“I thought i couldn’t be able to do it…”. Young people’s school trajectories in a context of social vulnerability

Abstract

In Brazil, although free public education at the basic level is a constitutional right for children and adolescents up to the age of 17, the construction of a public school student's educational trajectory demands a series of family investments that challenge everything from the time available for transmission of family cultural capital and expenses with services and materials necessary for the student's daily life. This article is the result of research with a qualitative approach, carried out at a public school attended by students living in a suburb of Salvador, Bahia. The study, which focused on the concepts of social vulnerability, cultural/social capital and life projects, aimed to analyze the relationships between the context of social vulnerabilities and the challenges faced in remaining in high school and continuing with studies. Based on narratives from twelve students, boys and girls, who had graduated from an institution, we investigated the family's experience in relation to accessing and maintaining their children at school. The field research was carried out between 2019 and 2023. The analysis mapped and named the various social vulnerabilities: staying at school requires resources, time and energy from students and families. The involvement of students in extracurricular activities contributes to the expansion of social capital, although the benefits of this contribution are mitigated by the distances from their homes to the places where these activities are offered (courses, internships or work).  Issues linked to urban infrastructure and violence appear to be impeding factors for the expansion and accumulation of cultural capital.