A Universidade Federal de Tocantins/Campus de Arraias na Consolidação do Desenvolvimento Socioeducacional: os indicadores sociais e as percepções dos sujeitos da Região Sudeste do Estado do Tocantins

Abstract

This study analyzes the process of insertion of the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) in the Southeast region of the State of Tocantins and seeks to understand the impacts that this institution has in the region considered the relationship between university and social development. In this research we seek to show that understanding of development and its social aspect from the action of the university, as Sen (2000) can reflected beyond the meaning restricted only to the growth of wealth. The case studied refers to the performance of UFT from the Arraias Campus - TO, having as main objective to analyze the insertion of this institution in the Southeast region of Tocantins evaluating its contribution to socio-educational development in this region. To this end, we developed a theoretical and empirical investigation, through bibliographic and documentary surveys, searches in several public databases and field research covering the social subjects who participate in the university in the city of Arraias and the Southeast region of Tocantins as: students, graduate students, teachers, administrative technicians and municipal secretaries of education. This research is based on the understanding that universities play an important role in the educational, social and economic development of the cities and regions where they are located. We seek to reflect the role of UFT in this region, considering the historical, social and political developments that have developed and that have long exposed the populations of southeastern Tocantins to a process of inequalities and easing of public policies, especially in higher education. The data of this research show that the Southeast region of Tocantins has been experiencing advances in its social and educational development, such as teacher training for basic education; improvements in indicators of human development, basic education, longevity, expansion of the number of people with higher education, but despite these advances there are still high illiteracy rates and concentration of income. This research reveals that since the arrival of UFT the region has added important gains from the socioeconomic, cultural, and educational point of view, but that such advances are not strongly linked to the action of the university and despite the institutional consolidation of UFT/Arraias Campus the space for its performance on several fronts is still open.