On July 1, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., the public defense of the doctoral thesis in Education by Altemar Lima de Sousa took place at the Agostinho da Silva Auditorium. The thesis is entitled "Exclusionary Inclusion: School Failure along the Carajás Railway Corridor in the State of Maranhão – Brazil."

The session was supervised by Professor Manuel Tavares Gomes from Universidade Lusófona and brought together a jury composed of distinguished national and international scholars:

• Professor António Neves Duarte Teodoro – Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Leanete Teresinha Thomas Dotta – Researcher at CeiED, Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Ana Inês Aires Mesquita Vieira Ferreira – Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Maria José Pires Barros Cardozo – Federal University of Maranhão
• Professor Luís Miguel dos Santos Sebastião – University of Évora
• Professor Pedro António da Silva Abrantes – Universidade Aberta

The defense was held in a hybrid format, with live streaming via Zoom, allowing colleagues, friends, and members of the international academic community to attend remotely.

Altemar Lima de Sousa’s thesis makes a significant contribution to the study of educational inequalities in Brazil, offering a critical analysis of exclusionary processes that persist in contexts initially designed to be inclusive.