Consequências da pandemia da COVID-19 na taxa de evasão estudantil na graduação presencial em matemática do CCEN-UFPB: um breve estudo comparativo

Abstract

This work addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the retention and dropout of students in the in-person undergraduate course in mathematics at CCEN - Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB). The pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization in January 2020, led to emergency measures that significantly affected higher education. The federal and state governments implemented restrictions and social isolation measures, leading to the suspension of in-person classes in March 2020. Soon, the UFPB changed additional school breaks to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, with remote classes and free upon registration. This research aims to analyze the extent of the impact that the pandemic had on the retention/evasion of Mathematics students at UFPB, comparing periods immediately before and after the critical interval of COVID-19. And to achieve our objective, we have listed the following specific objectives: i) through the Information Technology Superintendence (STI) website, collect and analyze retention/evasion data from the UFPB mathematics course in periods immediately before and after the critical point of the pandemic from Covid-19; ii) prepare and apply a questionnaire to students duly enrolled in graduation in the current period (2023.1), post-pandemic. We seek to understand the experience of 50 undergraduate mathematics students at CCEN - UFPB as they return to regular classes, post-pandemic. The methodology adopted is mixed, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The research examines retention/evasion, highlighting the internal and external factors that influenced it. Evasion represents a significant problem, with social, academic and economic implications. The study seeks to identify the challenges faced by students in the midst of the pandemic and the consequences for remaining in the aforementioned course.