The present study aims at understanding the social representations of students enrolled in the Youth and Adults Educational Program (Educação de Jovens e Adultos -EJA) carried out by a state school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, 247 students were interviewed on the reasons why they dropped out of school and, later on their lives, decided to go back to the EJA program. We also used the activity called "free thinking" with the conduction of the term STUDY. Data were analyzed with the computer program EVOC 2003. The results showed that the necessity to work is the main reason for abandoning school, while the choice of finishing school is motivated by the demands of the job market for higher education. As a conclusion, we found that social representations about STUDYING include different aspects especially: job market, an important alternative for the individual's life and a better future.
Social representations; education; youth and adult
