Etarismo no ensino superior: os estigmas e os preconceitos enfrentados pelos acadêmicos de meia-idade do IEAA/UFAM

Abstract

This Undergraduate thesis, titled "Ageism in Higher Education: the stigmas and prejudices faced by middle-aged academics at IEAA/UFAM," began as part of Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica - PIBIC - 2023-2024. The study aimed to identify the challenges these students face due to their age, based on the discursive constructions of university students aged 40 and over from the undergraduate courses at the Instituto de Educação Agricultura e Ambiente (IEAA/UFAM)). Grounded in Applied Linguistics (Moita Lopes, 2006), a qualitative research approach was chosen, using a semi-structured interview. This interview format is a great help to the researcher because the questions can be open-ended, allowing the interviewee to answer them within an informal conversation (Gil, 2011). After analyzing the interviews, we confirmed the existence of ageism at IEAA. It is often displayed in a hidden way through the humor. This often goes unnoticed or is simply ignored by the vast majority of IEAA academics, who often end up normalizing these prejudiced actions and statements.