THE VOICE OF NUMBERS: REPRESENTATIONS OF SCHOOL DROPOUT IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION (EJA) UNDER THE PERSPECTIVE OF HEGEMONIC AND COUNTER-HEGEMONIC CONCEPTIONS

Abstract

Youth and Adult Education, as provided for in the Federal Constitution of  1988, is about guaranteeing access and permanence to primary education for all, including young people and adults who did not have the opportunity to study at the proper age. In this sense, this article aims to analyze possible strategies, based on theoretical and methodological assumptions, to identify the causes of school dropout in the EJA. The justification is based on the emphasis on the school function as an educational and social practice, starting from the main concern of understanding the reasons that lead many students to abandon their studies, when much is said and discussed in the classroom about the importance of studies in society. Qualitative bibliographic research was adopted, based on the following authors and legal provisions: Freire (1989, 1996); Gadotti (2003); Arroyo (2007); Soares (2004); Tardif (2002) as well as the 1988 Federal Constitution, the 1996 LDB, the PCN, Resolutions and Decrees aimed at the EJA. Direct observation of the school and social reality of the community was also carried out, as well as the application of questionnaires, enabling the construction of a case study. School dropout is a major challenge for EJA teachers, who need to build meaningful knowledge within their professional training and student learning in order to reduce the incidence of this socio-educational event in Brazilian schools.