Vulnerable adolescences and experiences at school: What are the possible motivations for leaving the school environment?

Abstract

Objective: To understand the experiences of adolescents in vulnerable conditions, relating them to possible motivations for dropping out of school. Method: This is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, employing a qualitative approach, conducted in the territory of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais. The sample consisted of 15 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 years old, treated at the Family Health Strategy and a private psychology clinic. The focus group interview technique was employed to collect data. A theme was established: school and work experiences – dialogue and learning. Bardin’s content analysis was used to interpret the data. Results: They showed that the participating adolescents like being at school to make friends, but dislike the main activity (studying). This fact is due to several factors, which we sought to understand through the reports. We also observed the relationship of adolescents with work and its relationship with dropping out of school. Conclusion: The adolescents in the study showed little appreciation for the activity of studying, but affection for the friendships they made at school. We observed that this displeasure is multifactorial (the relationship of new generations with technology, the inadequacy of the century-old blackboard-teacher-desks model, starting work life, fatigue, repeating grades, age-grade distortion, early pregnancy, embarrassment from peers, little dialogue with the school).