University trajectories and subjective suffering: a view from the theory of subjectivity
Mental health; university; subjectivity; education
Studies have shown that the university population has a
higher rate of expressions of suffering, such as anxiety,
stress and depression, showing a significant difference
when compared to the general population. However, most
studies on the mental health of university students are
quantitative and descriptive, with a lack of qualitative
research with an explanatory and comprehensive focus. In
this way, these life situations are often reduced to
psychopathological conditions, without an equal
commitment to understanding the origin and configuration
of these complex and unique situations of suffering.
Access to higher education, while can provide social,
cultural and learning opportunities, promoting processes of
subjective development in its community, also presents
challenges and tensions. These challenges can be
intensified when we consider students who, before this
transition, were already experiencing processes of
subjective suffering. The university, as a social institution,
presents itself as a field for studying the individual and
social subjectivities subjectivities that are part of it, which
requires overcoming fragmented views of complex
phenomena, such as the traditional dichotomy between
mental health and education. Thus, the general aim of this
research is to understand the subjective productions related
to the university experiences of students who have a
history of expressions of subjective suffering in their life
trajectories. For this purpose, the Theory of Subjectivity
from a cultural-historical perspective, the Qualitative
Epistemology and the Constructive-Interpretive
Methodology, of Fernando González Rey, are used as
references. The participants are undergraduate students
from the Faculty of Education at the University of Brasilia,
with a history of subjective suffering prior to entering the
institution, who have an impact on their university
experiences due to the expression of these suffering
processes. In this context, the production of knowledge is
understood as a dialogical and constructive-interpretative
process, in which singularity is recognized as a legitimate
source for the construction of scientific knowledge. To this
end, conversational dynamics will be used as a research
instrument, as a result of different opportune moments for
their use, as well as the technique of complementing
sentences, giving participants the opportunity to express
themselves through writing. The process of constructing
information, according to the Constructive-Interpretive
Methodology, will take place throughout the field, since it
is necessary for the researcher to be constantly creative in
constructing hypotheses along the investigative path.