Abstract Today we face the ongoing challenge of adapting ourselves to the demands of a changing world. In this context, education becomes crucial, especially the programs aimed at people who, for various reasons, have not completed primary and/or secondary school, considering the consequences that incomplete schooling has on these people. This study aims to investigate and compare the profiles and assessments of students who attend three reschooling programs in Chile (reintegration projects, regular, and flexible modalities), using the data produced by a survey in Santiago, Chile, with 523 people who attend one of these programs, involving twenty-three different educational institutions. The random sample was drawn by cluster sampling technique, and the sampling frame was built up from the total enrollment records provided by the National Coordination of Education for Youth and Adults of the Ministry of Education of Chile. In addition to differences observed between the students’ profiles attending the three kinds of reschooling programs, results allow to conclude that assessments and perceptions of students regarding these programs are positive, although participants in the most vulnerable groups appear to be more critical.

Resumen Hoy en día nos vemos enfrentados al reto continuo de adaptarnos a las exigencias de un mundo en constante cambio. En este contexto, la educación adquiere una importancia fundamental, en especial los programas dirigidos a la población que por diversas razones no ha concluido sus estudios primarios y/o secundarios, ello considerando las consecuencias que la escolaridad incompleta tiene sobre estas personas. En este contexto, el presente artículo tiene como objetivo central indagar y comparar los perfiles y la evaluación de los estudiantes insertos en tres modalidades de reescolarización existentes en Chile (proyectos de reinserción, modalidad regular y modalidad flexible), esto a partir de los datos arrojados por una encuesta aplicada en Santiago de Chile a una muestra de 523 personas que cursan alguno de estos programas, repartidas en un total de 23 instituciones educativas. La muestra se obtuvo de manera probabilística mediante la técnica de muestreo por conglomerados, y el marco muestral se construyó a partir del total de registros de matrículas provisto por la Coordinación Nacional de Educación de Personas Jóvenes y Adultas (EPJA), del Ministerio de Educación de Chile (Mineduc). Los resultados -además de arrojar importantes diferencias en cuanto a los perfiles de estudiantes de las tres modalidades- muestran que, si bien las valoraciones y percepciones de estos alumnos respecto de los programas son positivas, quienes se muestran más críticos corresponden a los grupos de mayor vulnerabilidad social.

O presente artigo tem como objetivo central identificar os fatores de caráter intraescolar que, quando comparados, têm maior incidência no abandono escolar no ciclo primário de crianças de ambos os sexos que vivem em Cerro Navia, uma zona da cidade de Santiago do Chile que se caracteriza por elevados índices de pobreza. A informação qualitativa que serve de base a este trabalho foi obtida através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas aplicadas a duas amostras de 25 casos: uma de menores que abandonaram a escola e outra composta por crianças de ambos os sexos com perfil idêntico que permanecem na escola. Esta informação foi analisada segundo os princípios da análise do discurso e refere-se à perceção dos próprios menores, assim como das suas famílias em relação aos fatores intraescolares de abandono escolar e de permanência dos alunos em escolas públicas de Cerro Navia. Os resultados permitem observar diferenças importantes nos percursos educativos dos que abandonaram a escola e dos que permaneceram na escola, o que indicia o tipo de ações que poderiam adotar os próprios estabelecimentos de ensino de modo a prevenir a abandono escolar precoce dos seus estudantes.

The present article has as its main objective to identify the internal school factors which comparatively have a stronger impact on primary level dropout rates among boys and girls from Cerro Navia, namely one area of the Santiago city in Chile which is known for its high poverty levels. The study is based on qualitative information obtained from semi-structured interviews applied to two different samples of 25 cases each: the first one based on school leavers and the second one based on boys and girls who remain at the school system. This information was analyzed following the principles of the discourse analysis and is referred to the perceptions of the boys and girls and their families about the internal school factors which affect dropout and retention in public schools in Cerro Navia. The results allow to establishing significant differences between the educational trajectories of school leavers and vulnerable students and at the same time shed some light about the kind of measures which could be taken by schools themselves in order to prevent its students from dropping out.