A abordagem dos direitos sociais constitucionais na produção acadêmica: um estudo na unidade Santa Rita do DCJ/UFPB

Abstract

The main objective of the research was to analyze the extent to which the Undergraduate Theses (TCCs) of the Santa Rita Unit of the Department of Legal Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba (DCJ/UFPB) addressed and reflected on the social rights established in Article 6 of the 1988 Federal Constitution of Brazil. To achieve this goal, three specific objectives were established: to map the TCCs defended at the Santa Rita Unit; to identify and classify those dealing with themes related to social rights; and to conduct a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the selected works in order to assess their academic relevance and impact on the local community. The study adopted a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, based on 880 TCCs available in the UFPB Institutional Repository, of which 472 (produced between 2020 and 2024) were filtered for analysis. Among these, 183 works directly or indirectly addressed social rights, and 4 TCCs were identified as having a specific focus on Santa Rita. The qualitative analysis of these studies highlighted the relevance of topics such as access to justice, municipal taxation, violence against Black youth, and the permanence of Black students in higher education. The findings indicated that, although academic production demonstrates a strong alignment with the theme of social rights, the low incidence of studies addressing the local reality reveals an underexplored potential for direct contribution to the diagnosis and confrontation of the municipality’s issues. In this sense, it is concluded that the Undergraduate Theses serve as a thermometer of the course, evidencing the social role of the university while also pointing to the need to strengthen the connection between academic research and community demands.