Abstract:

Taking as a reference the data from the report of the National Observatory for the Fight Against Poverty (2021) and based on data from European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) (2020), it is observed that 20% of the resident population in Portugal was in a condition of social and economic vulnerability, which corresponds to 1/5 of the resident population in Portugal. Another fact that the report highlights is related to the higher incidence of vulnerability in rural areas (21.1%), which presents a higher risk of poverty than in densely populated areas (13.3%) and medium populated areas (16.6%). Different studies such as those by Silva (2020), Brandão (2015), and Calejon (2011) reveal that there is a relationship between the condition of social vulnerability of children and families and the school success of these children. Considering the right to quality education should be guaranteed to all children, it is important to know how these vulnerabilities and their consequences are perceived by families and children and how they may be conditioning their access to a quality education provided by the schools they attend. This paper presents a project that aims to study the paths of vulnerability and its possible causes through the voices of families and children who are in a condition of social and economic vulnerability. To this purpose, it will address the following question: what is the life path of families who are in a condition of social and economic vulnerability?

Its objectives are:
(i) to analyse the life path of families in a situation of social and economic vulnerability;
(ii) to characterize the families in a situation of social and economic vulnerability, based on the voice of the actors;
(iii) to understand the impact of the situation of vulnerability of families on children's school success;
(iv) to analyse children's perception of their family situation and their school path;
(v) to identify relevant mechanisms to prevent and/or overcome different social and economic vulnerabilities.

Therefore, it focuses on eight families from the northern/interior region of Portugal and uses life narratives to survey the social reality under consideration. Hence, it is qualitative research, using semi-structured interviews with two previously developed scripts (one for adults and the other for children). It is important to highlight the social impact of this study which will provide a deep knowledge of families and children in situations of social and economic vulnerability, allowing a better understanding about the impact that certain vulnerabilities may have on children's school success, and it will identify relevant mechanisms to prevent and/or overcome them. This information is not limited to its apparent descriptive nature, but it may constitute an important knowledge source to be considered in the development of future intervention proposals regarding the prevention of vulnerabilities that may emerge during the research, and, more specifically, of those that may be related to the (in)success at school of children who experience them.

Keywords:

Social and economic vulnerability, school (in)success, voice of children and family.