Trajetórias escolares de jovens no interior do Amazonas: significados de acesso, permanência e sucesso em Itacoatiara

Abstract

This research analyzed the reach of access and retention policies in the socio-educational trajectories of young people living in the São Sebastião da Costa do Siripá community, who are students at the Deputado Vital de Mendonça State School in Itacoatiara, Amazonas. The personal and family strategies of these youth emerge as decisive elements in their schooling process in the urban area and, combined with the actions of the State, form the conditions for the possible expansion of education among the popular classes in the interior of the Amazon region. Grounded in the Sociology of Education, the study is based on a perspective that acknowledges the diversity of youth, highlighting the differences in their material and symbolic conditions, their ways of life, and the singularities of each young subject, whose educational paths are shaped by social, economic, and cultural factors within their social environment. To carry out this investigation, Pierre Bourdieu’s Critical Sociology was adopted as the epistemological framework. The methodological path followed a qualitative research approach, and the participants were eight (8) young residents of the São Sebastião da Costa do Siripá community, located on the right bank of the Amazon River. The research also used bibliographic and documentary data, and employed the focus group as the main strategy for collecting, constructing, and organizing information on the school experiences of these youth. Content analysis was used as a crucial procedure to intersect these experiences with the material expressions of access and retention policies in secondary education within the Amazonian territory. The Bourdieusian perspective supported the analysis of the role of the State in the context of educational policies for youth, as well as the examination of family strategies in the schooling process of these students. The research unfolded in five stages: literature review, collection of secondary data, production of primary data through fieldwork - including the focus group and exploratory visit - and data analysis. This set of procedures enabled the development of three categories of analysis: access, retention, and success. The correlation of these categories within the context of Amazonian diversities contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexity that marks the schooling process of riverine youth. The results indicate that State actions have been complemented by family strategies, despite their limited material conditions, in efforts to ensure school access and retention. The study revealed that most of these youth enjoy their rural routines; however, they aspire to better work and study opportunities, which are currently unavailable in their locality. They are aware of the many obstacles that separate them from their future goals but recognize that completing basic education - graduating from high school - represents educational success. The investigation also allowed for a more mature understanding of the research object and contributed to the debate on the naturalized notions of “success” and “failure” in schooling within the Amazon.