ABSTRACT
This study is part of a larger research aimed at characterizing the learning strategies of students of Vocational Education. The sample consisted of 20 students who attended the first grade of the Vocational Education of the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, in the year 2014 and were inquired about their learning strategies. Participants were interviewed about their ‘intention’ (what they seek to do to learn) and their ‘attention’ (their focus when they learn). The responses were subjected to a thematic analysis, which suggests a replication of the ‘surface strategy’ (intention to mechanize learning - attention to the form), ‘deep strategy’ (intention to understand - attention to the content) and intermediate strategy (intention to memorize and understand - attention to form and content). Variations in these strategies were also found. The results are analyzed in the light of the characteristics of the students interviewed and the particularities of Brazilian Vocational Education.
Keywords:
High school students; school learning; vocational education