O que é ser negro no Brasil? reflexões sobre os critérios de acesso à política de cotas na EPT

Abstract

The affirmative action policy for ethnic-racial quotas, established by Law No. 12,711, dated August 29, 2012, aims to ensure access for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students to various levels of education. Its update (Law No. 14,723/2023) incorporates quilombola students, reduces the per capita income limit to one minimum wage, and implements periodic monitoring and evaluation of the program. At Federal Institutes, Verification Committees (Heteroidentification) assess candidates who self-declare as Black or Brown during the selection processes. This study aimed to explore the educational trajectories and representations regarding the affirmative action policy for ethnic-racial quotas among members of a Verification (Heteroidentification) Committee within Professional and Technological Education (EPT). The research also sought to map the scientific literature on the affirmative action policy for ethnic-racial quotas, the concepts of Black and Brown identities in Brazil, and the verification (heteroidentification) committees in EPT; investigate the educational pathways of members of the verification (heteroidentification) committee in EPT; examine the criteria used by these committees to determine whether candidates are eligible for ethnic-racial quota vacancies in EPT; identify challenges and opportunities experienced by the committees in implementing the affirmative action law for ethnic-racial quotas; and develop an Educational Product based on identified demands to enhance inclusive processes for beneficiaries of ethnic-racial quotas. The research adopted a qualitative approach, employing semi-structured interviews and the snowball methodology, and was conducted within the Postgraduate Program in Professional and Technological Education (ProfEPT). The results highlight the importance of expanding understanding of ethnic-racial quotas and heteroidentification criteria to improve educational practices in EPT continuously. As an educational product, the podcast Descomplicando as Cotas (Demystifying Quotas) was developed to explain the process of accessing ethnic-racial quotas at Federal Institutes, clarifying the stages of self-declaration and heteroidentification. This work is part of ProfEPT, under Research Line 1, focusing on the macroproject on Inclusion and Diversity in formal and non-formal spaces within EPT.