Contributions of Psychology to school education: perpetuation or transformation of social inequalities?

Abstract

This article discusses the role of the school in the constitution of subjects. It addresses the school’s contributions to the subjects’ development or inhibition, depending on student interactions. It places the school in the broader context of society, considering the multiple factors that constitute it as an institution that simultaneously conserves and transforms values, knowledge, and other cultural practices and impairs development processes of children, adolescents, and adults. On the one hand, it reflects on the school as a producer of inequality and, on the other one, as a promoter of aid in overcoming the conditions of existence. In this article, we emphasize the role of the school as a promoter of developmental possibilities.