Assistência Estudantil no Instituto Federal do Paraná – Campus Irati: Interpretações à Luz dos Beneficiários

Abstract

This research aims to analyze how student assistance policies are established at the Federal Institute of Paraná – Campus Irati, revealing the meanings given to assistance programs by their beneficiaries. The research also reveals the political-educational, socioeconomic and cultural aspects linked to the policies. The specific aims are to learn about the conceptual guidelines and public management of assistance programs; analyze assistance policies at the Campus Irati during its consolidation as an educational institution; reveal the meanings given by the beneficiaries to the programs they are part of and the impact of policies on their academic education and private lives. The research is inspired in the writings of the anthropologist Geertz and includes bibliographical and document research and field study. The meanings given to assistance policies related to students´ way of life – cultural, socio and economic aspects, as well as their experiences with the program. When the meanings are revealed, they may contribute to reflecttions about assistance public policies in education, which in turn may contribute to the execution of more effective student assistance concerning individual and collective needs of beneficiaries. Among the results, it is highlighted that the interpretations of students from the Campus Irati present conceptions of public policy as assistentialism, that scholarship students believe the benefit is essential to their school success and to the sociability experiences lived in the academic environment. In addition, the interpretations suggest that the institution lacks socio educational actions that transform assistance into a human right.