Ações de inclusão e acessibilidade nos campi de uma universidade federal da região norte do Brasil

Abstract

The admission of students with disabilities to Higher Education has been a recurring topic in academic research, and over the last thirty years, discussions have followed the political, social, and economic changes surrounding this issue. Understanding access to Higher Education as a fundamental right, this study investigated the inclusion and accessibility actions developed within student assistance centers and divisions. From this perspective, the general objective of the research was to analyze the inclusion and accessibility actions implemented across the campuses of a federal university in Northern Brazil and to identify the challenges faced in this process. The specific objectives were: (a) to characterize accessibility centers based on the Incluir Program; (b) to analyze the distribution and organization of campuses that have Accessibility Centers and Student Assistance Divisions within a federal institution in the state of Pará; (c) to critically analyze the inclusion actions developed by a federal institution located in the state of Pará, in Northern Brazil; and (d) to demonstrate how federal institutions located in the Amazonian region of Northern Brazil have been organizing services for students who are part of the target population of Special Education on their campuses. The study adopted a qualitative approach, and data analysis was grounded in the theoretical framework of historical-dialectical materialism. The main theoretical references were Karl Marx, István Mészáros, and Valdemar Sguissardi, whose works contributed to understanding the structural contradictions of Higher Education within contemporary capitalism and supported the definition of thematic axes for analysis. The participants included nine coordinators of accessibility centers and student assistance divisions, as well as one student. The research was conducted across the campuses of the Federal University of Pará. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted both online, via Google Meet, and in person. The findings reveal that, although initiatives aimed at supporting students with disabilities exist, these actions are still implemented in a fragmented manner, relying heavily on individual efforts and marked by structural weaknesses, such as the lack of adequate physical spaces, insufficient multidisciplinary teams, budgetary limitations, and the persistence of attitudinal barriers. It was observed that the multicampus expansion process, historically linked to regional economic demands, did not structurally incorporate accessibility as a transversal principle of institutional planning. It is concluded that Higher Education in Northern Brazil remains a field of political and pedagogical dispute, requiring the institutional strengthening of Accessibility Centers, the consolidation of integrated policies, and the incorporation of accessibility as a constitutive dimension of the university project. It is argued that the Amazonian public university, beyond merely complying with legal requirements, must assume a historical commitment to the democratization of knowledge and to the emancipation of historically excluded groups.