Human mobility and education: foreign students in Unicamp

Abstract

The research focuses on human mobility as a social practice that has been increasing throughout the world in spite of the several attempts to restrict it and control it. Numerous authors have stressed the need to investigate the multiple determinations observed in migration fluxes that lead regions, groups, and people to seek for better conditions of life, work and education. According to a qualitative perspective and by making use of the free software LimeSurvey, this work accomplished a survey about foreign students attending to Unicamp over the first semester of 2010. It aims to show: who are these students, how they have reached the academic status in Brazil, how they do live this international academic experience, and what their future plans are. The data suggest that fighting for a high quality school reveals a dream that frequently exposes these students to discrimination and inequality experiences.