Evasão escolar na educação de jovens e adultos : um estudo de caso na Escola Municipal Elza Bezerril Ribeiro , em Canguaretama / RN

Abstract

Youth and Adult Education (EJA) constitutes an essential educational modality for guaranteeing the right to education of individuals who, for various reasons, did not complete basic schooling at the expected age. However, school dropout remains one of the main challenges faced by this modality. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the factors that contribute to school dropout in the EJA program offered by the Municipal School Elza Bezerril Ribeiro, located in the municipality of Canguaretama, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, which served as the locus of the investigation. The research was characterized as qualitative and descriptive in nature, using a case study approach. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires and structured interviews applied to 35 former EJA students, that is, individuals who were enrolled in this modality and, at some point, discontinued their studies. The data were analyzed in light of authors such as Freire (1996), Arroyo (1997), Patto (1997), Barbosa (2009), among others. The results revealed that school dropout in EJA is related to different factors, including social, economic, pedagogical, and personal aspects, thus constituting a multifaceted phenomenon. Therefore, dropout cannot be attributed solely to the students’ responsibility, but rather understood as the result of a set of structural conditions that require integrated actions by schools and public policies to ensure the permanence and academic success of young and adult students in this educational modality.