Permanência de trabalhadores-estudantes na EJA integrada à educação profissional e tecnológica : um estudo de caso em uma escola da rede municipal parceira do IFFar

Abstract

The present study was developed within the Post-Graduate Program in Vocational and Technological Education (ProfEPT), offered by the Instituto Federal Farroupilha (IFFar) - Jaguari campus, and is linked to research line 1 - Educational Practices in Vocational and Technological Education (EPT), under Macroproject 2 - Inclusion and diversity in formal and non-formal teaching spaces in EPT. The main objective is to verify ways to strengthen student retention actions for the Youth and Adult Education (EJA) modality integrated with Vocational and Technological Education (EPT), contributing to the success of worker-students enrolled in the courses of the EJA-EPT Program offered by IFFar in partnership with the Municipal Government of Santa Maria/RS. To achieve this general objective, the following specific objectives were defined: to identify in databases the scientific production regarding retention and success in EJA-EPT/EF; to understand the reasons and expectations that cause these worker-students to enroll in a professional qualification course in the Youth and Adult Education modality; to know the factors that promote student belonging and strengthen their retention in EJA-EPT/EF; and to develop a support tool based on the interests and needs pointed out after conducting the research, aimed at worker-students of the Youth and Adult Education Course Integrated with Vocational and Technological Education, collaborating with the strengthening of the partnership between IFFar and the Municipal Government of Santa Maria/RS. As a methodological pathway, a systematic literature mapping was initially carried out on the educational practices developed within the scope of EJA-EPT, between 2019 and 2025, in specific databases. Subsequently, a qualitative research of an applied nature was conducted at a Municipal Elementary School that offers the Administrative Assistant course in partnership with IFFar. The research subjects were the students regularly enrolled in the aforementioned course, and data collection was carried out through a field diary, questionnaire, and focus group. The results, analyzed through Content Analysis by Laurence Bardin (2016), resulted in five thematic categories addressing topics directly related to the retention of worker-students. It was revealed that the retention of these students is related to factors such as: Student Assistance Policy; the feeling of belonging fostered by good teaching and management practices; and the empathy of teachers toward the exhaustive routine of the students. It was also noted that the research participants did not know IFFar prior to entering the EJA-EPT/EF Administrative Assistant course. Finally, based on the observation of institutional communication, an Informative Guide for EJA-EPT (ProfEPT - IFFar) was developed as an educational product, aimed at mediating knowledge about the IFFar institution and the modality in the partner school.