Introduction

Constituent of Basic Education and sometimes at the mercy of educational policies, Youth and Adult Education (EJA) is a Brazilian teaching activity headed to those individuals who, for some reason - political, social, economic and cultural - did not have access to schooling during, which is considered, a mandatory term. Thus, it aims at offering formal education at the levels of Elementary Education Phase I and II and Secondary Education to put forward these youth and adults lives by building school scientific knowledge and obtaining the completion certificate of this educational phase.

This modality/ activity is registered in the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law N^o. 9,394/96, Chapter II, Section V, Arts. 37 and 38. So, there are actions that aim at solving the lack of education throughout the national territory, supported by this and other legislation, when they offer EJA.

Thus, a bibliographic research method was carried out, by collecting data on primary sources to reveal the relevant information. According to ^{Malheiros (2011}, p. 82), this method serves to “[...] compare some authors’ ideas, by looking for similarities and divergences”. In other words, the author aims at reaching a conclusion based on what has already been researched previously. Thus, based on the literature and its paradigms, a new framework of knowledge emerges to be discussed. Furthermore, a documentary research was also carried out, based on statistics, indexes and documentary notebooks from the researched countries, to show quantitatively evidence the educational reality of each region involved.

Thus, this study is focused on EJA and its actions mainly in South and Central Americas (considered here as Latin American countries) and the Caribbean. Some statistical data about this modality are highlighted, as well as present specific contexts of some countries, as well as its dynamics in relation to EJA. For this purpose, we provide a brief history of EJA in the international context, specifically denoting the relationship among students and the teaching design in these countries. It should be noted that this paper is the result of a Doctoral research, whose title is: The educational demands in EJA: an ethnographic glance at Science teaching. We therefore suggest a critical reading of the next writings, which reveal essential data to understand the history and reflections on the ongoing of EJA modality/activity.

An overview of Youth and Adult Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

The search for reflection on actions regarding youth and adults at the international level has led us to describe in a simplified way the International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA), held by representatives from several countries, beyond Latin America and the Caribbean, to deliberate measures that would favor the training and education of the EJA public.

I CONFINTEA was held in Denmark in 1949, shortly after the Second World War and the creation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) its central theme was “Adult Education (AED) and understanding international and required cooperation to develop AED” with almost 100 people participating (^{IRELAND, 2008}). Subsequently, in 1960, the scenario was of advances in the world economy. At that time, the II CONFINTEA was held in Montreal city/Canada, which had as its central goal the “Role of the state in Adult Education; AED as a remedial opportunity, as part of the educational system” with nearly 200 participants (IRELAND, 2008).

In 1972, the international economic increase continued, mainly due to the independence of many countries. In that year, the III CONFINTEA was held in Tokyo/Japan, with emphasis on “AED and literacy; AED, media and culture; Lifelong Learning (Faure Report: learning to be)” (^{IRELAND, 2008}, p. 1), with 400 participants. At this Conference, aspects associated to the Paulo Freire method (UNESCO, 2008) were also discussed.

In 1985, several countries were going through an economic crisis that submitted them to public expenditure containment. Even so, at that year in Paris/France, the IV CONFINTEA took place, with the central theme focused on “AED and Lifelong Learning, Declaration on the right to learn, Role of states and NGOs, Adults’ right to learn, New technologies of information” (^{IRELAND, 2008}, p. 1). At this meeting, there were approximately 800 representatives, supported by the governments of China, Nordic countries and the Arab League (UNESCO, 2008).

In 1997, in Hamburg/Germany, it was held the V CONFINTEA, aiming at thinking about “Adult Learning as a right, tool, pleasure and shared responsibility; Adult learning and active participation in all dimensions of sustainable development with equity; the Role of Literacy: equity and recognition of differences” (^{IRELAND, 2008}, p. 1). Thus, there was an average of 1,300 people to discuss these issues. During this decade, other conferences also took place, such as the World Conference on Education for All.

In 2009, post-conference period, VI CONFINTEA was held for the first time in Latin America, with headquarters in Belém city in Brazil, with the participation of almost 1,125 representatives. The main goal of this Conference was “To reconcile adult learning and education with other international education and development agendas; the integration of adults with other international and national agendas” to review the unsolved issues established in the last Conferences, as well as to establish monitoring for the next implementations (MEC, 2009).

At the last meeting, the Belém Action Framework was also signed, which proposed seven axes of recommendations for adult education, namely: “adult literacy; policies; governance; financing; participation, inclusion and equity; quality and Framework in practice implementing and monitoring rights” (UNESCO, 2010, p. 2). The document expressed the consensus of representatives from participating countries, mainly in reinforcing actions regarding public policies, financing, established partnerships and the quality of teaching to achieve improvements in the education of youth and adults.

After thirteen years, VII CONFINTEA was held in 2022 in Morocco, where 142 members from different countries were present, and, at that time, several issues were discussed and an assessment was made about the challenges and progress in Youth and Adult Education since 2009. On that occasion, they also established some goals to be achieved by 2030 (UNESCO, 2022).

Therefore, to the detriment of the Conferences, we infer that the political and economic periods in which they took place significantly reflected the objectives of each meeting. Here, we have also mentioned 1960, a period of economic development, in which the central theme of the Conference was characterized as “remedial” Adult Education, that is, compensatory education, coincidentally or not, very popular in the Brazilian history of EJA.

Thus, along many years, several countries have held meetings and discussions to find solutions regarding illiteracy, as well as continued education for youth and adults. However, according to statistics, few actions have been carried out during this period. According to the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2010):

Lifelong learning remains more a vision than a reality [...] it is now a priority on policy agendas. [...] Adult literacy rightly continues to be a priority with regard to international policy initiatives and programs (UNESCO, 2010, p. 14).

After several international meetings, it was established that the primary interest concerning the international educational sphere was to annihilate the condition of illiteracy presented in most of participating countries, that is, 85% of them had literacy as a priority. According to UNESCO data, there were millions of illiterates spread across the participating continents:

Today, there are nearly 758 million adults - of which 114 million are young people aged from 15 to 24 years- who still cannot read or write a simple sentence. About two in three adults who have difficulty reading and writing are women (UNESCO, 2016, p. 17).

It is appropriate to highlight two aspects described in these data: the first one is related to the significant number of young people who do not master writing and reading and the second is about the distinction between male and female genders, in which women are still highlighted in inferiority. According to UNESCO, one of the explanatory arguments for this statistic would be the disparity in the offer of actions and programs, which do not reach the population in a unified way, consequently, education would have limited access for some individuals.

The most recent document released by UNESCO (2020) is the 4^th Report on Adult Learning and Education, which aimed to demonstrate the policies and practices adopted in the countries that participate in the research, regarding adult education based on equity and inclusion. It is still noteworthy to express that 159 countries participated in this monitoring survey.

Initially, the report addresses issues related to monitoring adult education progress regarding learning unlike to the Belém Framework for Action. Countries were questioned regarding the implementation of legislation, policy development, concrete and specific plans that followed the commitments established by this Framework.

In relation to Latin America and the Caribbean, these countries reported 92% involvement in the development of plans for adult education; however, the rates of effective implementation of these plans are lower, reaching 62% and 64%, respectively, resulting in a high level of interest, but with low practical implementation. According to this Report, education for youth and adults in Latin America has reached few individuals in recent years, “[...] 3% of people aged 15 or over with no education or with incomplete primary education took part of a primary education program” (UNESCO, 2020, p. 130). As for high school, the enrollment rate was around 5% of people aged 20 or over without concluding it (UNESCO, 2020, p. 130). Bolivia was the country that stood out for its success with literacy among youth and adults, after a long campaign against illiteracy, resulting in high rates for both educational GDP and an increase in the literate population.

Women in Latin America and the Caribbean still represent 56% of the illiterate population, demonstrating the gender inequality that was recorded in this region. Despite this, many of them managed to take part of almost two thirds of the EJA literacy programs in those regions. At the same time, the report highlights an “alarming impact of social and economic inequalities, the predominant model of development in LAC countries, the political culture in the region and broader historical processes” (UNESCO, 2020, p. 165), directly affecting the educational system.

The 3^rd Report has already described that “[...] there is a major implementation deficit - policies are usually disconnected from practice, while the diversification and decentralization of processes result in coordination problems” (UNESCO, 2010, p. 36). Thus, this suggests that most of these countries have decentralized their educational powers, leading to a mismatch of information and measures to be taken in their own territory. And, this meant that, in practice, teaching occurs unequally, and does not reach all individuals who need education.

One of the means found to discuss the difficulties of EJA in Latin America and the Caribbean countries, back in 1982, from the Adult Education Council of Latin America (CEAAL), aimed at discussing policies, economy, cultural and social demands of the countries involved and, thus, they tried to find out solutions for a qualified education.

For ^{Scasso (2010}), working with such countries is full of challenges, as the diversities are countless, as well as social, political and economic inequality that have affected all educational spheres. However, with governments’ support, adult education can be prioritized. For the author, one of the challenges is improving teachers’ training, who work with adults, as this will reflect on class directions, and prevent dropouts. It is known that, for several reasons, many young and adult people are excluded from the educational system at an early age. Others survive on the poverty line and there are still those young ones who are not concerned with learning at school. Besides, for many individuals, their first ties (family and society) are also jeopardized and school becomes a place of coexistence, reflection and knowledge for these students to deal with their own challenges.

When it comes to socioeconomic inequality, Latin America and the Caribbean are still in an unfavorable position in relation to other countries in the world, constituting one of the most unequal regions in the world. In this sense, Guatemala is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL, 2018).

When inequality is perpetuated, the obstacle will remain intact; consequently, mainly the needy population will be impaired. It is understood that softening social inequality will be the solution to improve new policies, economy and, thus, countries will be rebuilt and harmful elements that characterize the Latin Caribbean profile will be reduced (CEPAL, 2019b). Reflecting on this subject, it is worth highlighting the relationship among literacy rate and the individuals from 15 to 24 years old, the population over 15 years old and the education funding based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of some countries in Latin America and Caribbean. Thus, the indices for 13 countries will be presented below, which are available in the Educational Trends Information System in Latin America (SITEAL, 2023) and in the Anuário Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe - 2018 (CEPAL, 2019a):

It should be observed that the data presented refer to 2018, as the majority of surveyed countries did not show any information after that year, making an equitable comparison among countries unfeasible.

According to the 4^th Report published by UNESCO (2020), spending on adult education in Latin America and the Caribbean “12 of the 25 countries (48%, the highest global rate) reported that spending on ALE increased as a percentage of public spending with education since 2015” (UNESCO, 2020, p. 58). This shows the slightly higher rate in some countries, such as Bolivia. In relation to Table 1, Cuba is the first in the ranking of the 13 surveyed countries, as there is a minimum rate of illiteracy among young people aged 15 to 24 years, or over 15 years old. Furthermore, it has the second largest investment in education when comparing the percentage of its GDP with other countries. Brazil ranks the third position, with 99% of literate people from 15 to 24 years old and 92% of the population over 15 years old. The lowest literacy rate is in Guatemala, which has an educational GDP of less than 3% and alarming rates of illiteracy.

Although some countries put aside from 4 to 6% of their GDP to educating the population, the rates still do not guarantee the eradication of illiteracy in most of them. These data provide speculation to justify the position of Latin America and the Caribbean at the top of the world rankings in socioeconomic inequality, resulting in an educational disorder. It is known that, as described by UNESCO, these countries lack political management and qualified laws to carry out the educational procedures.

It was also ascertained that some Latin and Caribbean countries do not provide some information in their educational documents. And countries such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela do not specify the number of enrollments at the adult literacy level (UNESCO, 2011). In order to do not go further explaining about specific aspects of each country included in the table, we will mainly report on Cuba, Brazil and Guatemala, to show a brief comparison among their educational systems and their influencers.

Considering the information listed in Table 1, Cuba stood out for its exceptional rates of high literacy rate and aroused our interest in knowing the applied methods, since the illiteracy rate is almost zero in individuals from 15 to 24 years old, or with more than 15 years of age. This datum shows its difference from Guatemala that is the last country in this ranking, with high illiteracy rates. According to the Cuba Statistical Yearbook of 2014, produced by the Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información (ONEI), it was possible to learn about the educational structure in that country. There, general education is divided in levels.

The first level is Primary Education (6 to 11 years old) and organized into two cycles: from 1^st to 4^th grade and from 5^th to 6^th grade. Efficiency at this first level covers 99.3%, that is, almost all children of this age attend and complete this school stage (^{LÓPEZ, 2011}). The other level is the High School, made up of Basic Secondary and Pre-University. It is known as the Basic Secondary phase, students are from 12 to 15 years old, and it is a mandatory level as well as Primary Education, comprising from 7 to 9 grades. The second level of High school is the ongoing study that prepares the students to Higher Education. It is known as Pre-University from 10^th to 12^th grade (upper high school) in which individuals are aged from 15 to 18 years (LÓPEZ, 2011).

While EJA is offered at three levels by the Ministry of Education: Workers-Peasants Education (Primary Education), Workers-Peasants Secondary (High School) and Workers-Peasants College (Pre-University). There is also a Language School that assists workers’ needs when it comes to mastering foreign languages (^{LÓPEZ, 2011}).

According to ^{López (2011}, p. 63), Adult Education in Cuba aims at “[...] providing workers and adults in general with the necessary background of basic/ primary education to achieve the desired educational level and to provide their technical training later”. In addition, crafts courses are developed to qualify students. When adding up the three levels of education offered for EJA, plus the Language School and the Spanish Language, History and Mathematics Course - preparatory to get into universities -, in 2014, there was a total of 115,282 students enrolled, which would be a low number when compared to the population of Cuba, which is around 11 million inhabitants (ONEI, 2014).

According to ^{González and Velázquez (2009}), Cuba's educational history was not always like this, but from 1975 onwards, after one of the Cuban Revolutions, the country began some changes regarding educational development, in order to find out its improvement, along with the social and economic groups of this country. Besides, “Despite the economic crisis, the educational sector has always been supported by the national budget; thus, spending on education, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), increased from 8.5% to 12.8% from 1990 to 2007” (^{GONZÁLEZ; VELÁZQUEZ, 2009}, p. 14). Unlike other countries, Cuba effectively sought to become a nation with minimum rates of illiteracy and lack of education, since it has invested a significant part of its financial resources in the educational system. Furthermore, the country has the support of state funding, which budgets are voted annually by the National Assembly of People’s Power, to be spent on school construction, maintenance and equipment. In 2009, the country stood out due to its highest number of teachers per capita in the world, which guarantees full access to basic schooling and thus eliminates illiteracy (GONZÁLEZ; VELÁZQUEZ, 2009).

Youth and adults literacy has been carried out for four decades in the country, using several programs, and it is the main radio and television broadcast. One of the most prominent programs produced by the country is Yo sí puedo - “I can yes” also developed in other countries, such as Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Haiti. In addition to this program, there is Yo sí puedo seguir, regarded as a continuation of basic teachings (^{GONZÁLEZ; VELÁZQUEZ, 2009}).

In Cuba, literacy programs are still fomented, but on a smaller scale, as literacy is mandatory at an early age. So, individuals over 17 years old, who, for some reason, were unable to study at the right time, can enter the Obrera and Campesina Educational level, however, they must have minimum writing and reading skills. Later, they can continue their studies in other segments.

According to Cuba's 2019/2020 Census, adult education had 104,216 enrollments in these two years, until June 2020. The number was smaller when compared to enrollments in previous years. Educación Obrero Campesina had 4,517 enrollments, while, Secundaria Obrero Campesina had 8,844 enrollees, Facultad Obrero Campesina registred 73,220 enrollments and there were 17,635 students in Languages.

Although the Yo sí puedo program was also adopted by some municipalities in Guatemala in 2007, from 2010 to 2011, this country still headed the highest illiteracy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. During that period, Guatemala registered almost 14 million inhabitants, 5 million of whom were indigenous, that is, 41% of the population (CEPAL, 2013). Furthermore, the majority of the non-indigenous population was the most literate, with men representing 88.9% and women 81.1%. Regarding indigenous peoples, literate men constituted 74.6% and indigenous women 51.9% (ENCOVI, 2014).

For ^{Galeotti (2015}), Guatemalan women suffered from racism and submission to men in that society, so, social conditions and gender inequality have been kept since colonization. This also implies precarious circumstances regarding the right to health, security, employability, freedom, so that rural women were even more excluded, as they have minimal access to their rights.

Furthermore, according to INE (2011, p.22)², “it is convenient to indicate that literacy and education processes for young people have given positive results, since when analyzing the population from 15 to 24 years old, there is a significant increase in literacy”. However, the rates are far from an extinction of illiteracy. The highlighted data about Guatemala is in line with Brazilian educational history in which “for almost four centuries, the dominance of white, Christian, male and literate culture over the culture of Indians, blacks, women and illiterates has been observed” (PARANÁ, 2006, p. 16). It is inferred that the colonization configuration in Latin America adds a lot to these predominant and dominant characteristics, shaping the culture of these peoples in accordance with their colonizers. According to the educational census that was carried out in Guatemala in 2018, individuals over 19 years of age represented the following education data:

In 2018, the population was 14,901,286 inhabitants, of which 9,928,561 were over 15 years old (INE, 2019). Thus, according to Table 2, it was observed that education among people over 19 years old was not very popular, as 70% of individuals had basic educational levels, 22% had no educational level and only 8% had higher education. These results are configured as people are in a society with little equality regarding education.

The same Institute (INE, 2018) collected information to know why individuals from 4 to 29 years old did not attend school. There were different answers, including: lack of money (25%), they needed to work (16%), they didn’t like or didn’t want to go (14%), there were household chores (3%), they have already finished their studies (2%), they didn’t have any School, Institute or University (1%), Parents didn’t want to (1%), Other causes (21%), they did not declare (17%). According to the statistical analyses, it was observed that the economic condition was one of the main factors mentioned by individuals regarding their absence from school. Thus, it is possible that economic, social and educational means are intertwined; allowing or preventing several actions to be carried out, among them, there was educational area. Another aspect to be highlighted is the number of Schools, Institutes and Universities, which showed that these Educational Institutions are present in a large part of the territory, providing opportunities for those individuals.

Countries such as Guatemala, which have alarming educational rates, were highlighted in the Report, but with positive allusions, including redrafting the Curriculum for Basic education for this public, the review of resources for these students, the creation of the National Alternative Education Program (PRONEA) in 2017, aimed at assisting individuals over 13 years old without schooling and greater accessibility on students’ enrollment to the educational system (UNESCO, 2020). These measures contribute to strengthening education in the country, as well as to decrease illiteracy and inequalities rates that haunt Guatemalans, aiming, in a long term, to reduce or even eliminate the lack of education in individuals over 15 years old.

In 2022, INE carried out a new Census in Guatemala, however, only some data are available on the website. In the case of the elementary extra-curricular education subsystem, intended for youth at 15 years old or older, who have not started or completed their studies, it is possible to verify the number of enrollments in this sector, with a total of 7,273 recorded enrollments, of which 3,338 enrollments were men and 3,935 were women. These data mostly cover the urban population rather than rural population (INE, 2023).

After checking the EJA in Cuba and Guatemala, Brazilian educational data were also investigated. Although Brazil presents laws and decrees to expand education for young people and adults across its vast territory, it allocates a low percentage of educational GDP to its population, when compared to countries such as Bolivia and Cuba.

In addition to face-to-face studies at Elementary Education, Early Years, Final Years and High School, the Brazilian government sought to suppress the inequality that exists in the Union itself by providing an association of face-to-face and on-line studies (EaD), with certification tests and achievement of elementary education (ENCCEJA). Although this last one did not show a significant teaching to individuals or their critical-reflective development.

According to IBGE report (2019), 11 million individuals with 15 years old or older were not literate in Brazil. This rate decreased in 2022, with 9.6 million illiterate people now based on the aforementioned age group (IBGE 2022). These data reveal that, despite the established programs across the country, they have not achieved their desired objective yet, as annual statistics show little discrepancy. These answers lead us to thank over several factors, such as individuals’ accessibility to programs and schools, their dropout from programs, teachers’ training, funding, among other elements.

The 4^th UNESCO Report (2020), in its conclusion, pointed out that only by prioritizing EJA, balancing its resources, looking for some educational equity, inclusion and sustainability, countries will be able to fulfill with the 2030 Agenda, which aims at not leaving any individual without educational learning, that is, basic schooling.

Drawing a comparison among the three countries presented in Table 1, the difference among the second largest investor in the educational area (Cuba), the intermediate country (Brazil) and the last placed one (Guatemala) can be clearly seen. As it has already been mentioned, the countries most affected by illiteracy need policy reform to bring advances not only in the educational sphere, but also socially, economically and even culturally, to provide access to education for everybody.

Considerations

These complex factors that constitute the background of nations must be discussed and planned rigorously, aiming at real transformation, not only in speeches and laws, but mainly in their practice. Educational inequality is just one point, surrounded by other non-conformities that are the Union’s responsibility.

Following the example of Cuba's educational determination, other countries that lack literacy should take effective decisions and measures, committed to ending illiteracy. Measures such as encouraging face-to-face teaching, training teachers and valuing them to work with the correct modality, materials and methods to the participating students, the financial incentive to carry out the programs, accessibility to everyone, regardless of gender, race, religion and economic situation. To achieve this, many countries may have to accomplish broad changes, and carry out political reform to solve the nation's own difficulties. Undoubtedly, these actions are complex and demand unquestionable efforts from managers but this is only way nations will achieve success in their objectives, overcoming several inequalities that are present in their territory.