Educação empreendedora e a pedagogia crítica freireana: um estudo sobre o projeto de vida no ensino médio em escolas públicas de Alagoas

Abstract

Entrepreneurship Education is a pedagogical approach that aims to develop students’ competencies by encouraging autonomy, problem-solving, and the planning of personal and professional trajectories. When articulated with Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, EE acquires an emancipatory character, enabling students to reflect on their realities and recognize themselves as agents of transformation. In this context, the "Projeto de Vida" curricular component, part of the New High School framework and institutionalized in Alagoas through the Referencial Curricular (RECAL), becomes a strategic space for developing such competencies. However, its implementation in public schools still faces pedagogical challenges, such as the absence of clear guidelines and limited integration of structuring axes like entrepreneurship. This study aimed to understand the development of life projects through EE in public high schools in Alagoas, guided by Freire’s critical pedagogy. Adopting a qualitative, interpretative case study approach in two state schools, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and pedagogical coordinators and focus groups with active and former students. Content analysis was used to interpret the data. Results show that while Projeto de Vida is perceived as important, its effectiveness is limited by the lack of systematized entrepreneurial pedagogical practices, misalignment with BNCC’s structuring axes, and the absence of teacher training in entrepreneurship. This research contributes to the debate on EE in secondary education by integrating EE with critical pedagogy, strengthening youth protagonism, and enhancing the formative purpose of Projeto de Vida.