"The school is more... schooled": the implementation of full-time system in an Elementary School in the students' perspective

Abstract

This article aims to analyze, in the students' perspective, how the deployment of the full-time system at a public Elementary School has happened, and to contribute to the discussion and evaluation of educational policies in the country on this issue. To this end, there was a qualitative study in which we used semi-structured individual interviews and focal groups with students, observing the school routine and document analysis. It was found that students recurrently complain of fatigue arising from the way time and school spaces have been used and reinterpreted with the adoption of a full-time system. The researched group tends to recognize the importance of the educational capital, but emphasizes the socio-affective aspect specifically present in the school. The students' perspective is that the school is still "more educational": full of content, developing the same type of activities, unattractive, in conventional and/or inadequate spaces, and making the insufficiently productive teaching-learning process. Thus, it is necessary to try an educational adequacy of school time-space, ensuring new and diverse learning opportunities, with greater respect to the demands of the students.

Keywords:
full-time school; students; Elementary School; public school.