Permanência universitária: quando o pedagógico se une ao econômico ; University student retention: where pedagogy and economy converge

The subject of this research is part of the studies on the expansion and inclusion of Brazilian public higher education. We have as analysis object the university permanence from the students experiences who participate in a proposal of tutoring among peers for the permanence and academic success. The goal of this research is to analize the role of the Grupo de Tutoria do Programa de Acompanhamento Acadêmico do Estudante de Graduação (PAAEG) for the university permanence, problematizing the articulation between economic and pedagogic dimensions of the difficulties faced by the undergraduates, aiming to understand the developments of the institutional actions related to the pedagogical dimension of university permanence in adaptation strategies and in the formation of the student in the scientific field. The research is qualitative and uses Pierre Bourdieu’s contributions as its theoretical foundation. This is a field research, using online questionnaires and semi structured interviews, individual and in pairs, with twelve students who participate in the PAAEG tutoring group at UFSCar on the São Carlos campus and individual interviews only on three tutors that participate in the same program. The results indicated that the difficulties in adapting and staying at university related to the pedagogical dimension are related to the intensity of the studies, fragility of previous school contents, difficulties in the disciplines and pedagogical practices. University permanence is perceived by the students in questions related to the economic, pedagogical and psychological dimensions, and the institution has a special contribution in the economic dimension. Peer tutoring favors university permanence by offering academic support, welcoming to the student, familiarization with the university and a space where students feel more comfortable to expose their doubts and difficulties due to the closer relationship with tutors than with the professors. We infer that, in order to play the university field game, students needed ...