Perspectiva (Apr 2009)
Popular "pre-vestibular" courses: limits and perspectives
Abstract
This article concerns the "pre-vestibular" (college entrance exam preparation) courses, known as community or popular courses, which were implemented in Brazil in the 1990's with the goal of democratizing education. In recent years, there has been a widely recognized intensification of demand for higher education due to the expansion of primary education, urbanization and transformations in the labor market. This has had deep repercussions on unemployment, above ali among youth. The expansion policies, given the privatization of Brazilian higher education, do not favor the access of those graduating from high school, who depend essentially on public education to continue their schooling. Considering the limited amount of studies of this issue, we sought to provide a brief history of these courses in Brazil. The article also presents the results of a study of those registered in the selection process and students in a popular" pre-vestibular" exam in the city of Florianópolis, highlighting their social composition and the exam's objective of reducing educational inequalities, its limits and possibilities.
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