Academic self-concept and educational inequalities among students from the periphery of São Paulo

Abstract

This article investigates the relationships between academic self-concept, future expectations, and school experiences among upper secondary school students attending a public school in the East Zone of São Paulo. Drawing on a review of the literature grounded in Bourdieusian and post-Bourdieusian theory, as well as on semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, it examines how young people from working-class backgrounds assess their own abilities, learning processes, and prospects for continuing their education in contexts shaped by limited resources, school relationships, and inequalities in access to cultural capital. The findings show that, despite the barriers they perceive, many students express a desire to pursue higher education, projecting educational trajectories primarily oriented toward private higher education institutions or technical and vocational programs. This reveals plural educational pathways and future aspirations that are nevertheless constrained by their social origins. The study also highlights the need for further research on academic self-concept that takes into account social inequalities, educational expectations, and learning processes that influence—or even condition—students' educational investment and future trajectories.