Os jovens sujeitos contemporâneos da EJA externa

Abstract

The research entitled The Contemporary Youth Subjects of External EJA has as its central objective to analyze how the young people enrolled in the Youth and Adult Education (EJA) External class at the Maria Gorete Cultural Center construct themselves as subjects of contemporaneity. The study highlights the reality of the young people in EJA, emphasizing their singularities and how the diversity present in the classroom becomes a challenge to be managed by the teacher, who also faces the difficulty of being the sole educator. In light of this reality, it is also possible to understand how these young people engage with society despite the social difficulties and exclusion they face, and how the precarious conditions in which they live significantly contribute to their struggles in understanding the world and, at times, confine them from reaching their full potential. These difficulties stem not only from their life circumstances but also from the teachers’ challenges in understanding and addressing them. Therefore, an action plan was developed within an EJA class to explore and analyze the behaviors of the youth, their speech, and how they perceive themselves in the society they live in—identifying their dreams, desires, and aspirations. Through direct engagement with these students, it became clear that each one has had and/or continues to have some of their rights denied. Thus, it becomes a challenge for educators working with EJA students to develop learning strategies that foster interaction among classroom participants and guide them to recognize themselves as active and engaged members of society. Moreover, it is necessary to guide them not to be mere executors, but individuals who think critically and contribute to social development.