Perspectivas de estudantes com deficiência visual em uma Instituição Pública de Ensino Superior

Abstract

Visual impairment, especially when acquired, constitutes a critical event in an educational trajectory, affecting self-esteem and academic retention. Therefore, the general objective of this research is to identify how students with blindness perceive the policies and practices of inclusion and retention in a public higher education institution. The specific objectives are: a) to list the factors that facilitate and hinder their inclusion and retention at UNEMAT; b) to develop an institutional technical report with guidelines for managing students with blindness. The methodology used was guided by a dialectical perspective of social reality, conducted through a quali-quantitative approach to analyze data obtained from a mixed questionnaire containing closed questions with a Likert scale, as well as from semi-structured interviews. Eight (8) undergraduate students with blindness enrolled in the Accounting Sciences, Law, Managerial Process Management, and Journalism programs at the State University of Mato Grosso – UNEMAT were interviewed during the year 2025. The study results show that attitudinal barriers involving prejudice, estrangement, and distancing, along with a lack of interaction and empathy experienced in daily academic life, appear to be the greatest obstacles to access and retention of blind students at UNEMAT, surpassing even physical and technological barriers. The inclusion of students with blindness at the investigated university occurs only partially, sustained more by individual efforts than by consolidated institutional policies. Overcoming this scenario requires building a robust institutional inclusion policy that integrates physical, technological, pedagogical, and attitudinal accessibility; continuous faculty development; integrated student assistance; and permanent evaluation and monitoring mechanisms.It is essential to establish a formal protocol for welcoming students with disabilities, supporting them from admission through graduation, as well as ensuring active identification of these students at enrollment so that support does not depend solely on their initiative. To ensure continuous and integrated action, it becomes crucial to articulate efforts among course coordinations, administrative sectors, the Student Assistance Coordination, libraries, and pedagogical departments. It is concluded that the effective implementation of inclusion requires structural change, strengthening institutional governance, investing in physical and technological accessibility, promoting continuous faculty training, and consolidating an inclusive culture. Inclusion cannot remain dependent on individual actions; it must be assumed as a permanent institutional responsibility, monitored through indicators and aligned with public policies for inclusive education.