This research aimed to examine the perceptions of students with learning about themselves and to analyze what their representations are about the judgments that their teachers have of them. The subjects of this study were twenty elementary school students with low academic achievement, of both sexes, from a municipal public school in the State of São Paulo in Brazil. A semi-structured interview containing ten questions was performed. Data was transcribed and processed through content analysis and described in relation to its absolute (N) and relative (%) frequencies. The results indicated that the students believe that their teacher has a negative representation of them, as well as nourish low expectations about their performance and academic progress. The study points to the need to consider social relationships established at school and to promote reflection on the importance of these relationships in the teaching-learning process.
Affection; School failure; Academic performance
