Vocational high school persistence and dropout

a school health experience during Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article presents a case study of a public educational institution in the city of Rio de Janeiro, focused on explaining the strategies and the results of the student retention policy in a vocational high school. To this end, it is aimed at understanding the socio-historical-cultural dynamics involved in the formation of the working class during the pandemic period, according to the theoretical and methodological framework of historical-dialectical materialism and quantitative and qualitative study on dropout in courses of the mentioned school. Its main results suggest that the strengthening of the school's democratic management, especially with regard to: firstly, the possibility for obtaining accurate information from the academic management system concerning absence monitoring; secondly, meetings with teachers and class councils with active participation of the students’ council. Such actions proved to be of great relevance so as to decrease dropout rate and to boost students´ retention. Although the precarious living conditions of students indicate greater potential for dropout, the possibility of adopting strategies that include guaranteed access to the internet and electronic equipment, financial support, school meal programme as well as psychosocial and pedagogical assistance to students are of paramount importance in order to foster students´ retention. In fact, all these actions demand an institutional environment that not only emphasizes the radicality of the right to public education in contexts of crisis and emergencies, but also encourages other public educational initiatives around the country.