Meanings Assigned to the School: Integrative Review of National Literature

Foresti, Taimara; Kujawa, Israel; Patias, Naiana Dapieve

doi:10.1590/0102.3772e3636

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School and Developmental Psychology • Psic.: Teor. e Pesq. 36 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e3636 copy

Meanings Assigned to the School: Integrative Review of National Literature

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Abstract

This paper aims to understand the meanings that students, parents, and teachers, assigned to the school, through an integrative review of the last ten years of Brazilian literature (2007-2017). The search in the databases included material from BVS-Psi, SciELO, and PePSIC, using the following terms in both English and Portuguese: meaning AND school; perception AND school; “social representation” AND school. Considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 papers were selected. The meanings were classified into two categories: (a) Meanings that strengthen the bonds and (b) Meanings that weaken the bonds. Results indicate that the school is represented in several ways, and the research are predominantly conducted with students.

Keywords:
students; school; review; meanings

Title	Authors/Year	Objective	Design	Instruments	Participants
The school and the educational perspectives of at-risk situations (E1)	Amparo et al. (2008Amparo, D. M. do, Galvão, A. C. T., Cardenas, C., & Koller, S. H. (2008). A escola e as perspectivas educacionais de jovens em situação de risco. Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, 12(1), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-85572008000100006 https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-8557200800... )	To Identify youths in a situation of psychosocial risk, their school achievement and aspiration, and their social support network related to their teaching-learning context	Quantitative	Questionnaire consisting of 109 multiple choice questions	852 young people aged between 13 and 27 years old, attending public high school
Quality and yearning for the past: social representations of parents about school (E2)	Lima et al. (2008Lima, R. D. C. P., Colus, F. A. M., Gonini, F. A. C., Mokwa, V. M. N. F, & Petrenas, R. D. C. (2008). Qualidade e saudosismo: Representações sociais de pais sobre a escola. Psicologia da Educação, 27, 31-51. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1414-69752008000200003 http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?scr... )	To study the social representations of students' parents about school	Qualitative	Drawing Questionnaire (QD) and Written Questionnaire (QE).	12 parents, who attended the same school as their children currently study
School culture and social practices: daily episodes of school life and the transition to adolescence (E3)	Campolina & Oliveira (2009Campolina, L. O., & Oliveira, M. C. S. L de. (2009). Cultura escolar e práticas sociais: Episódios cotidianos da vida escolar e a transição para a adolescência. Educação e Pesquisa, 35(2), 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-97022009000200010 https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702200900... )	To Investigate the school as a cultural context and analyze spontaneous interactions between students, understanding how the school contributes to outline the transition from childhood to adolescence.	Qualitative	School daily observation sessions and individual interviews	12 boys and girls, attending fifth and sixth grade of elementary school
Schools and psychosocial development according to the perceptions of young individuals with ADHD (E4)	Rangel & Loos (2011Rangel, E. de B. Jr., & Loos, H. (2011). Escola e desenvolvimento psicossocial segundo percepções de jovens com TDAH. Paidéia, 21(50), 373-382. http://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2011000300010 http://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2011000... )	To investigate the perceptions of adolescents and young adults with ADHD diagnosis regarding the school’s role in their psychosocial development, with an emphasis to identity aspects	Qualitative	Semi-structured interview	21 former and current students, 14 to 33 years old, diagnosed with ADHD
The school from students’ point-of-view (E5)	Marques & Castanho (2011Marques, P. B., & Castanho, M. I. S. (2011). O que é a escola a partir do sentido construído por alunos. Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, 15(1), 23-33. http://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-85572011000100003 http://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-85572011000... )	This research fits in the School and Educational Psychology field and investigate the meaning attributed to school by students.	Qualitative	Field observations and individual and group interviews, drawings, collages, incomplete sentences and questionnaires	23 children (12 girls and 11 boys), ten and 13 years old, from elementary school
Our schools are not yours: class differences (E6)	Passos & Gomes (2012Passos, G. D. O., & Gomes, M. B. (2012). Nossas escolas não são as vossas: As diferenças de classe. Educação em Revista, 28(2), 347-376. http://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-46982012000200016 http://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-46982012000... )	To codify studies and research concerning the relationship between educational systems and social classes, taking the work of Pierre Bourdieu as its reference	Literature Review	-	-
The senses of the presence of young people in High School: school representations in three student-made films (E7)	Brenner & Carrano (2014Brenner, A. K., & Carrano, P. C. R. (2014). Os sentidos da presença dos jovens no ensino médio: Representações da escola três filmes de estudantes. Educação & Sociedade, 35(129), 223-1240. https://doi.org/10.1590/ES0101-73302014143847 https://doi.org/10.1590/ES0101-733020141... ).	To discuss the challenges facing education policies and the place of school as existential support for young people, based on their productions (films)	Qualitative	Documentary: Three films produced by high school students	High school students from public schools in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and São Paulo
Life Projects of High School Young Students and School (E8)	Klein & Arantes (2016Klein, A. M., & Arantes, V. A. (2016). Projetos de vida de jovens estudantes do ensino médio e a escola. Educação & Realidade, 41(1), 135-154. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-623656117 https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-623656117... )	To identify the perception of high school students about the contribution that school experiences can bring to their life projects.	Qualitative	Questionnaire consisting of 10 open questions	305 freshman and sophomore from São Paulo
The School direction: Conceptions of adolescent students (E9)	Leite et al. (2016Leite, F. M., Pessoa, M. C. B., Santos, P. dos, Rocha, G. F, & Alberto, M. P. (2016). O sentido da escola: Concepções de estudantes adolescentes. Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, 20(2), 339-348. http://doi.org/10.1590/2175-3539/2015/0202983 http://doi.org/10.1590/2175-3539/2015/02... )	to analyze the meaning of school for adolescents in the context of social vulnerability.	Qualitative	Questionnaire and incomplete sentences game	12 teenagers, 13 and 15 years old, students from sixth to ninth year of public school
Meaning of schooling of students of youth and adult education (E10)	Ramos & Stella (2016Ramos, E. T. de, & Stella, C. (2016). Significados da escolarização para alunos da educação de jovens e adultos. Psicologia: Teoria e Prática, 18(2), 189-207. http://doi.org/10.15348/1980-6906/psicologia.v18n2p189-207 http://doi.org/10.15348/1980-6906/psicol... ).	To present the investigation of the process of return to adults' school, the reasons for the return and the meanings of school in adulthood.	Qualitative	Interviews and life story	Six young adults, elementary school students
Students talk about school: from the adults' world to Neverland (E11)	Angelo & Lins (2017Angelo, C. L., & Lins, R. C. (2017). Alunos falam sobre a escola: do mundo dos adultos à terra do nunca. Educar em Revista, 62, 165-180. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-4060.44134 https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-4060.44134... )	To evidence the meanings of school assigned by students based in notions of meaning, object, legitimateness and communicative space	Qualitative	Semi-structured interview	18 students' speeches attending final years of elementary local School.

Studies	Overview	Meanings assigned to the school
(E1)	Youth educational perspectives on attendance, expulsion, and failure were verified 95.4% of students attend school daily 6% have difficulties being in school 1.9% have already been expelled 43.3% failed. Most failed only once (57.73%), 30.7% failed twice, and 11.54% three or more times. 90.7% of students agree that studies are important today, 3.1% disagreed and 6.2% remained neutral Influence of studies x future: 94% reported the importance of studies 86.5% answered that the family strongly encourages studies Teacher's role = worrying, few students say they can trust (37.7%) or count (40.5%) on teachers.	Family and school are key contexts and youth support networks Participants trust friends, teachers and school structure (although there is a contradiction) Most students like the school environment and want to stay in school To investigate the role of teachers is important, because they are part of the most effective support and protection network in the school context Affective relationships of friendship are important School is seen as a provider of these relationships The school helps reduce risk factors and develop social skills School's role is to encourage positive characteristics
(E2)	The interpretation of the results was based on the representation that the students' parents have of the school. “School: Overview” (drawing analysis) “School: Socialization Space (subdivided into title analysis and narrative analysis)” “School: Struggles, Coping, and Achievements” (the analysis of the answers to these specific questions) The school was represented as facilitating positive conditions to personal/professional life Emphasis on interpersonal relationships (discipline and moral) School as an access route to professional, social and economic progress Parents have a more conservative view of the school	School represented as a social space that allowed to reinforce friendships and values School perceived as a place of value and "morality" (rules, norms, order) The school is seen not only as a space for the acquisition of knowledge but as a place that allows the construction of meaningful friendship bonds Nuclear representation as “good quality school” School as a fundamental institution for children's learning and to socially advance
(E3)	The analysis of the illustrative episode demonstrates two constitutive dimensions of the adolescent subjectivity meanings in the school context the moralizing role played by the school in the course of development: corporal punishment was eliminated with the emergence of humanistic pedagogies (2) the adolescent's own experience can play a transformative role, re-signifying school norms: school context x wider context of society = contribution to the construction of students' subjectivity	The school cannot be considered a neutral space Adult-centered logic leads school to push children toward adolescence and adulthood School curriculum and daily life should highlight the unique experiences of students and teachers. The teacher, a central role in this process, deserves special attention, since he/she is in constant transformation, along with the students and the school context
(E4)	A large number of failures (48%), expulsions (19%) and compulsory transfers (28%) were found Individuals with ADHD tend to have difficulty adjusting to the school system Reasons of why Parents were called to school: indiscipline, poor grades, inattention Students were characterized, mainly by teachers, with prejudiced adjectives In general, there is a positive relationship between school and life projects.	The school was identified as quite difficult, often even hostile Half of the study participants reported negative school-related feelings Some of them showed sorrow for school The school revealed, in this study, low effectiveness with “regular” and “special” students.
(E5)	School is a promise of a worthy future, but it is daily lived unsatisfactorily, offering inaccurate and meaningless lessons, disrespectful interpersonal relationships. Perceptions of public indifference and tiredness of students and teachers were also reported	School is perceived as necessary and available for students to learn, to get a job and be someone Perception of “saving school” There are many negative meanings assigned to school such as “school that has no purpose”
(E6)	First, the study shows how the education system operates in a class society, where there is an unequal distribution Second, the study shows how different classes relate themselves with the education system The education system maintains a class distinction when treating the unequal equally The appropriation of the contents and the success in the school trajectory depend on the cultural heritage of each one. Popular-class families, unlike common sense, want that their children have a different future For middle-class families school is a step to achieve better jobs and a higher salary School achievement is relative in the upper classes (above average failures and approvals), but has the tools to reverse negative outcomes	The school and its products, knowledge, and degrees do not have the same meaning for all social classes, not even for groups that are part of these classes This meaning depends on their position in the social context, that is, on their properties
(E7)	Students use audiovisual devices to narrate their school experiences and their desire to have better schools The three films chosen came from a national festival exhibited on the internet called IMAGENS, from Portal Ensino Médio EM Diálogo, whose theme was “A school without walls” in 2014 1st movie: +30, portray a school with security cameras, windows and corridor bars, safety nets and padlocks, where violence, prejudice, and discrimination are always present. There is criticism regarding the More Education program The 2nd movie “My home, schools without walls” describe the school as simple but full of color. The school in this movie is portrayed very positively. The school is a place to belong with, a shelter, a family that welcomes and helps to cope with difficult moments in each student's trajectory In the 3rd movie, “A Learning Dream,” the representation of good teaching that leads to higher performance identifies with the story and with the situations that happened outdoors, showing the importance of interacting with each student's context	The three films reveled criticism about the meanings of school and about the students' wishes about what the school could be Firstly, the school was represented as a precarious place, inside bars and walls, forbidding the student's subjectivity through a depersonalization mechanism The school was later represented as a shelter from the storms, and support for future projects Finally, the school was perceived as a dream. a place that could dialogue with the world, because knowledge does not fit only within the classroom and into thirty questions' test
(E8)	Categories were created from the questions and answers of the students The school is represented as a place that prepares for the future, social relationships and work market Classroom experiences are very important in the students' schooling process Students reported that the link between lectures content and their life projects is fragile There is difficulty in connecting what students learn at school with everyday life Students perceive that the school is orientated to the work market Learning politics it is not enough because it is essential to know how to live in a society The place occupied by students is still primarily the classroom, and what students experience is important to their life projects	The information collected reassure the discourse associated with the school's function in a perspective of 'becoming' The lectures follow a logical order that aims the promotion of knowledge, hiding the relation discipline versus daily life. The school must have a formative role - citizenship versus school Students lived significant experiences in school School appreciate students when they assign meaning in teaching Activities that favor student protagonism (participation in cultural animation projects and activities) are important for an education that aims the development of autonomy, responsibility, and commitment through collective interests
(E9)	The study was divided into four categories: 1) Characteristics of the vulnerability context; 2) adolescents' perception of the school; 3) how the school deals with adolescents; 4) expectations of adolescents regarding school In category 1) the participants that failure said that they were reproved by the school management or the technical staff They have little access to health and leisure conditions, and where they live violence is frequent In category 2) all participants characterized the school as a place to study and learn The school as a space that protects against violence and promotes friendships Good teachers establish dialogue and relationship with students Bad teachers are insensible and do not dialogue or interact with students in the classroom In category 3) one student reported feeling like an immature teenager Two students reported being treated as children, receiving advice and help One teenager reported being treated with indifference because she could not ask questions Another student as a bad person, due to the teachers talking about where he lived Students would like to be treated as “good citizens”, with respect and as “real people” In category 4) students had expectations of having a good future with a profession and a good job	Participants highlight the meanings of the school Adolescents perceive school as an important institution, capable of contributing to their formation and enabling, through study, social progress, and decent and qualified jobs. Students identify the failures of the school by guaranteeing the right to quality education: unsatisfactory dynamics of some classes, an inadequate attitude of some professionals, lack of opportunities to express and participate in decision making, content not connected to reality, teachers who do not establish a pleasant relationship with students and sometimes disrespect them. Students also consider the school as a place to meet and to keep affective bonds The most important and noted aspects reported by the students focus on the good relationship established with others, friendships, moments of relaxation and fun and the school spaces that provide these situations
(E10)	Some people difficulty or lack of access to education refers to the discrimination and inequality of the historical process in Brazil Students return to school searching for a chance of professional improvement Education perspective as a form of social recognition. "Only through education is it possible to do something profitable" When young adult education (EJA) students acquire knowledge at school, they recognize themselves as human rights subjects	The school teaching methods are incompatible with the student's daily experiences Students feel unmotivated because the school offers something uninteresting Student failure is regularly attributed to the own student, to the culture of where he/she lives, regardless of school teaching methods There is an idea that permeates the relationship established between school and work: the longer the years of education, the greater the possibilities of work and therefore the better positions The possibility of ascending to a better position, if any, is for the minority The same work market that took children out of school to help support their families now requires that the worker adult return to the school classroom
(E11)	Students answered the question "How would you explain what school is to someone who knows nothing about it?". Some of the answers were: “Place where we study, learn, have classes and education” "Place where we learn things we will need in the future" “Place to get a good job, have a better life, be someone in life” “Place of fun, socializing, making friends” "Place to acquire knowledge, where young people learn to live together and receive education beyond that provided by the family" "The school enables young people to have a better life in the future" Students indicated that socializing with friends, games, and fun were the things they liked most. All of this occupied a much more relevant status than learning the school content	School as a place where students receive education and knowledge, and live with different people, allowing them to have a better life in the future, a goal When the students saw themselves as part of the school, it took on another meaning - a place of fun, conversations, meeting with friends - different from that assigned by the teachers

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