Dropout from higher education: the state of the art of researches in Brazil since 1990

The goal is to survey what dropout is like from higher education since the 1990s in the country, constituting the "State of the Art" on this topic. Responding to criticism of this kind of research, this study goes beyond bibliographic mapping produced based on the reading and analysis of summaries since there was a thorough reading of selected texts. Hence, it identifies the highlights given to these works, temporarily located in the context of expanding access to this level of education. Methodologically, the following databases were used: Scielo, GT11/Anped, Capes and BDTD, from which 07 theses, 34 dissertations and 31 articles were located. It was proved that the studies relating to causes and strategies for dropout control are the most numerous ones, accounting for over half of the analyzed studies. It was observed that there are conceptual and methodological differences, which were not mentioned in the analyzed literature. Therefore, it is considered that dropout from higher education has been presenting itself as an important theme for research, in which the establishment of a solid field of discussion can contribute to better a understanding of the process.

Key words:
Educational policies; Access to higher education; Student dropout