POPULAR EDUCATION AND THE BREAKING OF SYMBOLIC EXCLUSION: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT OF THE HELLEY BATISTA PREPARATORY COURSE AT MASP
Access to higher education in Brazil is permeated by structural asymmetries, in which economic vulnerability and symbolic exclusion act as barriers to the retention of students from the working classes. Given this scenario, this article aims to analyze emancipatory literacy and the rupture of this exclusion through an experience report from the Helley Batista Popular Preparatory Course, linked to the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG - Campanha). The study specifically investigates how occupying the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) functioned as a pedagogical intervention tool for the appropriation of cultural capital. The methodology adopts a qualitative approach, characterized as a case study integrated with an experience report. The work articulates an interdisciplinary bibliographic review with the analysis of empirical data collected via a questionnaire with 20 students who participated in the field trip. The results reveal the cartography of exclusion, given that 19 out of the 20 students visited a large museum center for the first time. However, cultural mediation provided high accessibility, identity representation, and the overcoming of non-belonging. It is concluded that decolonizing hegemonic spaces and allying popular education with social museology strengthens emotional security, expands the repertoire for university entrance exams, and acts as an effective student retention policy.