The school paths of children and youth in residential care at the Portuguese public school

Abstract

By principles established in LBSE, the Portuguese public school commits itself to ensure the inclusion of all children and youth; however, when we look at the pathways of those in residential care, under measures of promotion and protection, we realize that this is one of the most vulnerable populations in education. The data analysis of their school pathways presents conceptual problems arising from the organization of age groups. Through the collection of data about the school pathways of children and youth in residential care who receive basic education from three groups of schools in Portugal, we seek to understand information about school success and failure. Based on an interpretative phenomenological paradigm, this study portrays one of the most problematic situations of the Portuguese educational system. When comparing school failure rates of these children and youth with Portuguese national rates, we realize that the failure rate in the first cycle is 13 times higher, the second cycle is 11 times higher, and the third cycle is six times higher than the national average. We conclude that it is urgent to think about education policies in which inclusion, in addition to being a technical-pedagogical issue, is assumed as an ethical imperative.