Living in between: Schooling processes of working-class students in Northern Portugal

Abstract

This article discusses schooling processes among students attending public school in contexts defined as vulnerable. The work also takes into account the implications of a narrative- based method, especially in terms of the relationships that can be built between researcher and research participants. On the understanding that the narrative approach has the potential to consolidate itself as a source of information on a particular social group, secondary school students, we raise a debate about the representations young people make of school. In addition, we analyze future frameworks in light of schooling processes developed in disadvantaged areas. With regard to method, we weave a dialogue on the requirements and ethical implications concerning the relationship between researcher and participants. This text is based on biographical meetings held with two students aged 17, a boy and a girl, enrolled in a Portuguese secondary school. The results show that the students perceive school as a key place for learning, a site where socialization occurs and, especially, a refuge from problems. Despite supporting future projections, however, this same school cannot work as a social equity device.