Ecos visuais: experiências surdas na Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF

Abstract

This thesis aimed to understand the educational experiences of deaf students in Higher Education, using the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) as its field of study. It sought to verify and analyze how deaf students experience university life (retention and academic life), presenting the existing tensions between the inclusive perspective and institutional practices and actions. The research also proposed to question the dualistic view of deafness, that is, deaf signers and hearing-impaired individuals, recognizing the multiplicity of "deafness" as identities, trajectories, and forms of communication. The study followed a qualitative, ethnographic approach, combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and bibliographic and documentary analysis. The ethnographic work was developed on the main campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora – UFJF, in dialogue and interaction with deaf students, sign language interpreters, the Accessibility and Inclusion Center (NAI), and other sectors. This field study sought to make the voices of deaf students visible and to understand how they interact with public policies and pedagogical practices from their subjective perspectives. The results of this work indicate that, despite institutional advances, inclusion in higher education is marked by contradictions. It was identified that deaf students face pedagogical challenges, such as the absence of more visual practices, an overload on sign language/Portuguese language interpreters, and the limited participation of deaf students in decisions that affect their lives at the institution. It is concluded that the inclusion of deaf students in higher education should not be quantified solely by access, but as a continuous and regular process of permanence, recognition of their diversity, and full participation. Based on these results, it is essential to highlight the need to expand and evaluate educational inclusion policies, invest in teacher training to serve this and other populations, and adopt practices that value a visual and multimodal pedagogy. Furthermore, it reaffirms the need to hear the voices of deaf people, so that the construction of a truly inclusive University can recognize the leading roles of deaf students.