Psychology's contributions to addressing school failure

Abstract

School failure is a complex social problem involving several factors that impede students' progress in grades. For a long time, understandings of this issue focused on reductionist explanations that blamed students for their learning difficulties, using as a basis the theoretical framework provided by an elitist approach to school and educational psychology, disconnected from the social and historical reality that reinforced social inequalities. Based on this, the objective of this reflection is to discuss the production of school failure and propose ethical and political positions for school and educational psychology in addressing this issue in educational institutions. The text is divided into aspects that critically and multidimensionally define school failure and explore some of the history of school and educational psychology. It then reflects on how psychological knowledge can enter schools in a way that is committed to guaranteeing the right to education for the working classes. Far from seeking to end the discussion, I propose a school psychology approach that considers the multi-complexity of the historical production of school failure, avoiding individualistic, psychologizing reductionisms. I also propose a coordinated approach with other school stakeholders to deconstruct entrenched conceptions of school grievances and address the failure caused by the historical conditions of social exclusion in Brazil.