Desafios para o acesso e a permanência de mulheres às turmas de alfabetização na educação de jovens, adultos e idosos

Abstract

Much is said about the high illiteracy rate, but an in-depth reflection is not always promoted on the difficulties faced by young people, adults, and the elderly in staying active in Youth, Adult, and Elderly Education (EJAI), with a view to completing basic education. In the case of the female public, these difficulties are even more pronounced, considering the social impositions historically associated with the gender. Given this context, the present study has the general objective of analyzing which factors hinder the access and retention of women in the literacy classes of EJAI. And as specific objectives, to investigate literacy in EJAI and the specific demands of this public in the learning process; to contextualize the Education of Young People, Adults, and Elderly as a field of study, addressing the subjects involved, public policies, guiding documents, and recent research conducted in the area; and to understand what the challenges are for the access and retention of women in the literacy classes of this teaching modality. In pursuit of achieving these objectives, we conducted a semi-structured interview with three female students from a literacy class at EJAI in a public school in the municipality of João Pessoa-PB. In this way, we carried out a field research, anchored in the qualitative perspective, whose data were processed through content analysis (Bardin, 2011). The theoretical framework was based on works by authors such as Paulo Freire (2011), Suzana Schwartz (2013), Magda Soares (2004), and Arroyo (2017), as well as other authors who contributed to the critical understanding of literacy for youth, adults, and the elderly. In this sense, it was possible to observe that to ensure the access and retention of women in literacy classes for Youth, Adults, and the Elderly, it is necessary for the state to go beyond simply offering spots, providing favorable conditions so that they can access and remain in the school environment. This ranges from effective promotion of the modality to the implementation of public policies focused on safety and transportation, ensuring that traveling at night does not become an obstacle to the exercise of a right that is constitutional and fundamental for social emancipation.