Jovens e adultos do Programa Brasil Alfabetizado - JP: dos entraves à mobilização

Abstract

The objective of this monograph is to discuss the social impediments regarding the school trajectory that are presented as barriers for young people and adults to enter or return to the classroom. We also seek to present the relevance of motivational elements arising from their interests as possible factors which could mobilize them for literacy in the Brazil Literate Programme, based on the following questions: In what degree can the impediments in the life of the student complicate access to and permanence in the classroom? What are the factors which mobilize them? In order to substantiate the research we consulted the literature on Youth and Adult Education, literacy and Literate Brazil Programme (PBA). In this respect we emphasise those authors who contributed to the theoretical framework - Freire (1992, 1996); Arroyo (2005); Di Pierro (2000, 2002, 2010); Gonsalves (2014); Charlot (2013) e Ireland (2012) who all helped to guide our reflections upon literacy, impediments and mobilization taking the subject as the principal actor in the process of teaching-learning. The methodology adopted in this study is defined as essentially qualitative with the resulting data subjected to a descriptive analysis. The principle research instrument was a semi-structured interview, with ten questions, applied to students matriculated in the PBA, in the city of João Pessoa, in the age bracket from 30 to 70 years. We observed that the interviewees perceived literacy as fundamental for their social participation. We noted that the chief impediment to literacy was the socioeconomic issue, in addition to presenting a new impediment resulting from the functioning of the programme. We verified that initially the students fortified themselves with fatalist discourse like “I can’t learn more” and “I have already passed the age to go to school”. On the other hand, when there is an opportunity to participate in a programme, in which they are initially heard, and where there is dialogue which raises their self-esteem as human beings and citizens, they do mobilize themselves to enrol or return to the classroom. Thus, this moment of listening in order to know the subject before beginning the literacy process is significant, and guides the teacher’s practice by increasing the possibilities of diminishing the risk of dropping out and by giving new meaning to the school.