A trajetória de estudantes adultos na educação profissional de nível médio: compreendendo diferentes dimensões de uma mesma realidade

Abstract

This master thesis is the result of the research done in the Programa de Pós-Graduação Profissional em Educação (PPGPE), from the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Erechim Campus, considering the thematic “Trajectory of adult students”. For the development of the thesis, we chose a qualitative approach, of an applied nature, with technical procedures based on the methodology of the participant research. Official data reveal the increase of Brazilians’ schooling, amongst them the adults, who have returned to school benches, including professional education on high school level, possibly because the education has been understood as a way to personal and professional ascension, faced with a scenario of technological advances and the diffusion of knowledge. At Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), Erechim Campus, the return of the adult students is also observed, which motivated the research about this contingent of students, since they need to be welcomed in their particularities and their needs to be attended. Thus, the research aimed to understand how the adult student trajectory that enters the technical course after high school, after a long period away from a formal institution of teaching, contributing to the improvement of the actions of the researched institution. Amongst the research results, it is possible to establish the profile of the adult student; define, based on the observed characteristics, that their trajectories could be regular, irregular or interrupted; suggest proposals to further qualify the institution's actions, especially those focused on the teaching and learning process.