Education of young and adult workers in Brazil today: from simulacrum to emancipation

Abstract

The education of young and adult workers in Brazil today has received special attention in federal government policies. Beyond the apparent "democratization" of opportunities for greater education, and above all, of access to scientific and technological knowledge, this process includes functionalities that must be analyzed. Some of theprincipal socio-economic factors of the current government actions to raise the educational levels of the working class are analyzed, considering the current social division of labor in Braziliansociety. The relations that social movements establish with these policies will also be addressed. They may be aimed at a search for emancipation, which is built by exploring the contradictory character of the reality, while they may also be marked by an acritical and conformist adhesion to the programs. An understanding of these complex processes requires that distinctions be established among the so called traditional social movement and the new social movement, which is another objective of this work.