ABSTRACT
In Brazil, the proportion between rural and urban population has been significantly altered in the last decades (nowadays, less than 20% of Brazilians live in rural areas); the migration movement towards the city is composed of a younger group than in the past, and mainly by women. This selective migration has assumed important proportions in regions of primarily family farms in the south of the country. This article deals with the relations among social transformations in rural areas, demand for higher education, and socio-professional destinations of children from small farms. The results that guided the analysis were supported by sociological studies that approach the above themes, and interviews with undergraduate students from rural areas of eastern Santa Catarina (from 2011-2012), enrolled on different higher education courses.
KEYWORDS
higher education; rural-urban migration; youth and education