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Affirmative Action and Access to Higher Education in Brazil: The Significance of Race and Other Social Factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2016

ALVARO ALBERTO FERREIRA MENDES JUNIOR ,
ALBERTO DE MELLO E SOUZA  and
FÁBIO DOMINGUES WALTENBERG
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Abstract

Using recent data, this study examines the affirmative action programme of the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), the first Brazilian university to implement admissions quotas. The article analyses admissions records and finds that both the ratio of applications per place and minimum admission scores are considerably lower among quota students; scores in the admissions test are associated principally with socio-economic factors rather than racial ones; preparatory courses for the university's admissions tests do not appear to be a substitute for the quota system in terms of improving access; few quota applicants would be admitted in the absence of the system; and the applicants who displace others come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. The article concludes that it is necessary to improve the quality of basic education in Brazil in order to enable disadvantaged applicants to compete.

Spanish abstract

Utilizando datos recientes, este estudio examina el programa de acción afirmativa de la Universidad del Estado de Río de Janeiro (UERJ), la primera universidad brasileña en implementar cuotas de admisión. El artículo analiza los registros de admisión y encuentra que tanto la relación de postulaciones por lugar y los puntajes mínimos de admisión son considerablemente menores entre los estudiantes beneficiarios de las cuotas; el puntaje en los exámenes de admisión se asocia principalmente con factores socioeconómicos, en vez de raciales; los cursos preparatorios para los exámenes de admisión no facilitan el acceso a la universidad en comparación con el sistema de cuotas; pocos estudiantes beneficiarios de las cuotas serían admitidos en la ausencia del sistema; y los postulantes que desplazan a otros vienen de contextos socioeconómicos en desventaja. Este estudio concluye que es necesario mejorar la calidad de la educación básica en Brasil con el fin de permitir que estudiantes en desventaja estén en condiciones para competir.

Portuguese abstract

Utilizando dados recentes, este estudo examina o programa de ações afirmativas da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), a primeira universidade brasileira a adotar cotas no processo seletivo. O artigo analisa o histórico de admissões, descobrindo que a relação candidato vaga e as notas mínimas de admissão são ambos consideravelmente menores entre os cotistas; as notas estão associadas principalmente a fatores socioeconômicos, não raciais; o pré-vestibular não parece ser um bom substituto para o sistema de cotas em termos da melhoria de acesso; poucos candidatos cotistas se classificariam caso o sistema de cotas não existisse; e candidatos do tipo displacing vêm de condições socioeconômicas desfavoráveis. Este estudo conclui que existe a necessidade de se melhorar o ensino básico no Brasil a fim de permitir que mais candidatos carentes possam concorrer.

Keywords

affirmative actionUERJhigher educationBrazilacción afirmativaUERJeducación superiorBrasilações afirmativasUERJensino superiorBrasil
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , May 2016 , pp. 301 - 334
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

1 Willian Bowen and Derek Bok, The Shape of the River: Long-term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998).

2 Bertrand, Marianne, Hanna, Rema and Mullainathan, Sendhil, ‘Affirmative Action in Education: Evidence from Engineering College Admissions in India’, Journal of Public Economics, 94: 1–2 (2010), pp. 16–29Google Scholar.

3 Wydick, Bruce, ‘Do Race-Based Preferences Perpetuate Discrimination against Marginalized Ethnic Groups?’, Journal of Developing Areas, 42: 1 (2008), pp. 165–81CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 The two articles on the experience at UNB are Francis, Andrew and Tannuri-Pianto, Maria Eduarda, ‘The Redistributive Equity of Affirmative Action: Exploring the Role of Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Gender in College Admissions’, Economics of Education Review, 31: 1 (2012), pp. 45–55CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Francis, Andrew and Tannuri-Pianto, Maria Eduarda, ‘Using Brazil's Racial Continuum to Examine the Short-Term Effects of Affirmative Action in Higher Education’, Journal of Human Resources, 47: 3 (2012), pp. 754–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar. The compilation of articles is Jocélio Teles dos Santos (ed.), O impacto das cotas nas universidades brasileiras (Salvador: CEAO, 2012).

5 See, for example, Edward Telles, Racismo à brasileira: uma nova perspectiva sociológica (Rio de Janeiro: Relume-Dumará, 2003). The following works summarise the extensive debate over race or with regard to affirmative action in Brazil: José Ricardo Campelo Arruda (ed.), Política de ações afirmativas na Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro: UERJ/Rede Sirius, 2007); André Augusto Brandão (ed.), Cotas raciais no Brasil: a primeira avaliação (Rio de Janeiro: DP & A Editora, 2007); Jonas Zoninsein and João Feres Júnior (eds.), Ação afirmativa e universidade: experiências nacionais comparadas (Brasília: Editora UnB, 2006); Michelle Peria, ‘Ação afirmativa: um estudo sobre a reserva de vagas para negros nas universidades públicas brasileiras. O caso do estado do Rio de Janeiro’, unpubl. diss., UERJ, 2004, available at http://flacso.redelivre.org.br/files/2013/03/1083.pdf. One can also find studies of important issues that go beyond the core concerns of this article, such as the impact of the implementation of quota systems on the efficiency of public spending and on the work undertaken by quota and non-quota applicants in preparing for the admissions test: see Andrade, Eduardo, ‘Quotas in Brazilian Public Universities: Good or Bad Idea?’, Revista Brasileira de Economia, 58: 1 (2004), pp. 453–84Google Scholar; Bruno Ferman, ‘Cotas no processo de admissão de universidades: efeitos sobre a proficiência de alunos do ensino médio’, master's diss., Pontificia Univeridade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, 2006, available at http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/8862/8862_1.PDF; Eduardo Zylberstajn, ‘Cotas nas universidades e aprendizado escolar: modelo teórico e evidências empíricas’, master's diss., Fundação Getúlio Vargas, São Paulo, 2010.

6 For the sake of simplification, places reserved for the last group will henceforth be identified as places for ‘people with disabilities’.

7 As of December 2009, this was equivalent to US$ 548.60, around twice the monthly minimum wage.

8 Schwartzman, Luiza Farah, ‘Seeing like Citizens: Unofficial Understandings of Official Racial Categories in a Brazilian University’, Journal of Latin American Studies, 41: 2 (2009), pp. 221–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 An example of an author opposed to racial quotas who questions this new concept is Demétrio Magnoli in his work, Uma gota de sangue: história do pensamento racial (São Paulo: Editora Contexto, 2009). For authors who defend affirmative action but nevertheless question the issue of pretos and pardos being classified as blacks, see Jonas Zoninsein and João Feres Júnior (eds.), Ação afirmativa e universidade: experiências nacionais comparadas (Brasília: Editora UnB, 2006).

10 Degree programmes were classified as ‘very high’, ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ prestige, based on the ratio of applications per place: ‘very high’ = more than 15; ‘high’ = between 15 and 10; ‘medium’ = between 10 and 5; ‘low’ = less than 5.

11 John Roemer, Equality of Opportunity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998).

12 Fryar, Alisa and Hawes, Daniel, ‘Competing Explanations for Minority Enrollments in Higher Education’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 22: 1 (2011), pp. 1–17Google Scholar.

13 Zoninsein and Feres Junior (eds.), Ação afirmativa e universidade.

14 Joshua Angrist and Alan Krueger, ‘Empirical Strategies in Labor Economics’, in Orley Ashenfelter and David Card (eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics, vol. 3A (Atlanta, GA: Elsevier, 2004), pp. 1277–366.

15 Cardoso (ed.), Desenvolvimento humano e condições de vida.

16 Emilio, Daulins Rêni, Júnior, Walter Belluzo and Alves, Denisard, ‘Uma análise econométrica dos determinantes do acesso à universidade de São Paulo’, Pesquisa e Planejamento Econômico, 34: 2 (2004), pp. 275–306Google Scholar.

17 Castelar, Ivan, Veloso, Alexandre, Ferreira, Roberto and Soares, Ilton, ‘Uma análise dos determinantes de desempenho em concurso público’, Economia Aplicada, 14: 1 (2010), pp. 81–98CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

18 Jerônimo Oliveira Muniz shows a number of problems related to the use of race as a variable in quantitative studies. He also mentions three research projects stating that other socio-economic factors are more closely associated with social inequalities than race. See Muniz, Jerônimo Oliveira, ‘Sobre o uso da variável raça-cor em estudos quantitativos’, Revista de Sociologia e Política, 18: 36 (2010), pp. 277–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

19 For a description of the main lines of thinking concerning race in Brazil, see Schwartzman, ‘Seeing like Citizens’, and Vânia Penha-Lopes, ‘A identidade racial dos alunos cotistas na UERJ’ (2008), available at http://www.brasa.org/wordpress/Documents/BRASA_IX/Vania-PenhaLopes.pdf.

20 A colour-sighted policy is defined as one that establishes clear racial criteria, whereas a colour-blind policy does not specify skin colour as a criterion. Thus, a racial quota system would be an example of a colour-sighted policy and a system that reserves places for applicants from public schools would be an example of colour-blind policy.

21 Mendes, Alvaro Alberto Ferreira Junior and Waltenberg, Fábio Domingues, ‘Políticas de cotas não raciais aumentam a admissão de pretos e pardos na universidade?’, Planejamento e Políticas Públicas, 44 (2015)Google Scholar.

22 See, for instance, Francis and Tannuri-Pianto, ‘Using Brazil's Racial Continuum’. The authors analyse how the implementation of quotas may affect the effort of different groups in the vestibular.

23 Mendes, Alvaro Alberto Ferreira Junior, ‘Uma análise da progressão dos alunos cotistas sob a primeira ação afirmativa brasileira no ensino superior: o caso da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro’, Ensaio: Avaliação e Políticas Públicas em Educação, 22: 82 (2014), pp. 31–56Google Scholar.

24 The value p of the chi-square tends to zero and therefore the null hypothesis that independent variables do not exert influence over an applicant's likelihood of success. Models present a pseudo-R-squared of approximately 0.275. Another adjustment measure commonly used in logistic regression is the percentage of accurately predicted observations. Positive values have been accurately evaluated in 66 per cent of admissions and in 88 per cent of non-admissions in both models. The weighted value of accurate predictions was around 85.5 per cent. The adjustment level proved high, especially when compared to other studies on the relationships between admissions and the vestibular or other public examinations.

25 André Cicalo shows that, in the absence of affirmative action, only eight of the 312 new students of the UERJ Law School would have been admitted in 2012 in a process without reserved places: André Cicalo, Urban Encounters: Affirmative Action and Black Identities in Brazil (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

26 The declaration in the socio-economic questionnaire occurs prior to the means test. Thus, it is possible that some applicants declared household incomes higher than ten minimum wages by mistake.

27 Francis and Tannuri-Pianto, ‘The Redistributive Equity of Affirmative Action’.

28 Bertrand et al., ‘Affirmative Action in Education’.