School dropout and equality of opportunities

analysis of the Pé-de-Meia Program in light of lessons learned from Poupança Jovem

Abstract

This article aims to critically analyze the design of the federal’s government program Pé-de-Meia, in light of the previous Minas Gerais’ experience Programa Poupança Jovem. It explores these experiences of addressing the phenomenon of school dropout in Brazilian secondary education within the context of structural socioeconomic inequalities. The research starts from a critique of the meritocratic logic of equality of opportunity, which disregards inequalities of social origin in shaping educational trajectories. It therefore seeks to reflect on the effectiveness of public income transfer policies as strategy to tackle the problem, considering the programs mentioned. A qualitative methodological approach is adopted, based on bibliographic and documentary review, including theoretical-empirical literature on school dropout and secondary education, as well as official and regulatory documents on the programs. The data presented indicate that school dropout is strongly associated with the need for income generation among young people, highlighting the importance of economic conditions in the abandonment of studies. Based on this finding, the study shows that the Programa Pé-de-Meia advances in relation to the Minas Gerais experience by adopting universalizing inclusion criteria based on the Unified Registry for Federal Government Social Programs (CadÚnico), in addition to combining immediate and medium-term financial incentives, and being led by the Ministry of Education (MEC), with greater centrality on the public agenda. It is concluded that, although Pé-de-Meia does not, by itself, resolve the multiple factors that influence dropout, it represents a relevant advance by recognizing school retention as a right and social justice as a condition for equality of opportunity in the educational field.