Meaning of school for students deprived of freedom

Abstract

The article analyzes the meanings attributed to school by students at a maximum security prison in Mato Grosso do Sul, articulating the relationships between schooling, work, and social inclusion. Based on the historical-cultural perspective (Vygotsky) and Popular Education (Freire), it adopts a qualitative methodology, with interviews and questionnaires applied to adult education students, teachers, agents, social workers, psychologists, and managers. The results reveal that school is valued as a space for dignity, self-esteem, and the construction of new life projects, being directly associated with the possibility of entering the world of work. However, the reports show that dropping out of school has historically been linked to the need to work from an early age, revealing the contradiction between the promise of school as a means of social advancement and the barriers imposed by structural inequalities. It is concluded that, although prison schools have potential as a space for mediation, training, and the construction of meaning for life and work, this has not yet become a concrete reality in the context studied, given the weaknesses of public policies and the absence of intersectoral coordination capable of effectively guaranteeing the continuity of studies and the social and labor integration of individuals after serving their.