Narratives: meanings and contributions of school to personal projects

The discussion presented in this book is based on research that had two core questions: What does school do to the subject? and What does the subject do with what they have chosen? With this in mind, the main objectives of the research were to identify, understand and analyse the meanings attributed to school and the contributions it makes to the constitution of the personal projects of those who go through basic education. The research was based on the biographical narratives of students on the Maths degree course, in which seven collaborators told their life stories following three structuring axes: before, during and after school. The first axis sought to understand how the school was seen before they entered it, as well as how the family valued education, especially school education. The phase during school was marked by episodes of joy, fulfilment, displeasure and frustration. The third axis, in turn, deals with how school played a fundamental role in choosing, entering and staying on the degree course, as well as entering the labour market. The main meanings attributed to school are learning, personal relationships and fun.