ABSTRACT
This study presents the results of a survey conducted with secondary education students from the public school network in the state of Pernambuco, the purpose of which was to obtain the opinion of young people on the contribution of schooling to their training as workers. 115 young day and night students from the 11th and 12th grades of secondary education were interviewed, including full-time schools. The 17 schools involved are located in the greater Recife region. Using literature geared to the discussion on youth as a reference, in addition to the relationship between the world of work, school and youth, we concluded that public schooling, considering that the aim of young people is to join the employment market, promotes the learning of the minimum required to enter this market in a premature and precarious manner. Young people wish to change their social status in some way or another, and as such regard work and school as fertile relationship in the sense of social mobility. The association young people establish between school and work does not arise from a solid analysis of how school can contribute to someone joining the employment market. This is a need which exists as a condition for survival and a desire to change one’s life, not just one´s own, but more often than not, that of the individual’s parents and family members.
Keywords:
Young People; Work; Secondary Education.