Social quotas, affirmative actions, and dropout in the Business field: empirical analysis in a Brazilian federal university

ABSTRACT Rawls' Justice Theory establishes that a fair society must allow less advantaged people to have access to the benefits of social cooperation. In this line of thought, the affirmative actions established by Law 12,711/2012 aim at promoting inclusive education in Higher Education. Evaluating the performance of affirmative actions, specifically their impact on the dropout level, has been a theme of debate in scientific literature. Besides representing a personal frustration, dropout is associated with significant academic, social, and economic losses. In this context, this research aims at analyzing whether the adoption of affirmative actions, as established by Law 12,711/2012, affects the dropout rates of students in Accounting Sciences and other courses in the Business field. The study was conducted through documentary research in a Brazilian public Higher Education institution (HEI). The results of binomial analysis showed that out of the 2,418 students who entered in the first semester of 2013, 520 (22%) dropped out from university until the end of the first semester of 2014. It was found that the dropout rate among entrants in the Business field, either through broad competition or using the system of quotas, was 29%. In the course of Accounting Sciences, the dropout rate among entrants admitted through broad competition was 25% and using the system of quotas it was 23%. Contrary to other investigations, this study found that there is no statistical difference between the dropout rates among entrants in the Business and Accounting Sciences fields through broad competition and quotas, suggesting that affirmative actions do not affect significantly the dropout rates.

摘要：罗尔斯正义理论（Rawls' Justice Theory）指出，公平社会必须保障处境不利群体能够享有社会合作的收益。基于这一理论脉络，第12711/2012号法律所确立的平权措施（affirmative actions）旨在推动高等教育（Higher Education）领域的包容性教育。评估平权措施的实施效果，尤其是其对辍学率的影响，一直是科学文献中热议的议题。辍学不仅意味着个人学业挫败，还会带来显著的学术、社会与经济损失。在此背景下，本研究旨在分析采用第12711/2012号法律规定的平权措施，是否会对会计学专业（Accounting Sciences）及商科其他专业学生的辍学率产生影响。本研究以巴西某公立高等教育机构（HEI）的档案资料为基础开展文献研究。二项分析结果显示，在2013年第一学期入学的2418名学生中，截至2014年第一学期末共有520人（占比22%）辍学。研究发现，通过公开竞争通道或配额通道入学的商科领域学生，其辍学率均为29%；而在会计学专业中，通过公开竞争通道入学的学生辍学率为25%，通过配额通道入学的学生辍学率为23%。与其他研究结论相悖的是，本研究发现，商科与会计学专业学生中，通过公开竞争与配额通道入学群体的辍学率并无统计学差异，这表明平权措施并未对辍学率产生显著影响。