Gender, race, school dropout and expulsion: why do girls and boys stop attending school?

Abstract

This paper problematizes school dropout in a judicial district in Paraná State, Brazil. It analyzed information from the School Dropout Questionnaire, produced by the judiciary system, as well as efficiency and performance indicators from academic records, intersected with the social markers of race and gender. The theoretical basis drew upon Foucauldian, gender and ethnic-racial studies. The main reasons for dropout differ according to gender: for female students, they are related to family care, while, for male students, they are associated with disinterest. The paper points out that mother-students are displaced into caregiving roles until they are solely identified as mothers. It shows that racism is one of the main factors leading to dropout. And it concludes that, prior to dropout, there is academic failure, which is more common among the Black population, thereby naturalizing a systematic process of exclusion that culminates in the expulsion of certain populations from schools.