This article aims to identify the level of abstraction present in the concepts formulated by unschooled adults living in literate societies. The sample was selected by convenience and consisted of forty unschooled illiterate and semi-literate adults. Data were collected by means of tests about concept formation and analyzed according to the categorization proposed by the authors: everyday concepts and scientific concepts. In everyday concepts, words code information based on perceptible attributes of objects. In scientific concepts, words encode information based on abstract, imperceptible aspects of objects. To Vygotsky, one of the main objectives of schooling is the ascension from everyday concepts to scientific concepts. This study aimed to examine the possible development of a scientific conceptual structure outside school by adults who live in urban environments. The results indicated that, although some of these adults formulated scientific concepts, an everyday conceptual standard prevailed in their answers. From these findings, we concluded that, due to the current institutionalization in school of the training in theoretical operations, the school context still appears to be the privileged way of enabling this kind of development.
Concept formation; Schooling; Literacy; School