University Students' Values, Vocations, and Political Orientations: Brazil, 1964

This study is part of a larger comparative investigation that included over 15 universities in several Latin American countries, in an effort to assess the adequacy of educational structures for fulfilling the needs of developing nations (see also Colombia: ICPSR 7056, Mexico: ICPSR 7059, Panama: ICPSR 7060, Paraguay: ICPSR 7061, Puerto Rico: ICPSR 7063, and Uruguay: ICPSR 7064). There is a close similarity between the questionnaires administered in these countries, many items being identical. The present study, conducted in 1964, surveyed a sample of university engineering students in Brazil to give a picture of social, economic, political, and psychological aspects of university life. Educational background information was obtained through extensive questions about the respondents' secondary school education and subjects studied, as well as the levels of education that both their parents and grandparents had achieved. Respondents were further queried about the function of the university and the best qualities of the professors. One portion of the survey probed the respondents' attitudes and outlook on life: the importance of maintaining family ties, acceptance of authority, moral responsibility, and the negative aspects of human nature as evidenced in wars and political corruption. The respondents' interest in national and international affairs was explored through variables concerning politics, political parties, and internationally known heads of state. Demographic information includes age and marital status.