Contexto e políticas públicas que permeiam a Educação de Jovens e Adultos

Abstract

This article presents an investigation into Youth and Adult Education (EJA), aiming to examine the context and public policies that permeate this educational modality, reflecting on learning in EJA from the perspective of autonomy and transformation. Based on theoretical foundations, it analyzes the legal regulations and the long and tireless paths of struggle—driven by popular movements—that have ensured the right to free and quality public education for all.The research methodology employed is qualitative, conducted through a literature review with data collected from books, scientific articles, theses, dissertations, and legal normative documents. This approach enabled diverse interpretations of the research theme through a systematic analysis of the data. The study is structured in three parts: (1) Education as Privilege, Exclusion, and Denial; (2) Legitimately Guaranteed Rights; and (3) EJA as a Political Act. The study is grounded mainly in the historical trajectory of EJA and in the rights that were denied to these subjects for centuries, which, after much struggle, were finally secured; in national legislation, particularly the 1988 Federal Constitution and the Law of Guidelines and Bases; and, above all, in the ideals and legacy of Paulo Freire—pioneer of EJA in Brazil—whose popular education framework sought to form critical subjects capable of transforming the world and the realities in which they live. The results highlight the privileges of the dominant class and the exclusion of the working class, whose access to education was denied for a long period. It is concluded that EJA represents the fulfillment of a subjective right and a form of social reparation.