Políticas públicas de inclusão na educação superior: a institucionalização da acessibilidade na Universidade Federal do Paraná e o papel do Núcleo de Acessibilidade

Abstract

This master's research was conducted within the State, Educational Policies, and Educational Management research line of the Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Uberlândia and is affiliated with the Research Group on Policies and Practices in Special and Inclusive Education. The study aims to analyze the establishment and development of the Accessibility Center at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) within the context of public policies for inclusion in higher education. To this end, it examines the academic literature on the subject, the evolution of public policies for Special Education from an inclusive perspective between 2008 and 2024, the educational trajectory of students with disabilities and other target groups of Special Education at the Federal University of Paraná through indicators of admission, enrollment, and graduation, as well as the process of creation, institutionalization, and development of the University's Accessibility Center. The research adopts a qualitative approach, based on documentary and bibliographic analysis, and is grounded in the historical-dialectical materialist perspective, which conceives educational policies as historically constructed phenomena shaped by mediations, disputes, and contradictions. The temporal scope begins with the implementation of the National Policy on Special Education from the Perspective of Inclusive Education (Brazil, 2008) and encompasses the strengthening of accessibility initiatives in Federal Higher Education Institutions. The analysis articulates legal and policy frameworks, including the Incluir Program and the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Law No. 13,146/2015), with institutional documents from the Federal University of Paraná. It also engages with academic studies identified in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, the CAPES Catalog of Theses and Dissertations, and data from the Higher Education Census conducted by the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira. The findings demonstrate that the development of inclusive policies at the institution predates the formal establishment of the Accessibility Center and resulted from a historical process characterized by the expansion of legal frameworks, governmental programs, and institutional initiatives aimed at ensuring the right to education. The analyzed data reveal a substantial increase in access to higher education for students who are the target population of Special Education, reflected in the growth of admission and enrollment indicators both at the Federal University of Paraná and nationwide. However, graduation rates increased at a proportionally lower pace, indicating that advances in access have not been matched by equivalent progress in students' successful completion of their academic programs. The study found that the Accessibility Center plays a significant role in coordinating accessibility and support initiatives, thereby strengthening the conditions for student access and retention. Nevertheless, the results also highlight the need to further mainstream inclusive policies across all dimensions of university life, so that inclusion is recognized as a shared institutional responsibility rather than the exclusive responsibility of a specialized unit. Finally, the research reaffirms the fundamental role of public universities in ensuring the right to higher education and in promoting the democratization of educational access and opportunities. It also identifies avenues for future research on the implementation processes and outcomes of inclusive policies within the university context.