MEANINGS YOUNGSTERS LEND TO HIGH SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL SPACE. A STUDY ON YOUNG PEOPLE AT STATE SCHOOLS IN PARANA

Liliana B. Barsanti, Noelia B. Chamorro, Adriana E. Bressan & Claudia V. Scheihing

Abstract

The aim of the research presented here was to recover the viewpoint of young people regarding high school as social space, from the significations they build in this field. In our theoretical framework we developed the category youth from the sociological, pedagogical and anthropological fields. To tackle school, we turned to the constructs of Bordieu’s socioanalysis, namely, social space, field, habitus, cultural capital. From Alfred Schütz’s theoretical development, we made use of the category significations, to accomplish a perception of school every day life from the universe of the youngsters’ senses. The qualitative methodology employed opened the possibility of field work from a socioanthropological approach. The data constructed are organized around three axes: young people think secondary school; young people before the adults’ mirror in high school; young people’s expectations as regards high school. The main claims of the students as young citizens are directed towards the adults. In these demands there is a tension between vulnerability and autonomy. On the one hand, the youngsters claim the strong presence of adults who protect them, shelter them, restrain them, listen to them. On the other, they demand a school space that open up for them the possibility of expression, the right to be heard and to learn.