Expansion and internalization of higher education at the beginning of the 21st century in Brazil

Abstract

The text is part of the study on Education and Public Educational Policies. It aims to reflect from a sociological perspective on the expansion and interiorization of higher education at the beginning of the 21st century in Brazil. To make the study viable, we used a bibliographic and documentary review, which provided a qualitative analysis on the subject, seeking to answer the following problem: Was there expansion and internalization of higher education in the beginning of the 21st century in Brazil, in accordance with the model of the global economy? It was concluded that higher education historically served the dominant classes, naturalizing the exclusion of people in public universities. However, due to the policies of the governments of the beginning of the 21st century, it was possible for the popular classes to enter higher education, that is, there was the expansion and interiorization of public and free higher education to meet the logic of globalizing capital and the yearning of the majority of society for access to it.