LIFE PROJECTS AND PROFESSIONAL ASPIRATIONS OF YOUNG GIRLS EGRESSES THE COURSE PRÓ-TÉCNICO BY CEFET-MG.
Low-income youth. Sexual Division of Labor. Professional and Technological Education. Life Projects.
This research analyzes life projects and professional aspirations of young female students, coming from low-income classes which attended the Pro-technical extension course at CEFETMG. The objective is to understand if and how such projects are influenced by the Sexual Division of Labor and its consequences, the motivations and challenges faced by them, and their expectations concerning the world of work. For this purpose, an exegesis of the excerpts of the students’ speeches, from the research participants, collected in the empirical research in the light of the Sexual Division of Labor, dialoguing with the theories of youths and life projects, was carried out. Thus, conversation circles and semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight graduates of the Pro-technical to get closer to the object under study. The reports of the research participants showed that their passages through the Pro-technical contributed to the socialization with other groups of belonging and also to the (re) elaboration of youth constructions. Several challenges were pointed out along the trajectory of these girls, such as study routines with exhaustive hours and delayed transportation from school to home. Some shared their time with triple or multiple hours - study, housework, paid work, physical, religious, and personal activities. Students who do paid work do so to afford their financial expenses or to help with any extra expenses at home. In addition, there are reports of gender discrimination in the academic space and in the work world, with selections of vacancies for male trainees exclusively, for instance. However, young women seek ways of coping and resistance. According to the narratives of the young graduates, both “work makes youth” and “school makes youth”. It can be concluded from the case above that also ‘Technological Education makes youths’, as this has been contributing to the formation of female youth conditions and future citizens active in society.