Projeto de vida, formação universitária e desamparo: a produção do eterno credor-devedor

Abstract

This Master's Dissertation aims to comprehend what is being operated as a life project for young adults within the higher education access and retention financing policy through FIES (Student Financing Fund). The research problem is defined by the following research question: How does neoliberal rationality operate and capture young adults for a life project through the financing policy (FIES)? To address the research question, the methodology used was based on data triangulation. The data utilized in this triangulation process were as follows: In the first vertex, an integrative review was conducted using the term "Student Financing Fund". The analysis of the articles highlights significant aspects of the Student Financing Fund (FIES) policy, including subject indebtedness, deceptive advertising practices, performance outcomes in ENADE (National Student Performance Exam), and the transfer of public resources to private institutions. The second vertex of the triangulation included approaches from a discourse analysis aiming to understand how institutional marketing strategies influence individuals, making them desire access to higher education, even if it entails dealing with debt. In the third vertex, neoliberal rationality was developed as a hypothesis that influences individuals to desire the social position supposedly conferred by higher education. This analysis involved examining excerpts from the contract signed with the Student Financing Fund and the process of becoming financed. The findings indicate the presence of a neoliberal rationality that compels individuals to seek access to higher education at any cost, aiming to become the best entrepreneur of themselves. As a consequence, indebted individuals are continuously seeking to free themselves and achieve freedom by eliminating their debts.