BETWEEN SCHOOL AND LIFE: SCHOOLING TRAJECTORIES, READING, WRITING, AND LEARNING AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN RURAL CONTEXTS

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze, based on the narratives of older adults who experienced schooling in rural contexts, the relationships between schooling conditions, experiences with reading and writing, and knowledge constructed throughout life. This qualitative study derives from an undergraduate research project whose corpus, consisting of semi-structured interviews with four participants aged 60 to 81 years, was revisited for a reanalysis guided by the specific research question of this study. The analysis resulted in three interpretative axes: the material, territorial, and family conditions that shaped schooling; the uses of reading and writing and the marks left by schooling trajectories; and knowledge constructed through experience and the continuity of learning. The results revealed trajectories marked by limited educational provision, long distances, multigrade classes, and the relationship between schooling and work, while also showing the value participants attributed to education. Reading and writing difficulties coexisted with different social literacy practices and with knowledge constructed within the family, at work, and in everyday life. It is concluded that discontinuity in schooling did not mean discontinuity in learning.