Dinâmicas de reconhecimento social a partir da conclusão do ensino superior: um estudo entre estudantes e graduados na cidade de Maputo

Abstract

This paper analyses the dynamics of social recognition associated with the completion of higher education in the city of Maputo, Mozambique. The research explores how students and graduates define their trajectories in relation to higher education. The focus of the analysis incorporates expectations of economic success and insertion into the labour market. In addition, the study investigates the family and cultural incentives and pressures that shape the understanding of higher education, revealing how the university degree becomes a symbol of prestige and social distinction. The analysis was carried out based on semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with students, graduates and their families. The data reveal two main categories: employed graduates, who achieve success through social networks, and unemployed graduates, who identify as "poor with class", valuing the degree despite the difficulties of insertion into the labour market and achieving financial stability. The research reveals that, although Higher Education is widely seen as a path to social mobility, the reality of the Mozambican job market does not match these expectations, resulting in frustration among graduates. The study uses the theories of Clifford Geertz, Pierre Bourdieu and Gilberto Velho to explain the dynamics of social recognition and the challenges faced by graduates. The research shows that Higher Education, rather than just guaranteeing economic returns, also confers symbolic capital, functioning as a marker of status and prestige. However, this symbolic valorization is not enough to overcome structural barriers and the saturation of the job market. It is concluded that Higher Education among the interlocutors of this research continues to be seen as an essential tool for social mobility, but the expectations created around the diploma often clash with economic reality. The work demonstrates that there is a gap between the academic curricula of a significant part of university courses - which aim to provide analytical and critical tools - and the job market, which expects to receive personnel with practical skills and professional experience. However, expectations that associate higher education attendance with employability - anchored in the post-independence socialist context - continue to dominate the social imaginary, which explains the pressure from parents for their children to enter higher education as a way of having access to a professional career and a well-paid job. The work critically points out the need for a greater effort on the part of universities and the government to align students' expectations with the real conditions of the job market and to promote alternatives for recognition and social inclusion(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)