A social occupational therapy research/intervention experience aimed at providing active and democratic care to young students in the postpandemic contexto

Abstract

The CoVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many issues insufficiently addressed by Brazil’s social public policies. School dropout is one such issue, disproportionately affecting young people from working-class backgrounds, especially the poor, Black, and peripheral populations, requiring the shared responsibility of various sectors and social actors. The research/intervention experience focused on the explanatory frameworks contributing to the occurrence and persistence of school dropout and/or withdrawal, as well as understanding and seeking to overcome the obstacles preventing young people from returning to or staying in school. An interinstitutional team, comprising researchers affiliated with the Metuia Network – Social Occupational Therapy, along with young university and high-school students, has been conducting this research/intervention in the cities of São Carlos and Santos (SP), João Pessoa (PB), Petrolina (PE), Brasília/Ceilândia (DF), and Simão Dias (SE). Based on participatory action research and social occupational therapy, young university students and researchers in their schools and/or communities have been individually and territorially following up other young people who are out of school. By incorporating additional methodological strategies, such as questionnaires, photovoice, interviews, expert panels, domestic and international seminars, and expanding the concept of “active search,” which has been required of education professionals, the aim is to provide active and democratic care, ensuring shared responsibility among all those who form the social support network for young people in their territories. This text aims to share this experience, from its inception to the questions arising from its first two years.