This article discusses some research findings that aimed at apprehending the social representations of "school", "child labor" and the meanings of "child" and "childhood" for children and adolescents in the Program to Eradicate Child Labor (PETI) in Blumenau, SC, along with those representations and meanings to their parents and teachers. The study points to an inadequacy of the dichotomy between "cultural" and "economic" reasons in the understanding of child labor. For the children and their parents, child labor is an inherent need of a system for help and exchange within family and on the education to adult life. Among the changes brought about by the insertion in the PETI, there are: improved academic performance, new experiences and learning (sports, courses), more time to play and a change in children's perception of family support responsibility. It is noteworthy that the phenomenon requires further investigation, as it covers distinct realities in a socially constructed apparent homogeneity.
child labor; school; childhood; social representations
