Dropout or mobility: the concept and the reality in a licentiate degree

Abstract: Considering the significant dropout of students in the first year of the Sciences - Licentiate Degree of the Federal University of São Paulo and the socio-political scenario of the expansion of higher education in the country, we problematize the use of the concept of avoidance to refer to this premature exit. Through action research, with the participation of students and researchers, we collected data, from 2011 to 2016, in online questionnaires and field diaries. Our results indicate an inadequacy or a permanent need for conceptual precision in relation to the invariant "evasion" component, since the early departure of students was not only a result of the abandonment of the commitment to the studies due to school failure. Differently from what is described in part of the literature and in institutional actions at various levels, students, considering mobility, precarious conditions and work-related pressures, change their options of study preventively.

摘要：鉴于圣保罗联邦大学（Federal University of São Paulo）理学学士学位（Sciences - Licentiate Degree）一年级学生的高辍学率，以及巴西国内高等教育扩张的社会政治背景，我们对以“逃避（evasion）”概念指代这类过早退学行为的做法提出了质疑。本研究采用行动研究（action research）范式，邀请学生与研究者共同参与，于2011年至2016年间通过在线问卷与实地日志（field diaries）收集研究数据。结果显示，针对学界公认的恒定“逃避”要素，现有概念存在精准性不足或需长期完善的问题：学生过早退学并非仅因学业失败而放弃学业承诺。与部分学术文献及各级院校相关举措的表述不同，学生在考量就学流动性、处境不稳定与工作压力等因素后，会预防性地调整就学选择。