Evasão escolar no ensino médio: velhos ou novos dilemas?

Abstract

A case study on school dropout was carried with public high school students in the town of Maracanau, Ceara, Brazil. The school is called ABC in this study. We have investigated what causes students to abandon classrooms, and tried to identify the reason why they do not carry on with their studies. We have interviewed the principal, teachers and students to collect data. This research began in April 2009 as a practice requirement in the subject called Structure and Education Functioning in the Chemistry Education course at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology – (IFCE), Maracanau campus. The literature review included studies dealing with internal and external factors regarding the school based on studies made in the early 1970s, a survey made by Marcelo Neri (2009), the chief economist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, and newspapers and Epoca magazine articles discussing education in Brazil, among other materials. Results show that principals, teachers and students consider the following reasons for school evasion: lack of family and school encouragement, need of a job, excess of school content, and inadequate friends.