Abstract

GUZMAN GOMEZ, Carlota. To be left out: experiences and narratives of youngsters who did not manage to enter university. Cultura representaciones soc [online]. 2012, vol.6, n.12, pp.131-164. ISSN 2007-8110.

This article analyzes the experiences and narratives of those youngsters who tried to enter the B.A. programmes of The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and were not admitted; this fact led them to participate in the Movement of Excluded Aspirants of Higher Education (MAES). Based on François Dubet's proposal, social experience is seen as an action carried out by the actor in order to give meaning to his/her living. An interpretive study, based on in-depth interviews, was used to find out what expectations the applicants had of getting into the UNAM, how they felt during the examination, what their reactions were to the results and which strategies they used. This study aims to show how institutions of higher education select and exclude applicants. The results show the arduous work of the youngsters in the process of transition from the baccalaureate to the university. From the point of view of the social experience, the lack of integration into educational institutions makes them feel vulnerable. This process remains marked by the multiple attempts to enter different institutions and they consider their participation in the MAES as their last resource.

Keywords : educational inequality; educational exclusion; entrance policies of higher education; university youngsters.

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