Child participation at rural school: narratives produced in the context of research with children

Abstract

This paper discusses results of research on peasant childhood, conducted with children, from the perspective of child protagonism. Having the Childhood Sociology as a theoretical-methodological framework, an investigation was conducted with narratives, woven in focus groups with 20 children from 8 to 10 years old, in rural schools located in two rural communities of the State of Piauí. The interactions in the focus groups were triggered from photographs and drawings produced by the children. The results of the study revealed the potential that children have to actively participate in decision-making bodies at school, as they give scathing criticism to the way this institution is organized, besides offering viable suggestions for improving the pedagogical practices that take place within them. It is concluded that the repositioning of children in the school environment is urgent as subjects who have experiences, think and contribute to the (re) construction of the educational environment, as subjects of rights, able to social participation.