"Mulher tem de ter expediente!": um estudo crítico e interseccional da evasão escolar de mulheres negras do campo

Abstract

This thesis investigates school dropout among Black women from rural communities, understanding it as a social phenomenon produced within historical relations of inequality that condition the possibilities of access to, persistence in, and completion of schooling. Grounded in Critical Theory of Society and an intersectional perspective, the research aimed to investigate the factors that lead Black women from rural communities to drop out of basic education, considering the intersection of race, gender, economic conditions, and territory. Methodologically, the study was conducted in three complementary stages: literature reviews of national and international academic research on school dropout; descriptive statistical analysis of official data on schooling and school dropout in the Viçosa Microregion, Minas Gerais; and semi-structured interviews with eleven Black women living in rural communities across eight municipalities in the region. The literature reviews revealed a scarcity of studies on school dropout among Black women from rural communities and showed that, even internationally, race, gender, and territory tend to be investigated in a fragmented manner. The statistical analysis made it possible to assess educational inequalities but also revealed limitations in official databases regarding the simultaneous articulation of these social markers. The participants’ narratives demonstrated that the interruption of schooling did not result from individual choice or lack of interest in education, but from the combined effects of territorial barriers, economic constraints, early entry into work, racism, gender inequalities, motherhood, and exclusionary school practices. The findings showed that these factors are not experienced in isolation but intersect and reinforce one another throughout educational trajectories. It is concluded that school dropout among these women expresses historical and structural processes of exclusion that precede their departure from school and contribute to the reproduction of social inequalities, restricting access to knowledge and, consequently, the possibilities for critical education and emancipation.