O “traficante” não vai à escola: processos de escolarização de adolescentes com envolvimento no tráfico de drogas

Abstract

Este artigo analisa o contexto escolar de adolescentes com histórico de envolvimento no tráfico de drogas, bem como explicita dados sobre as experiências educacionais em escolas regulares e àquelas frequentadas durante a aplicação de medidas socioeducativas. Trata-se de um estudo quanti-qualitativo que contou com a participação de 577 adolescentes e jovens (M = 16,01; DP = 1,54), de ambos os sexos e que residem em três municípios de médio porte localizados no interior do estado de São Paulo. Foram utilizados dois questionários e um roteiro de entrevistas semiestruturado. Os resultados apontam um histórico de fracasso das instituições escolares na vida dos adolescentes com envolvimento no tráfico, marcado por reprovações, expulsões e falta de sentidos. Paradoxalmente, as experiências em escolas, inseridas em instituições de medidas socioeducativas, mostraram-se mais positivas e sugerem a possibilidade da ressignificação das trajetórias escolares. Tais achados abrem espaço para novos recortes investigativos e trazem implicações para o campo educacional.

Restructuring Educational Systems and Promoting Social Justice for Young People Involved in Drug Trafficking in Brazil

“…Bottrell (2009) and Masten (2014) state that in contexts demarcated by social exclusion and a lack of opportunities, some adolescents search for alternate strategies to ensure conditions of development and mental health (including a sense of belonging and contribution). Pessoa’s (2015) study similarly found that despite awareness of the daily risks to which they are exposed, many youth engage in illicit activities because these are the only available opportunities. Once young people have entered into the drug trafficking market, the related financial rewards may be greater than salaries obtained via legal activities.…”

“…Pessoa (2015), for example, verified that many adolescents with a history of involvement with drug trafficking had not acquired a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics. Participants in his study also explained that their schools were inadequately supplied (both structurally and in terms of pedagogical resources), that school curriculum was uninteresting and did not relate with their own lives, and that they were subsequently bored and disinterested when attending school (Pessoa & Coimbra, 2016). Consequently, adolescents were unable to understand how education could equip them with useful skills that would in turn support their insertion in the legal labor market.…”

“…A mixed-method study utilizing questionnaires, interviews, and ecological engagement technique with 60 adolescents recruited within the correctional system of São Paulo highlighted the contextual complexity of adolescents’ involvement in drug trafficking (Pessoa, 2015). All participants were residents in a correctional facility because of a history of involvement in drug trafficking with which they associated various positive attributes.…”

“…Despite a clear wish to support their families financially, school failure means that young people have difficulties gaining access to the formal labor market, redirecting them to informal activities (with low social prestige and remuneration) or illicit activities, such as drug trafficking. As Pessoa (2015) identified, aspirations are then circumscribed by crime as the only option to fulfilling the needs of young people and their families.…”

“…Once young people have entered into the drug trafficking market, the related financial rewards may be greater than salaries obtained via legal activities. Trafficking is therefore an attractive option to adolescents living within cycles of poverty who wish to disrupt these intergenerational patterns (Pessoa, 2015). Thus, initiatives focused on education, as well as economic and social development should be alert to the specificities of different groups, including adolescents involved in trafficking.…”