“Falar de currículo é falar de sujeitos(as)?” considerações acerca da questão étnico-racial nos cursos privados e confessional de Serviço Social em Salvador

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the presence and treatment of the ethnic-racial issue in Social Work undergraduate programs offered in-person by private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It starts from the understanding that racial inequalities, historically rooted in Brazil, significantly impact the access, retention, and training of the Black population in higher education, especially in the private sector. The general objective of the research was to investigate whether and how ethnic-racial issues are addressed in the curricular structures of these programs, as well as to understand the perceptions of Black students regarding the topic within their educational contexts. The methodology included bibliographic, documentary, and field research, involving the analysis of curricular matrices and the conduction of a focus group with students from selected HEIs. The Discursive Textual Analysis method was used for data interpretation. The study is grounded in a critical and anti-racist perspective, engaging with scholars such as Silvio Almeida, Nilma Lino Gomes, Kabengele Munanga, and Guerreiro Ramos, and is also informed by the historical contributions of the Black Movement and Black women as key actors in the struggle for emancipatory education. The findings reveal the weak incorporation of ethnic-racial content in the curricula of the analyzed private institutions, and a lack of alignment with national guidelines for the education of ethnic-racial relations. The students—mostly Black—reported experiences of invisibility and superficiality in the treatment of the topic throughout their undergraduate studies. The research underscores the urgent need to deepen the ethnic-racial debate in Social Work education, particularly given that most social workers in Bahia are Black and graduated from private institutions. It concludes by advocating for a reconfiguration of curricula in accordance with national directives and existing legislation, aiming to promote a critical, anti-racist education aligned with the realities of the social assistance system's user base.