Transition to high school in Youth and Adult Education: inequalities, public policies and educational trajectories

Abstract

This article analyzes the transition processes of students from regular high school to Youth and Adult Education (EJA) in Brazil, problematizing the phenomenon in light of social inequalities, systemic educational barriers, and neoliberal educational policies. It seeks to identify the contradictions and challenges present in this process, as well as the meanings of the notion of transition and its consequences on students' academic trajectories. It addresses the following questions: what challenges and contradictions mark the passage from regular high school to EJA? What meanings are attributed to the concept of transition in the Brazilian educational context? And what are the impacts of this dynamic on the educational trajectories of EJA subjects? Transition is understood as a socially produced, continuous, and multidimensional process, articulating structural, institutional, and lived dimensions of educational trajectories. Methodologically, the study is based on field research involving a literature review and interviews conducted with EJA coordinators from state departments of education in three Brazilian states. The results indicate that students with a history of grade repetition, school dropout, and study interruptions tend to migrate to EJA, especially following recent high school reforms. This modality has been used as a mechanism for school flow correction and accelerated certification, reinforcing an instrumental view of EJA and contributing to the reproduction of educational inequalities. It concludes that this transition expresses processes of exclusion, persistence, and continuity of studies, maintaining the social relevance of EJA for subjects historically deprived of the right to education.