STUDENT RETENTION IN NIGHTTIME HIGH SCHOOL AFTER THE HIGH SCHOOL REFORM: CHALLENGES OF CURRICULAR IMPLEMENTATION IN BRAZILIAN EDUCATION

Abstract

Brazilian upper secondary education has historically been the stage of basic education most strongly marked by disputes concerning its identity, social purpose, and curricular organization. Within this context, the reform introduced by Law No. 13,415/2017 advocated curricular flexibility as a strategy to reduce school dropout and make schools more attractive to young people. This article aims to analyze, in light of Brazilian academic literature, the challenges of curriculum implementation in evening upper secondary education following this reform, discussing its implications for students' school retention. This is a qualitative study based on bibliographic and documentary research, drawing on the works of Gramsci, Saviani, Nosella, Kuenzer, Krawczyk, Frigotto, Ciavatta, Ramos, Arroyo, Dayrell, and Patto, in dialogue with Brazilian educational legislation and official data from the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The analysis shows that the challenges faced by evening upper secondary education extend beyond the curricular changes introduced by the reform. They are closely related to the persistence of the historical dual structure of Brazilian education, social inequalities, the concrete conditions under which schools operate, and the difficulty working students experience in attributing meaning to their schooling. The study concludes that school retention depends on the articulation of public policies, adequate material conditions, sound pedagogical organization, and the strengthening of upper secondary education as a socially relevant space for comprehensive human development committed to the democratization of knowledge.