Teacher training. Higher education.
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O perfil sociocultural dos estudantes da Licenciatura em Educação do Campo
da Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – de quais sujeitos do semiárido
falamos?
RESUMO
O texto em tela objetiva apresentar uma análise acerca do perfil sociocultural dos estudantes da Licenciatura
Interdisciplinar em Educação do Campo da Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (LEDOC/UFERSA). Com
base em um levantamento documental, toma para análise informações de 257 discentes da referida graduação. A
análise se encontra sistematizada em cinco eixos temáticos, a saber: a) número de discentes homens e mulheres;
b) faixa etária dos estudantes; c) pertença étnico-racial; d) faixa de renda familiar; e) naturalidade dos estudantes.
Como conclusão, sobrelevamos que a maior parte do alunado é constituída por mulheres, possui faixa etária entre
17 e 25 anos, se autodeclara parda ou preta, tem como renda familiar até dois salários mínimos e possui
naturalidade referente a municípios circunscritos na Mesorregião do Oeste Potiguar do Estado do Rio Grande do
Norte. Esses aspectos, entre outros, apontam para a feminização na formação de professores da Educação do
Campo e para a inclusão de grupos sociais do semiárido potiguar na Educação Superior, os quais foram
marginalizados na formação da sociedade brasileira.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE
Educação do campo. Formação de professores. Educação superior.
¿El perfil sociocultural de los estudiantes del grado en educación del campo
de la Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – de los cuales las asignaturas
del semiárido hablamos?
RESUMEN
Este texto presenta un análisis del perfil sociocultural de los estudiantes del Grado Interdisciplinario en Educación
de Campo de la Universidad Federal Rural del Semiárido (LEDOC/UFERSA). Basado en una encuesta
documental, se necesita información de análisis de 257 estudiantes del citado programa de pregrado. El análisis
se sistematiza en cinco "ejes temáticos", es decir: a) número de estudiantes masculinos y femeninos; b) grupo de
edad de aprendices; c) pertenencia étnico-racial; d) rango de ingresos familiares; e) naturalidad de los estudiantes.
En conclusión, en general, nosotros que la mayoría de los estudiantes son mujeres, tenemos un grupo de edad entre
17 y 25 años, se declaran marrones os pretos, tienen como ingresos familiares hasta dos salarios mínimos y tienen
naturalidad refiriéndose a ciudades circunscritas en la Mesoregión del Potiguar Occidental del Estado de Río
Grande do Norte. Estos aspectos, entre otros, apuntan a la feminización en la educación de los profesores de La
Educación de Campo y a la inclusión de grupos sociales del semiárido potiguar en la Educación Superior, que
fueron marginados en la formación de la sociedad brasileña.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Educación en el campo. Formación de profesores. Educación superior.
Section Editors: Charlene Bitencourt Soster Luz, Maria de Lourdes Pinto de Almeida
CRediT
• Acknowledgements: The authors thank the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA) for the financial
assistance to fund the translation of the text.
• Funding: This study received financial resources from the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid, through a notice
in support of research projects.
• Conflicts of interest: Authors certify that they have no commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of
interest in relation to the manuscript.
• Ethical approval: Not applicable.
• Availability of data and material: Not applicable.
• Authors' contributions: Conceptualization, Research development, Data analysis, Writing of the text - writing,
Methodological design: Medeiros, E. A.; Conceptualization, Data Analysis, Writing - Review & Editing, Methodological
Design: Amorim, G. C. C.
•
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Introdução
In contemporay decades, with the implementation of educational policies aimed at promoting
Higher Education, such as the Program to Support Restructuring and Expansion Plans for
Federal Universities (REUNI), we have had a significant increase in the number of students
from lower classes with access to Higher Education. By bringing Higher Education to cities in
the countryside, either through public institutions or through the private sector, contributed to
the increase in the number of students from the lower classes, as never seen in the history of
Brazil (DINIZ; GOERGEN, 2019).
Furthermore, there was an increase in the number of courses under different modalities:
baccalaureate, teaching and technological (DINIZ; GOERGEN, 2019; GATTI et al. 2019). In
the case of undergraduate courses, the expansion of interdisciplinary degrees has become a
mark in the national context. Apart from that, there was the birth of specific degrees, such as
the Degrees in Rural Education. As a result of the historical struggle of rural social movements,
these graduations intend to include, according to Medeiros, Amorim and Carvalho (2020),
subjects who, in the historical course, were denied the right of access to education, as well as
it’s continuation in this process and also access to Higher education.
This work is a study which analyzes the sociocultural profile of students from the
Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at the Rural Federal University of the Semiarid
(LEDOC/UFERSA), Campus Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, based on a documentary
survey conducted in 2018 with information available in the academic records existing at the
previously mentioned university. For this, it is based on the analysis of five thematic axes
produced at the time of construction and analysis of the data, namely: a) number of male and
female students; b) students age group; c) ethnic-racial belonging; d) family income range; e)
place of birth of the students.
According to Medeiros (2019), we point out that we understand the “sociocultural profile” as
the set of social and cultural characteristics referring to a social group of subjects, which
contribute to bring it closer or to distinguish it from other groups, as a human collective situated
in a historical context and time. Thus, we studied the sociocultural profile of students from the
countryside, subjects who represent the people of the countryside in the State of Rio Grande do
Norte and/or other federative states.
In the methodological aspect, the research was carried out in two stages: in the first, we
requested, in the Electronic System of the Citizen Information Service (e-SIC), via opening a
protocol, the contact with UFERSA and the information that we wanted; in the second, with
access to the information recorded in the students' documents, we organized the data, through
quantitative parameters, in 04 (four) graphs and 01 (one) map for qualitative analysis.
In told, we obtained information from the 257 (two hundred and fifty-seven) students enrolled
in the LEDOC/UFERSA Course in 2018. In the data production process, contact with the
information did not allow us to identify the subjects in any way, given that that we received
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from the institution the reports consistent with the student records, using the e-SIC database as
an intermediar. We clarify that the available information was highlighted by the students during
the registration period for admission to the LEDOC/UFERSA Course.
In addition to this brief introduction, we organized the rest of the text into three sections: at
first, we discuss the Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at UFERSA, its general
aspects, including its proposal for teacher training, curriculum organization, among others; in
the second moment, we presented the analysis of the sociocultural profile of the students, based
on the thematic axes highlighted above; finally, in the final considerations, we learned about
the importance of including rural populations in Higher Education, especially through access
to teacher training courses.
We hope that this study be added to the other articles published in the present issue of the
“International Journal of Higher Education”. Also, we hope that the research will contribute to
the national debate promoted in different sectors of the educational area regarding Higher
Education addressed to rural people.
Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at UFERSA – general aspects
The Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at the Rural Federal University of the Semi-
Arid (LEDOC/UFERSA) began its training activities on December 2, 2013
1
. This is an initial
training course for teachers whose target audience is aimed at rural populations.
We point out that in its Pedagogical Course Project (PPC), it is stated that, among the impelling
justifications for its creation, is the urgency, on the part of UFERSA, to carry out actions that
encourage the populations that live in rural Potiguar to remain in the countryside for means,
among other points, of an education linket to the reality of the semi-arid region, and this may
occur by valuing their cultures, their knowledge and their ways of living (RURAL FEDERAL
UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013).
According to the PPC, as UFERSA is an institution that values the social commitment to act in
the direction of scientific, cultural and educational development for part of the semi-arid
territory of Rio Grande do Sul. It has a population in needy social and economic conditions,
faced the challenge of building an initial teacher training course committed to this context
(FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013). The Pedagogical Course
Project also informs that,
[...] the proposal of UFERSA to create the Degree in Rural Education shows itself as
a unique opportunity to intervene in this reality, from the training of teachers to work
1
We found, on the UFERSA website, the information that its creation took place through the Resolution of the
University Council (CONSUNI), nº 005, of November 28, 2008. However, due to our professional experience at
LEDOC/UFERSA, we were aware that the course was approved at the institution, in that year, for Public Notice
SESU/SETEC/SECADI/MEC nº 2, of April 23, 2008, but did not receive approval from the Ministry of Education,
which led to the elaboration of a new proposal, for Public Notice SESU/SETEC/SECADI/MEC nº 2, of August
31, 2012, and the beginning of the training actions of the degree only in 2013.
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in rural schools in the semi-arid region and in the promotion of pedagogical practices
contextualized with the local culture, without losing sight of the limits and potential
of the Brazilian semi-arid region (FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY OF THE
SEMI-ARID, 2013, p. 15).
In addition to this characteristic, the PPC points out that UFERSA, being involved in the
process of expansion and democratization of Higher Education, which took place through Law
Decree nº 6096, of April 24, 2007 (BRASIL, 2007), the implementation of the Support Program
for Restructuring and Expansion Plans of Federal Universities (REUNI). What is more, it is a
rural university that, since its origin, as the Higher School of Agriculture of Mossoró/RN
(ESAM), has been keeping a dialogue with the issues of the countryside and with the
development of the Brazilian semi-arid region. It offers bachelor's degree courses, first in the
area of Agrarian Sciences - Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine - and later in the scope of
Engineering and Applied Social Sciences, when it was realized the possibility of expanding its
training scope (FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013). Thus, these
are the main reasons provided in the Pedagogical Course Project that ensure the importance of
creating the degree in the institution.
2
Among the legal frameworks which support the proposal for teacher training in the document,
thera are the National Curricular Guidelines for the Initial Training of Basic Education
Teachers, Opinion CNE/CP nº 9, of May 8, 2001, and Resolution CNE/CP nº 1, of February
18, 2002; the Operational Guidelines for Basic Education in Rural Schools, Opinion CNE/CEB
nº 36, of December 4, 2001, and Resolution CNE/CEB nº 1, of April 3, 2002; and the Opinion
CNE/CEB nº 1, of February 1, 2006, which discusses the Pedagogy of Alternation for Basic
Education in Rural Schools (FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID,
2013).
Within the scope of the Ministry of Education, LEDOC is registered as an interdisciplinary
degree, in the face-to-face modality, in the Municipality of Mossoró - RN, city where the
Central Campus of UFERSA is located. Once the information is attested, it is important to
recognize that LEDOC/UFERSA was approved as a permanent course by the
SESU/SETEC/SECADI/MEC Notice No. Campo (PROCAMPO), which, between 2008 and
2012, published three Specific Selection Notices for the opening of courses in Higher Education
Institutions in the country.
As a main objective, it intends to qualify teachers to work in the final years of Elementary
School and High School, in the areas of Human and Social Sciences and Natural Sciences in
rural schools, and also to work in the management of school and community educational
processes in the environment. rural. From this perspective, its target audience is composed of
2
The PPC states that the high number of subjects from the countryside without literacy in Rio Grande do Norte,
in the 2000s, led social movements in the countryside to organize and seek public bodies, such as the Secretary of
Education and Culture of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Grande do Norte, to offer teacher training courses to work
in education in rural areas. In order to face these challenges, UFERSA perceived the construction of LEDOC as
relevant. These characteristics are also guided as a justification for the creation of the Course in the institution
(RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013).
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different subjects who work and/or live in the countryside (FEDERAL RURAL UNIVERSITY
OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013).
As a consequence of the SESU/SETEC/SECADI/MEC Public Notice No. 2, of August 31, 2012
(BRASIL, 2012a), providing that institutions, when preparing teacher training proposals,
should think about qualification in Natural Sciences and/or Mathematics, the choice for the
qualification in Human and Social Sciences, in addition to Natural Sciences, is justified,
according to the document, by the fact that, in that period, there were already two Degrees in
Mathematics at UFERSA, one in the distance modality and the other in the face-to-face
modality offered by the National Plan for the Training of Basic Education Teachers
(PARFOR).
3
Thus, the qualification in Human and Social Sciences is considered relevant, since there were,
until now, degrees offered in the area by the institution, and there was a lack of professionals
in this context to work in Rural Education in the semi-arid region of potiguar. The Pedagogical
Course Project presents:
The option for the qualification in Human and Social Sciences was due to the fact that
UFERSA has already fulfilled its social role of training teachers in mathematics and,
also, because we know the reality of rural schools, in which teachers/ the curricular
components of the human and social areas do not have adequate and contextualized
training for living in the countryside and in the semi-arid region. In addition, recent
education policies show some changes towards the inclusion of certain components
in school curricula, such as sociology and philosophy in high school, and Afro-
Brazilian history and culture, established as a mandatory theme by Law 10,639, of
January 9th of 2003. This is a national demand of schools that becomes even more
evident in rural schools, being, therefore, an area of extreme relevance for us to carry
out a contextualized education for coexistence with the semi-arid (FEDERAL
RURAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013, p. 17).
For the admission of students to LEDOC, UFERSA develops specific selective processes,
aimed at the people of the rural environment of Rio Grande do Norte, focusing on the
populations of the West Potiguar Mesoregion, an agglutinating space of 62 municipalities in
the State that have culture and ways of life close/proper to rural populations. Again, we consult
the Pedagogical Course Project to support our discourse:
The course will be carried out through the organization of a group with admission
based on a specific selection and the identification of demands by UFERSA and
partners, in order to favor an identity formation among the participants and the
collective management of the pedagogical process. For the organization of the class,
preference will be given to students who live and/or work in the semi-arid countryside
communities that make up the West Potiguar Mesoregion, with a view to better
organizing the alternation regime that characterizes the course (FEDERAL RURAL
UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMI-ARID, 2013, p. 28).
Since its creation at UFERSA, in 2013, there have been biannual and annual entries of
newcomers to the Course. On average, each class is made up of 60 students
4
who, throughout
3
In the year 2021, only the Degree in Mathematics in the distance modality is in operation at the institution.
4
The State of Rio Grande do Norte is divided, politically, into four mesoregions that cover a quantitative of 167
municipalities: Mesoregion of West Potiguar (62), Mesoregion of Agreste Potiguar (43), Mesoregion of Central
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the training process – more precisely, in the fifth period – opt for a specific training
qualification, that is, Human and Social Sciences or Natural Sciences.
Internally at the institution, the Course is linked to the Center for Applied Social Sciences and
Humanities (CCSAH), with most of the subjects offered by the Department of Human Sciences
(DCH), and has the support of 16 teachers from different areas of knowledge, with centralized
dedication to the Course, to carry out teaching, research and extension activities, as they are
part of the vacancy codes available for public tender by the Ministry of Education at the time
of approval of the degree.
In this context, there are teachers with initial training in Pedagogy – 04 –, History – 01–,
Geography – 01 –, Portuguese Language Arts – 01–, Libras Language Arts – 01 –, Science –
with qualification in Biology – 01 –, Chemistry – 02 –, Social Work – 01 –, Social Sciences –
03 –, and Physics – 01. Apart from these professionals, LEDOC/UFERSA receives support
from other professors of the institution in the areas of Agronomy, Law, Veterinary Medicine,
Philosophy, among others.
5
In reference to its proposal for teacher training, the Pedagogical Course Project is that the
degree works on a semester basis of credits, having as methodological orientation the Pedagogy
of Alternation with class stages in the School/University Time and in the Community Time,
during the day shift. , with a duration of 04 years, that is, 08 academic semesters, with a total
workload of 3,210 hours/classes, distributing the curricular components and training contents
in three training centers (RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMIARID, 2013).
From the 3,210 hours/classes, the Core of Common Studies, the first training core, adds 1,605
hours/classes, with subjects in five areas, namely: 1) Human and Social Sciences; 2) Languages
and Codes; 3) Pedagogical Studies; 4) Agricultural Sciences; 5) Mathematics. In the
organization of the curricular matrix, this nucleus is responsible for the foundations that support
the training of teachers in the Course. The second core, prescribed as the Core of Integrating
Activities, comprises 975 hours/classes, with curricular components related to the context: 1)
Research; 2) Pedagogical Practices; 3) the Integrating Seminars; 4) Supervised Internships. In
our understanding, its main function in the curricular matrix of the Course is to contribute to a
greater relationship between formative times – school/university time and community time.
The last core, made up of 630 hours/classes, focuses on the study of specific areas of
qualification. It is called the Specific Studies Nucleus and is organized into two areas: 1)
Human and Social Sciences; 2) Natural Sciences (RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE
SEMIARID, 2013).
Potiguar (37) and Mesoregion of East Potiguar (27). Each Mesoregion is also divided into microregions. The West
Potiguar Mesoregion has the largest number of municipalities and is located entirely in the potiguar semi-arid
region (BRAZILIAN INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPH AND STATISTICS, 2017).
5
We found a record, on the institution's website, which points out, in the academic year of 2016, the admission of
30 students per academic semester, however, this amount occurred only in that period - year 2016. In the others,
the constitution of each initial class had the number of 60 students. We also inform you that, as of 2017, the entry
of graduates into the Course has been carried out annually and no longer every six months.
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It is from these three training centers that the set of disciplines is organized into 08 academic
semesters designed for teacher training and merges the curricular matrix of LEDOC/UFERSA.
In the training process, the Core of Common Studies begins in the first period and continues
until the last semester of training. Both the students of the Human and Social Sciences
qualification and the students of the Natural Sciences qualification take courses in the
aforementioned nucleus together.
The Core of Integrating Activities, like the previous one, begins in the first semester of training
at LEDOC/UFERSA and continues with disciplines until the eighth semester. In it, students
from both qualifications attend curricular components in common; however, the number of
disciplines and the value of hours/classes of the same, in moments, is lower than the Core of
Common Studies.
On the other hand, the Specific Studies Center, unlike the other two, begins only in the fifth
period of training in the Course, a phase in which students choose, on their own initiative, the
qualification in which they intend to graduate. In the curriculum matrix, it is proposed, through
the distribution of the curricular components in the three training centers, the inclusion of five
major areas of training - Human and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Mathematics,
Languages and Codes and Agricultural Sciences - endorsed for the elaboration of proposals of
LEDOC courses in the country (BRASIL, 2012a). The emphasis on the areas of Human and
Social Sciences and Natural Sciences does not exclude the other areas.
According to the PPC, due to the complexity of aggregating the two qualifications in a single
curriculum, these areas span different academic semesters and are not limited or concentrated
in a single core (RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMIARID, 2013). Even with
a perspective of disciplinary curricular organization by knowledge areas, the processed
relationship of the curricular components between the training areas and the training centers is
one of the aspects that offers paths for the interdisciplinary training of teachers in the degree.
O Projeto Pedagógico de Curso informa:
[...]the set of thematic areas is articulated in the different centers and activities, in
order to guarantee an interdisciplinary formation based on a disciplinary curricular
organization by areas of knowledge, as recommended in the Pedagogical Project [...]
of UFERSA (RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMIARID, 2013, p. 33-
34).
In this logic, the official document says that the curricular components are not taken as
disciplines or programs finalized for application, but, differently, they are understood “as
particular forms of study” on areas, knowledge and contents that only acquire meaning, in the
totality of the training proposal, when linked to the alternation of training times –
school/university time and community time – considered, every six months, in the course
(RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMIARID, 2013, p. 31).
It is worth mentioning that research, in this context, appears as one of the central dimensions
that interconnect the entire curricular organization of LEDOC/UFERSA. It is responsible both
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for the dialogue between the training centers and the curricular components of each academic
semester and for the association of training actions between the periods of School/University
Time and Community Time (RURAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE SEMIARID, 2013).
O sociocultural profile of LEDOC/UFERSA students - the analysis
After listing the general aspects of the LEDOC/UFERSA Course, we continue the discussion
by presenting the analysis regarding the sociocultural profile of the students of this graduation.
As mentioned, in searches carried out through the Electronic System of the Citizen Information
Service (e-SIC), we obtained important records of the institution, which we later systematized
into five thematic axes. In this way, in reference to the first thematic axis, “number of male and
female students” of LEDOC/UFERSA, we communicate that most of the students refer to
females. Graph 1 summarizes the findings:
Graph 1. Percentage of Male and Female Students at LEDOC/UFERSA
Source: Electronic System of the Information Service for the citzen (e-SIC), 2018.
From the 257 students of the Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at UFERSA in the
first half of 2018, 207 are female and 50 are male. This value confirms the percentage of 81%
of the students being represented by women and 19% being constituted by men.
As is known, this characteristic in the profile of students in undergraduate courses and teaching
in Basic Education is not a recent phenomenon. In the study by Gatti and Barretto (2009, p.
161), there are notes that, since the emergence of the first normal schools, the “process of entry
of women into basic teaching” was introduced in the country. Associating the teaching
profession as an extension of maternal activities and with the understanding, on the part of
Brazilian society, that the female choice for education is natural, the teaching career, in the
country's Basic Education, expanded through a "visibly segmented pattern of education".
gender point of view” (CATANI et al., 1997; GATTI; BARRETTO, 2009).
19%
81%
Numbers of students - 257
Men
Women
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Carvalho (1996), Louro (1997) and Cunha (2012), based on research carried out on the
historical process of feminization of teaching in Brazil, add that, from the 19th century onwards,
the teaching profession became a representative element of the teaching work done by women.
For reasons of power, domination and hierarchization throughout history between social and
cultural groups and, above all, about the division of labor between men and women in the
country, some professions, which at the beginning of the construction of Brazilian society were
characterized as represented by men – like the teaching profession, which in the period of
colonization of Brazil, with the Jesuits, had teachers characterized as male –, became a
reference in terms of women's work.
To confirm our understanding, we mention the analysis of the study produced by Carvalho
(1996, p. 78):
The data indicate that, in the first four grades of the 1st grade (former primary school),
female predominance has been going on since the 20s of this century in Brazil. Maria
Cândida Delgado Reis, for example, shows how, 'since the 19th century, the teaching
profession had been clearly delineating itself as a field of female work', with women
reaching '70% of the total number of employees in charge of teaching', in 1921,
according to the statement made by educator Lourenço Filho (Reis, 1991, p. 67 and
72). In 1990, the female presence had already advanced from the initial grades to the
final grades of the 1st grade, to the 2nd grade and to specialist positions [...].
This tendency towards the feminization of basic teaching became perceptible in the search for
initial teacher training courses in Brazil. Gatti and Barretto (2009) also show, based on statistics
from the National Student Performance Examination - ENADE/2005, that, in the degrees in
Pedagogy, Letters, Biology, History, Geography, Mathematics and Chemistry, women
constitute the largest portion of students. The exception is, according to the authors' study, in
Physics degrees. As a measure, 92.5% of Pedagogy undergraduates are women and, in the
specific courses, this figure varies between 54% – in Geography, Mathematics and Chemistry
degrees – and 82% – in Modern Languages Course.
At LEDOC/UFERSA, this characteristic is not contrasting. As we have seen, the largest
audience for undergraduates is made up of women. Perhaps, this data will lead us, in the future,
to another reference: as the intention is to train for teaching by areas of knowledge and for the
management of school and community educational processes to work in education in rural
areas, women licensed by the Course, possibly, they will work in spaces beyond the classroom
in the countryside and "occupy" management and leadership positions, in the educational,
social and political sense, in social movements, associations, rural workers' cooperatives,
among others, spaces represented by the presence male in the field (MEDEIROS, 2013).
The second piece of information that stands out to us about the sociocultural profile of the
students at LEDOC/UFERSA is in line with the age group of the students. Graph 2 systematizes
the records:
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Graph 2. Age Group of Students at LEDOC/UFERSA
Source: Electronic System of the Information Service for the Citizen (e-SIC), 2018.
The fact that 126 students from LEDOC/UFERSA are between 17 and 25 years old confirms
that the students of this graduation are, in the majority, formed by young people. This is
confirmed when we compare the other numbers regarding the aspect under discussion. Almost
half of the students fit this reference – 49.1%.
From a different angle, there are students who fit into other values: with the age group from 26
to 30 years old, there are 50 students – 19.5% –; between 31 and 35 years old, there are 30
students – 11.7% –; between 36 and 39 years old, there are 24 undergraduates – 9.4% –; and,
over 40 years old, we found 27 students – 10.3%. From these records, we can list some positive
considerations about the sociocultural profile of the students at LEDOC/UFERSA: the first one
corresponds to the understanding that the entry of this young public, from rural areas, into the
university contributes to the increase of social inclusion of peasant youth in Higher Education
in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. In history, there are conclusions that rural subjects, in
general, as a result of the influences of capitalism in the educational system, have few
possibilities of social ascension through the continuity of studies (CALDART, 2005).
The second consideration is that LEDOC/UFERSA has been able to partially meet what was
prescribed as a referral for the preparation of teacher training proposals regarding the public
entering the LEDOC in the country. In the public notice (SESU/SETEC/SECADI/MEC Notice
No. 2, of August 31, 2012) that allowed the creation of this new type of licenciate degree, it is
noted that those entering these graduations must fall into six groups - Basic Education teachers
from rural areas; youth and adults from rural areas; rural people in general; members of rural
social movements; other professionals from Basic Education in the countryside; and educators
of non-formal spaces in the countryside (BRASIL, 2012a). The draft prepared by the
020 40 60 80 100 120 140
Above 40 years
Between 36 and 40 years
Between 31 and 35 years
Between 26 and 30 years
Beteen 17 and 25 years
Above 40 years Between 36 and
40 years
Between 31 and
35 years
Between 26 and
30 years
Beteen 17 and 25
years
Número de Formandos 27 24 30 50 126
(257 students)
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Commission of the Rural Education Working Group of the Secretariat of Continuing
Education, Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion (SECADI), a document that, in addition to the
Specific Selection Notices, served as a guideline for the construction of the Pedagogical
Projects of the Courses, goes, in part, to what we wrote when it rectifies that the Degrees in
Rural Education should cover, among others, young people and adults from rural communities
who have completed high school and still do not have higher education (BRASIL , 2011).
In general, comparing the records about the age group of the students at LEDOC/UFERSA with
the study by Gatti and Barretto (2009), we also identified that the reality of the Course is not
far from the teaching degrees in Brazil. In the authors' research, 46% of undergraduate students,
including specific courses and Pedagogy, are between 17 and 24 years old, 30% are between
25 and 29 years old and 21% are in the age group of 30 to 39 years.
Following the information regarding the sociocultural profile of LEDOC/UFERSA students,
we called, for the presentation of grades, the Ethnic-Racial Groups in which the students declare
themselves.
Graph 3. Ethnic-Racial Belonging of Students at LEDOC/UFERSA
Source: Electronic System of the Information Service for the Citizen (e-SIC), 2018.
Based on what is documented, the largest portion of LEDOC/UFERSA students is
concentrated, in the sense of ethnic-racial belonging, in three groups: 115 students claim to be
brown, 63 students claim to be white and 62 undergraduate students declare themselves to be
black.
With the representation of this aspect in Graph 3, it is important to consider the aspect that the
number of self-declared black students – 62 students –, and the number of self-declared white
undergraduates – 63 –, is almost the same. There are no significant percentages that distinguish
3
63 62
115
2
12
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Yellows Whites Grayish Browns Others Did not wan to
state or inform
Ethnic-racial field
(257)
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a prevalence of students in the Course belonging to one of the groups mentioned in this
paragraph.
In the trajectory of formation of the Brazilian people, our society was (and still is) made up of
specific social groups that monopolized a good part of what was available in human and natural
resources, as well as making use of different mechanisms to develop models and standardize
so-called true social stereotypes for all, with the aim of favoring domination over other groups
that did not occupy/were found in the same social sphere (CARVALHO, 2008; GOHN, 2011;
OLIVEIRA; MAGALHÃES, 2014).
As we know, this situation had repercussions in the educational system, with the denial of the
right of access to Education, of permanence and of school success, whether in Basic Education
or in Higher Education, for many subjects. However, the reality addressed made groups
excluded from the country's social and educational agenda to claim and develop instruments of
struggle through organized social movements and joint actions. Among them, we can list the
Black Movement – which among the agendas, advocated the opening of public higher
education for specific demands, such as, for example, the quota system for the population
referenced in its core –; and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) – which, in defense
of agrarian reform, demanded specific education for rural populations.
What is more, one of the legitimate proofs of the struggle of organized social movements – in
their plurality –, is consistent with the institutionalization of affirmative actions and policies to
democratize access to Higher Education through Decree Law nº 12,711, of August 29, 2012
(BRASIL, 2012b), which provided, in particular, on admission to universities and federal
institutions of high-level technical education, amended by Decree Law No. 13,409, of
December 28, 2016.
In its articleso of law1, 3, 4 and 5, specifically, it is inferred about the distribution of vacancies
for admission to universities and federal institutions of high-level technical education. As a
result of this legal provision, there has been an increase, in recent years, of a considerable
volume of subjects from social classes who, in history, have not been able to obtain the same
educational conditions and, therefore, have suffered in the denial of access to systematized
knowledge by humanity, made present, in turn, in academia (BRASIL, 2012b; OLIVEIRA;
MAGALHÃES, 2014).
In the selection notices for new entrants to the Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at
UFERSA – Notices No. 11/2017, No. 25/2016 and no. 73/2014 –, the organization of vacancies
offered by social groups and specific quotas has been supported. This aspect and the other
issues described in the previous paragraphs help in understanding the number of students in the
evident ethnic-racial groups, however, we emphasize that the Course, above all, refers to an
inclusive policy in the context of Rural Education in Brazil. As a consequence, it is more than
expected the approval of students from groups that were left on the sidelines in the educational
processes in Basic and Higher Education in Brazilian history.
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Another data that we got in the searches about the sociocultural profile of the students of
LEDOC/UFERSA and that we expose at this moment gives the family income declared by the
students at the time of registration for admission to graduation. Let's analyze:
Graph 4. Family Income Range declared by LEDOC/UFERSA Students
Source: Electronic System of the Information Service for the Citizen (e-SIC), 2018.
Particularly, it is not surprising that 86% – 221 – of the newcomers to LEDOC/UFERSA have
indicated, as family income, the value of up to two minimum wages. In order to explain this
statement, we take into account some arguments: Gatti and Barretto (2009) found that the social
devaluation of the teaching profession has increasingly made the brazilian students who finish
high school to loose interest in teaching degrees courses. A large part of the students from
middle class social groups or upper one, in economic parameters, who finish Basic Education,
request, in order to continue their studies, baccalaureate courses in the areas of Engineering,
Medicine and Law. The teaching profession is seen by many as a second option (GATTI;
BARRETTO, 2009). On the other hand, students coming from less favored social classes,
taking a different line, enter Higher Education via degrees.
In the same discussion, we mention a passage from Nóvoa (2017) who, in his essay on teacher
training in Brazil, places the movement of devaluation that the teaching profession has been
suffering in recent decades in the context of the advance of the influences of the international
marketing sector in Education. Brazilian higher education, which has an impact on several
dimensions of teacher training courses. The devaluation of the teaching profession is part of a
larger process of deprofessionalization of basic teaching, converging to the selection of a
specific public for the exercise of teaching - subjects from less favored social classes -, which
has been aimed at training, for part of the State, mainly in private institutions, spaces that bring
together the largest volume of degree courses in the country. The author concludes:
Deprofessionalization manifests itself in very different ways, including low wage
levels and difficult conditions in schools, as well as processes of intensification of
teaching work through logics of bureaucratization and control. The discourse of
efficiency and accountability has reinforced policies based on 'value-added measures',
221
20
1 1 1 13
Up to 2 minimum
wages
From 2 to 4
minimum wages
From 4 to 10
minimum wages
From 10 to 20
minimum wages
Above 20 minimum
wages
Prefered not to
declare or inform
GRADUAND'S FAMILY INCOME (257)
Número de Formandos
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which remunerate teachers according to student results, thus devaluing other
dimensions of professionalism [...]. The return of ideologies that affirm the possibility
of assigning teaching functions to people who have 'notorious knowledge' of a given
subject, as if that were enough, also contributes to the discredit of the profession
(NÓVOA, 2017, p. 1109).
A second argument that supports our assertion is linked to the specificity of the original context,
that is, from which the public entering the Course comes. The Potiguar semi-arid region is a
territory that “suffers” economically. Not only LEDOC/UFERSA students are placed in this
environment. It is undeniable that the students of this graduation are from a less favored origin
at a social level; however, in the institution's baccalaureate courses, this characteristic is also
noticeable.
To conclude the arguments that aim to explain the question that 86% of the students of the
Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at UFERSA have, as a family income, up to two
minimum wages, we remind you that, just as the ethnic-racial belonging is one of the criteria
valued in the selection process for admission to the Course, the family income range is also
considered in the same context.
The final aspect situated in the searches on the sociocultural profile of the students of
LEDOC/UFERSA brings to the debate the geographical naturalness of the students. Based on
the reading of Map 1, we draw conclusions.
Map 1. Number of Students of the LEDOC/UFERSA Course by Mesoregion of the State of RN,
based on place of birth
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There is a high number of students from cities in the West Potiguar Mesoregion of the State of
Rio Grande do Norte. From the 257 students at LEDOC/UFERSA in 2018, 233 were born in
cities located in this context.
We found out that the West Potiguar Mesoregion, in terms of geographical organization, has
62 municipalities grouped into seven microregions. It is the second most inhabited mesoregion
in the state, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2017), and
concentrates important cities in Rio Grande do Norte, such as Mossoró, Apodi, Caraúbas and
Pau dos Ferros. As we discussed, it is indicated in the Pedagogical Course Project that teacher
training at LEDOC/UFERSA focuses on, at the target audience level, the rural populations of
this mesoregion. In this aspect, we noticed, by reading Map 1, that 90.7% of its students are
from (in terms of naturality) this location. In addition to this data, from the 62 cities which takes
part of the West Potiguar Mesoregion, 21 include course graduates naturally in their context,
with emphasis on the Municipalities of Mossoró - 90 students -, Upanema - 36 trainees -, Apodi
- 20 students -, Areia Branca – 13 students –, and Serra do Mel/RN – 11 undergraduates.
As for the other mesoregions of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, we found a small number of
students from municipalities that are part of these geographic areas: from the Central
Mesoregion Potiguar, there are 03 students; from the Agreste Potiguar Mesoregion, there are
02 undergraduates and, from the East Potiguar Mesoregion, we find 10 students.
However, we would like to point out (in Map 1) that it does not mean that the students live in
these places at the time of the documentary survey (year 2018). We confirm the naturalness of
the students, attesting, from what is documented at UFERSA, their places of origin. Even so,
we conclude that such indications clarify that there is a concentration of students of the
Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education from the exposed territories. Finally, we explain
that, with this characteristic, there are also students from other Brazilian states: from Ceará -
07 students from the municipalities of Aracati, Jaguaruana and Juazeiro do Norte -, and from
Pará - 01 student from Belém.
Conclusion
This study highlighted as a central objective to analyze the sociocultural profile of students
from the Interdisciplinary Degree in Rural Education at the Rural Fedral University of the
Semiarid (LEDOC/UFERSA), Campus Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, based on a
documentary survey conducted in 2018 with information available in the academic records
existing at the aforementioned university. With the explanation of the analysis carried out, we
finished this text highlighting some aspects learned in the investigation, namely:
a) LEDOC/UFERSA students are mostly represented by women. This characteristic
marks the trend of feminization in the training of Rural Education teachers in the context of
this new modality of graduation, something close to what occurs in the teaching courses in the
country (GATTI; BARRETTO, 2009). As we highlighted earlier, this could mean, in the future,
the presence of this public exercising different management and leadership roles in rural
education spaces, especially in the scope of Non-Formal Education, given that, if we validate
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that one of the objectives of teacher training in the graduation is the training of professionals to
work in the management of community educational processes, this characteristic will be
exercised;
b) We verified that there is a significant number of students in the LEDOC/UFERSA Course
who declare themselves brown and/or black. This factor contributes to thinking about the social
inclusion of subjects who, in history, were excluded from accessing and staying in Higher
Education. We are hopeful and anxious that, within the scope of these students' professional
performance, when they graduate, inclusive practices can be carried out that affirm the identity
of the different populations of the countryside – in particular, the remaining populations of
quilombos and with tradition in the Afro-Brazilian culture;
c) The analysis highlighted that there is a high number of young students, aged between 17 and
25 years old, at graduation. We believe that this aspect illustrates that the aforementioned
degree has managed to bring together the rural youth public. If we consider that this public is
mostly born in the West Potiguar Mesoregion, we believe that this will contribute to the social
and educational improvement of the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte;
d) Most students of the LEDOC/UFERSA Course have a family income of up to two minimum
wages. In this context, we understand that there are demands for internal policies at the
university for the permanence of students in graduation. We understand that, in this dimension,
new studies on institutional policies aimed at student assistance in the institution are also
important.
In general, we reinforce that the Degree courses in Rural Education in Brazil are essential for
the achievement of the right to Education of rural populations in Higher Education. In the semi-
arid region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, we believe that, in the long term, the creation
of LEDOC/UFERSA will improve the educational quality existing in rural areas. With rural
teachers trained for this territorial scope, we hope that Education will be carried out in a
contextualized way, meeting part of the local demands of each space in which it will be
promoted.
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