Serviço social e educação: o trabalho de assistentes sociais na assistência estudantil nas universidades federais de Minas Gerais sob a normatividade do Programa Nacional de Assistência Estudantil (2010-2024)

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the work of social workers in the units responsible for studentassistance at the federal universities in the state of Minas Gerais during the implementationofDecree No. 7,234/2010, which established the National Student Assistance Program(PNAES).It is based on the understanding that the expansion of access to Brazilian publichighereducation, intensified since the 2000s through the Program for the Support of FederalUniversity Restructuring and Expansion Plans (REUNI) and the Affirmative ActionPolicy,increased the presence of working-class students in federal universities and madestudentretention a strategic dimension for ensuring the right to education. However, this processtookplace within the broader context of State transformations under neoliberal hegemony,characterized by the counter-reform of social policies, the targeting of public actions, andtherationalization of social spending. The study hypothesizes that, in this context, the regulationof PNAES imposes specific determinations on the organization of professional practiceinstudent assistance units, assigning a central role to socioeconomic assessment andthedevelopment of technical-administrative instruments aimed at determining eligibilityforstudent scholarships and financial aid. From a theoretical and methodological perspective, thestudy is grounded in critical social theory and adopts the historical-dialectical materialistmethod as its analytical framework. The research combined bibliographic and documentaryanalysis with empirical research conducted at the 11 federal universities in Minas Gerais,involving 33 social workers who completed a structured questionnaire. The findingsshowthat professional practice takes place in institutional contexts marked by budget constraints,insufficient staffing, and increasingly diverse demands. In this scenario, the regulationofPNAES places socioeconomic assessment at the core of professional intervention, reflectingthe rationality that shapes work organization and social policies under neoliberalism, guidedby targeting, selectivity, and the management of scarce resources. The findings confirmtheresearch hypothesis by demonstrating that professional practice is situated withinafieldoftension between the social worker's relative professional autonomy and the institutionaldeterminations that shape the labor process. Thus, this study contributes to advancingthedebate on the mediations between educational policy, the counter-reformof the State, andprofessional practice in student assistance within Brazilian federal universities.