Trajetórias de sucesso escolar de pessoas com deficiência visual

Abstract

This thesis addresses the academic success trajectories of people with visual impairments. The research is linked to the line of research in Educational Policies, of the Postgraduate Program in Education (PPGE), at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). The research was aimed at studying the academic success trajectories of people with visual impairments, based on the following question: how can people with visual impairments who live in situations of exclusionary educational practices achieve academic success? To investigate this problem, we aim to understand how people with visual impairments manage to achieve academic success in a context of social inequality. To achieve this objective, we set out the following specific objectives: i) Know the success trajectories of people who live in situations of exclusionary educational practices and manage to achieve academic success; ii) Reflect on the history and legislation of Special Education policies, materialized by the Specialized Educational Assistance service for people with visual impairments; iii) Analyze the intentional or unintentional attitudes of internal and external agents that enabled academic success in the view of the research subjects; iv) Know and highlight the motivations and desires that influenced the research subjects to awaken to studies; v) Identify ways, actions and strategies used by people with visual impairments capable of contributing to their autonomy and independence in favor of academic success. Thus, we defend the thesis that it is possible for people with visual impairment to achieve academic and professional success, even facing unequal conditions of opportunities in access, permanence and participation in schools. Furthermore, school failure should not be seen as a determinant, but as a result of these conditions of inequality. In relation to epistemodological assumptions, we adopted the epistemological perspective of pluralism (Coutinho, 1991), the epistemological positioning in the critical perspective of the sociology of the improbable (Lahire, 1997; Bergier; Xypas, 2013; qualitative research (Minayo et al., 2002) and narrative research, through the (auto)biographical method of the life stories of people with visual impairments (Bolivar, 2012; Connelly; Clandinin, 2011; Ferrarotti, 2014; Chizzotti, 2014 ). The data collection procedure was through bibliographical research, documentary research and field research. The research adopted observation and open interviews as data collection instruments and as a way of analyzing (auto)biographical narratives, the Content Analysis method by Bardin (2021). The analysis of the trajectories of these subjects demonstrates that academic success is the result of a combination of factors such as social origin, family support, encouragement from school, teachers and friends, personal mobilization, health promotion, educational policies and the fight for equal opportunities. All of these elements play crucial roles in your educational, social and professional achievements. Therefore, it is the collaboration between these elements that truly boosts the educational and professional trajectory of individuals, challenging expectations rooted in the socioeconomic context and highlighting the transformative power of education.