NEURODIVERGENCE AND RETENTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: COMPLEXITY, PUBLIC POLICY, AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL REORGANIZATION IN LIGHT OF EDGAR MORIN

Abstract

limitations in contemporary university models, which remain grounded in fragmented rationality and  standardized assessment practices. This article provides an epistemological and normative  analysis of student retention through the lens of Edgar Morin’s Complex Thinking, articulated with  Decrees No. 12,686/2025 and 12,773/2025, which establish and update Brazil's National Policy for  Inclusive Special Education. It argues that neurodivergence inclusion cannot be reduced to  isolated accommodations but requires a systemic reorganization of institutional culture, curriculum,  assessment, and academic governance. Through a theoretical-analytical approach and critical  dialogue with Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Michel Foucault, and Latin American epistemologies,  the paper contends that retention is a relational phenomenon shaped by epistemological, political,  and normative dimensions. Complexity emerges as a paradigmatic foundation capable of overcoming cognitive monoculture and fostering epistemic justice in contemporary higher  education.