Young adult education, literacies, and technologies in Brazil: Policies and historic gaps

Abstract

Social and educational exclusion of young adults in the lower segments in Brazil—intensified by digital exclusion—has hindered and prevented their access to human and fundamental rights. This article aims to analyze the role(s) of analogical and digital technologies in policies, programs and initiatives promoted by the Young Adults Education Program (EPJA, in Portuguese) in Brazil at different historic periods. The theoretical basis is anchored in four fields of study, which are interrelated in this research: EPJA, de-coloniality, literacies and educational technologies. The methodology follows the principles of documental research, which led to the analysis of documents related to policies, programs and initiatives of EPJA: Radiophonic Schools, National Literacy Plan, Mobral, Educar Foundation, Solidarity Literacy Program, Pronera, Literate Brazil Program, Projovem, Proeja, Pronatec and Ejatec. Results show that technology played divergent roles as an outcome from the assigned technical or emancipatory uses, meanings and senses and to the quality of infrastructure, content and available technological resources. This study contributes to the questioning of decontextualized and mass-production practices using digital technologies of information and communication and advocates their integration to the EPJA in an authorial, critical and transformative form.