Motivation and inclusion: Actions Towards the Goal of Reducing Dropout Rates in Brazilian Schools

Abstract

The school dropout represents a global issue that emerges from different sources and causes. The lack of motivation as well as the low levels of inclusion of people with special needs are among them and have received a great deal of attention in designing strategies and actions for reducing the dropout and increasing retention rates. In Brazilian vocational, scientific, and technological education these rates are still high, representing a great matter of concern. So much that the Brazilian Ministry of Education has recently established guidelines to overcome them. In this context, and taking those guidelines into account, a huge quantity of studies, strategies, and techniques can be found, aiming to contribute to the cause. This article presents some approaches that were applied in three different campuses of Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of São Paulo involving: the robotics as pedagogical tool; a strategy for deaf students inclusion; and a multidisciplinary Project-Based Learning application that addresses productive sector needs. Interesting results were observed pointing out that the applied approaches represent feasible and promising ways of dealing with the presented concerns.