INTRODUCTION

The Brazilian professional education scenario has been in constant transformation since its beginning - focused on the desires of the labor market with a more welfare nature - until the present day (^{Mota; Araújo; Santos, 2018}). Professional and Technological Education (EPT- Educação Profissional e Tecnológica), present in Brazil since 1906, brings in its genesis the provision of education aimed at “the less favored classes”, whose primary objective was to generate qualified labor for industry and for the agricultural sector. The EPT was then created to contribute to the acceleration of the industrialization process. At the beginning of the 2000s, significant increases were recorded both in terms of the increase in the number of institutions and the expansion of the number of places available. In 2002, there were 140 schools; this number increased to 356 in 2010, 578 in 2014, and reaching 644 schools in 2016 (Brasil, 2016).

However, in parallel with the increase in enrollment, an increase in student dropout from professional schools was also observed. This increase in the number of enrollments in the federal network has brought the emergence of barriers (socioeconomic vulnerability, poor basic education, poor learning, etc.) for students to remain until the end of the course, consequently leading to an increase in the enrollment evasion rate. Therefore, dropout rates are one of the major problems facing educational institutions and may also have an impact on the job market in terms of the unsatisfactory supply of new professionals. In addition to all the obvious negative consequences of dropping out of school on a person's life, dropping out is also related to a greater loss of resources for the institution and a greater cost to society.

The Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará (IFCE) Pecém Advanced Campus is characterized by having very heterogeneous classes, students with learning difficulties, mainly with disabilities in mathematics and Portuguese, in addition to a significant number of students who work after shifts. This survey was carried out by the Academic Control Coordination (CCA) and Course Coordination. High dropout rates were also observed in the last semesters of the Subsequent Technical Course in Electromechanics, causing great concern in the study and deepening of this topic. The IFCE campuses have very different realities, and at the Pecém Advanced Campus, there is no consolidated work that carries out surveys related to evasion in quantitative terms and detection of causes, despite systematic efforts to minimize this problem.

In this scenario, significant dissatisfaction is observed by the students due to the difficulty of reconciling work and studies, resulting in a reduction in learning. The campus is in an industrial complex, which often encourages students to enter the job market during the course, requiring pedagogical adaptation by teachers to prevent student dropout. Thus, pedagogical practices and the teaching-learning process are key factors in combating dropout rates, constituting a constant concern for teachers on the Pecém campus.

Many teachers have reported difficulties in adapting their methodologies due to the characteristics of the campus, something unusual in other previous experiences. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and understand the correlation between pedagogical practices and the factors that contribute to evasion and the enrichment of literature on the topic. ^{Moreira, Lamber, and Castro (2018}) found that individual factors, such as difficulty in reconciling work with studies and obstacles in the teaching-learning process, are triggers for student dropout, further emphasizing the concern in addressing these topics.

In recent years, IFCE's efforts to combat dropout rates in courses and their modalities have increased. One of the actions was the preparation of the Strategic Plan for Student Permanence and Success (PPE), which aims to strengthen the quality of teaching through actions to encourage retention and academic promotion. In compliance with the goals established in the PNE (National Education Plan- Plano Nacional de Educação), IFCE's institutional purpose is to gradually increase, until 2024, the average completion rate of secondary and undergraduate technical courses (IFCE, 2017).

Based on this assumption, the country's economic and social development process needs to carry out studies to gather information and indicators of professional education in Brazil. Carrying out this research is important to generate information about student dropout and contribute to the development of strategies to improve this indicator at IFCE. Therefore, it is important to carry out this study to collaborate with results regarding evasion, helping IFCE in the development of plans and actions to combat evasion. There are several studies on this topic but further study is essential as there are peculiarities and specific policies for each situation, which can contribute to students' retention (^{Meira, 2015}; ^{Nascimento, 2019}).

Dropout is a complex phenomenon with multiple interrelated causes that can lead to academic failure. This reveals the urgency of studies in the area to create effective strategies, including monitoring results. The research aims, therefore, to reflect on pedagogical practices and student dropout in the Subsequent Technical Course in Electromechanics at IFCE Pecém Advanced Campus.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

In this second section, the phenomenon of student dropout in technological professional education will be addressed, its diverse conceptualization, and some models developed by the most referenced authors in the area. The importance of teaching pedagogical practices and their influence on reducing student dropout will be reported, showing some important aspects and concepts in the teaching-learning relationship.

METHODOLOGY

Reports of experiences of pedagogical practices were made, in various aspects, in addition to the description of intervention actions carried out jointly to verify the contribution to reducing student dropout. As for the approach, the research is qualitative, as there is concern with aspects of reality, focusing on understanding and explaining phenomena to identify and analyze the data. ^{Denzin and Lincoln (2011}) state that qualitative analysis seeks to obtain descriptive data of people, places, and interactive processes that occur through the researcher's direct contact with what is being studied, with the understanding of the phenomena given from the perspective of the participating subjects.

As for the objectives, this research is exploratory, involving bibliographical research and practical experiences with the problem, in addition to the analysis of examples. The purpose is to collect information, not to obtain statistical conclusions. According to ^{Gil (1991}), exploratory research aims to facilitate the researcher's familiarity with the problem that is the subject of the research to allow the construction of hypotheses or make the issue clearer. For the literature review, the CAPES Periodicals library, Google Scholar, and the Scielo database were adopted as the basis for data collection, using the descriptors: “school dropout in Technological Professional Education”.

Regarding the nature of the results, the research is aimed at generating knowledge for practical application to solve specific problems (^{Ganga, 2012}). Its objective is to produce knowledge for application in practice, being directed towards the search for truth in a particular situation (^{Kauark; Manhães; Medeiros, 2010}). As for the procedures, the present work can be classified as a case study, conceptualized by ^{Gil (2002}, p. 54) as the “[...] deep and exhaustive study of one or a few objects, in a way that allows their broad and detailed knowledge.” It is a more appropriate technical procedure when one aims to know the reason for certain events, over which the researcher has no control (^{Yin, 2014}).

Firstly, a bibliographic survey was carried out on the topics covered in the research. Subsequently, course dropout data was requested through the Academic Control Coordination (CCA- Coordenação de Controle Acadêmico) to analyze data from 2017.2 to 2020.1. The information provided by the Coordination was based on the following status of the students: completed, locked out, enrolled, institutional link, completed, and dropped out. Using this information, it was possible to measure student dropout rates. The object of study is the Subsequent Technical Course in Electromechanics at IFCE/Campus Avançado do Pecém, as there was a high dropout rate among the course's members. In compliance with the goals established in the PNE, IFC's institutional goal is to gradually increase, by 2024, the average completion rate of secondary and undergraduate technical courses to 90% (ninety percent), offered in person and online. In this sense, aiming to meet the goal established in the PNE and based on the current course completion rate at IFCE (21.08%), the institution defined that the completion rate for each course offered on campus should increase by 7.15% per year, starting from 2017, until 2024 (^{IFCE, 2017}).

The Institutional Strategic Plan for the Permanence and Success of IFCE Students, or simply the IFCE Strategic Plan, was created with the participation of the academic community and the use of some institutional documents as input for its preparation. The document was recommended by the Secretariat of Professional and Technological Education (SETEC), which suggested the elaboration of an Institutional Strategic Plan for the Permanence and Success of IFCE Students in Federal Network institutions, to strengthen the quality of teaching through actions to encourage retention and academic promotion.

The Technical Course in Electromechanics has, in its curricular matrix, propaedeutic disciplines applied to the professional market (organized based on areas of knowledge), in addition to technical and professional training disciplines, including laboratory practices and supervised internships carried out in companies/industries that develop activities in this sector. The preparation of the curricular matrix is based on the National Curricular Guidelines, the Institutional Guidelines, and the Quality Standards established by the Ministry of Education - MEC. The results will be reported through data analysis using content analysis (^{Moraes; Galiazzi, 2016}).

The course curriculum aims to guarantee human, ethical, and professional training; aims to be an instrument that provides students with the opportunity to acquire the skills set out in the professional profile and develop ethical, moral, cultural, social, and political values that qualify them for professional activity that contributes to personal, social, and scientific development. In flexible working hours (300 h), the activities aim to consolidate the student's training, ensuring proximity to the job market and the local production process, such as practical activities in laboratories, participation in research and extension projects, collaboration in the organization of events aimed at professional training, technical visits, development of an integrative project, among other actions.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

A survey of dropouts from the Electromechanical Technical Course was carried out based on data provided by the Academic Control Coordination of the Pecém Advanced Campus (Graph 1). The total number of students enrolled in the course, in the period analyzed, was 213. The variation in dropout results was obtained officially and in real terms. Thus, the scenario in which students have an enrollment status as dropouts was considered official. On the other hand, the number of students who dropped out of the course or informally abandoned it and who have no prospect of returning to the institution was considered real. Finally, the expected term was considered for the situation of students who were suspended, but who would be willing to return, however, without prediction. Therefore, there is the possibility of dropout, as the percentage of students returning after closure is reduced.

According to Graph 1, there was a discrepancy between the official evasion numbers and the actual evasion numbers. The number of students who drop out but do not seek out the institution to officially register their departure is still relevant. Therefore, it is important to consider these aspects to check whether the indices are harmful/alarming or not. Analyzing only the official numbers, an average dropout rate of 7.5% was observed. Considering the students who left unofficially and the students who were withdrawn but had no intention of returning to the institution, it was observed that dropout rates could be around 34.7%, a very alarming number. In some periods, the class's dropout rate was close to 50%, such as the class that joined in 2018.1. Finally, there is a critical situation, in which students who have been locked out may not return to the institution. Thus, dropouts above 50% can occur in several classes. Lower dropouts were also observed in the last class analyzed (2020.1), which may have something to do with the interventionist actions carried out on campus.

Monitoring this phenomenon must be continuous, a usual campus policy. Therefore, it is suggested that the names of students who have their first absences in the subject be forwarded to the CTP. This diagnosis is important in combating evasion, giving satisfactory results in some cases. Often, a preliminary conversation is enough to keep the student at the institution. For example, in class 2019.2, ten students were absent in just one week, which resulted in instant actions based on reports from class council meetings and direct communication from teachers to the CTP/Coordination.

Source: Created by the authors.

Evasion

Semester

Official

Real

Expected

Graph 1 - Student dropout in the Subsequent Electromechanical Technician Course 

Many teachers had no experience in teaching a subsequent technical course with a high percentage of students in the job market, something reported in meetings. Therefore, staff must be aware that many students work and often, due to scheduling, miss classes frequently. In this context, actions are necessary to promote changes in pedagogical practices. However, there is a certain degree of resistance by the teachers when applying new methods. Difficulties in teaching are common. Many teachers have little time in their academic career and others have no experience teaching subsequent technical education classes.

Solving the problems inherent to evasion depends on collaboration and an understanding of the importance of all employees. The openness given to teachers to contribute and build a good institution is an essential factor in this process. However, the view that servers should not just be executors of management tasks is a relatively new stance. Working together is essential, relative autonomy is not viable, but rather a space for dialogue, debates, and discussions. Relationships are built by respecting differences, valuing individuals, and reflecting on the collective (^{Beraldo; Pelozo, 2007}). These relationships to grow the course are fundamental, with participatory, democratic management being important - something carried out at the Pecém Campus -, including the general management and coordinators.

This entire situation, present in the course's pedagogical project, must be applied forcefully, to provide greater motivation to students, reducing dropout problems. In this way, there needs to be greater awareness among teachers, contributing to a broader training of students, with critical sense, reflection, and problem-solving, with greater interaction/dialogue between teacher and student. These actions involve pedagogical practices that contribute to the best learning process and comprehensive training, with the application of active methodologies, interdisciplinarity, greater student autonomy, greater concern with didactic transposition, understanding the specificities of each student and class, to achieve satisfactory results in the training of students.

Some joint actions were planned and carried out throughout the semesters to favor, within the scope of the teaching and learning process, the reduction of the phenomenon of student dropout, being based on proposals from the Strategic Plan for Permanence and Success of IFCE Students (2017-2024). At first, students drop out following the first obstacles observed during the course. Therefore, it is important to include an individual study plan for these specific cases. This work has not yet been carried out at the Pecém Campus, but satisfactory results were found at the Itapipoca Campus. Another important action was the holding of the 2020.1 pedagogical meeting with the theme “Pedagogical Practices: the Challenges and Processes of Possible Development and Innovation”, as well as the lecture entitled “Education for the 21st Century Active Methodologies and digital technologies in the Classroom class”, in addition to the presentation of the specialization topic of one of the authors of this article, with subsequent debate. These actions originated through dialogue between the campus's pedagogical coordination through the intervention of the author of this article. In meetings, topics were suggested that could share topics about pedagogical practices, to spread knowledge and provide a debate of ideas.

In the first week of classes, seminars covering topics such as time management and study subjects have been held on campus by CTP. However, no beneficial results were observed with the use of just one meeting, and therefore continuous monitoring was suggested to provide greater encouragement to students, especially those who work after school and who need good study management. Furthermore, due to the physical and mental fatigue of students, the availability of projects that contribute to health promotion is interesting. To this end, actions are being carried out by the Physical Education teacher, as well as the Quality-of-Life project for students, already aimed at civil servants, is being expanded.

The heterogeneity of classes, characteristic of IF, imposes many challenges, which make the transposition process even more complex, as it is not repeated, it is not something rigid with always consistent results. For example, in Jaguaribe, there were subsequent and concomitant courses that did not present many problems with dropouts; when this occurred, it was usually due to a lack of transportation. In Itapipoca, the course was integrated, and the main causes of dropouts were related to problems of socioeconomic vulnerability.

One of the challenges to be faced is the transformation of scientific knowledge into school knowledge, considering that there are students recently promoted from high school, others who have not studied for a long time, students who already have technical training, and many who have already are professionals in the metalworking sector. Thus, students are coming from high school and, at the other extreme, students who are already married and older. Therefore, this adaptation, in a different environment, with different disabilities, is quite challenging.

In the 2019.2 semester, for example, an adjustment was made to the Mechanical Technical Drawing discipline, in which it would be necessary to make some changes so as not to increase course dropout rates even in the first semester. One of the attitudes was to reduce activities to be carried out at home and increase activities in the classroom, which brought good results. Many students worked, and this would be a way for them to carry out activities without compromising their learning - many were unable to allocate extensive time to studying at home. However, isolated actions can be ineffective, and joint practices are essential for greater effectiveness in combating evasion.

The student profile also demands changes in the teaching role in the classroom. Understanding certain educational concepts is important in education at all levels, something complex, but essential in the learning process. Teachers need to understand the specificities and differences of the student body. As previously reported, there is a large age variation among students, and teachers must be prepared for such situations. Considering one of these educational concepts, andragogy, students have experience, relate usefulness to their personal or professional life, seek self-esteem, satisfaction, quality of life, and learning is facilitated and reflective. Students question what they are studying, what for, and how they can use this knowledge in the future (^{Rechlinski; Schwertner, 2017}).

Heutagogy, a branch of andragogy, is related to self-learning, in which the student is responsible for knowledge, and choosing methods. Technology may contribute to the learning process, to encourage creativity, autonomy, and freedom for self-management of learning. Finally, gerontagogy is related to the education of the elderly, which is based on the development of knowledge and creativity, with a specialized approach, interdisciplinary vision, and search for solutions arising from debates (^{Joye, 2013}). It is emphasized, again here, that these adjustments require a very challenging attitude.

It is worth highlighting an interesting situation observed in the 2018.2 semester, in which one of the students was over 50 years old. Despite the challenges in learning, he overcame all the difficulties, in addition to being able to combine work and study. Individual differences grow with age, and, therefore, adult education must consider differences in style, time, place, and pace of learning (^{Frota, 2010}).

In 2019, the student completed the course and was hired by an outsourced company, which carries out electrical maintenance services on the Pecém Campus itself - a very gratifying achievement for him, but also all employees. A student with this profile has another motivation to seek knowledge, requiring a more careful and specialized approach. Therefore, the performance must be shaped according to the characteristics of the class and the differences between the students. Teachers' lack of concern or lack of knowledge regarding this reality can contribute to dropout problems, intensifying them.

The application of digital technologies contributes to learning, as they arouse greater attention and interest from the students. Technology is an essential tool in education, as it provides a better learning process for students. Therefore, teachers need to adapt to this new scenario, with the change in the teaching profile. This constitutes a challenge for teachers and students, who must familiarize themselves with the existing tools. Increasingly, students distance themselves from the Cartesian model, of being a passive element in the learning process. These tools in question can promote student autonomy, stimulate curiosity, and increase interaction in the classroom. In this way, the construction of knowledge can happen with the support of technology.

In the pedagogical practices of the authors of this article, several tools have been used, and the results have been satisfactory as complements to the other activities carried out. This transition is a challenge, as there is a tendency to replicate the practices of teachers from other times when active methodologies were not yet used. Pair learning flipped classroom and problem-based study are also other methodologies that have been applied. Another action is the case study approach to a specific problem observed in some professional work. This activity aims to encourage decision-making, bringing the student closer to reality. These challenges greatly stimulate students - especially those who already have some experience in the area - as they contribute to creativity and curiosity, increasing their horizons in solving problems.

Encouraging students to teach their peers is practiced frequently, which helps to retain learning. For example, in the Mechanical Technology discipline, one of the members of a certain class was shown carrying out practical activities, such as cutting, and drilling, among other processes. Subsequently, this student carried out the practice and taught it to other classmates, who passed this knowledge on to the next class. This procedure provided good learning in carrying out the practices with good feedback from students.

Finally, after a greater understanding of active methodologies, auxiliary tools have been used, hybrid teaching with the insertion of technologies to facilitate student learning. Using Google Classroom and Kahoot! has provided excellent results, with many requesting the use of these tools, as they enable greater learning and greater motivation in the search for knowledge in each curricular component. Therefore, good results are observed, which indicates that this is a good way to improve student learning in professional and technological education, motivating teachers to learn more about the various existing techniques.

As previously reported, the application of Ausubel's conception has brought good results. One of the recent examples refers to the curricular component “Notions of Welding”, belonging to the FIC (Initial and Continuing Training- Formação Inicial e Continuada) Mechanical Assembler course, which can be applied in the technical course. This course is characterized by having students with experience in the metalworking industry, a very broad area. In the first class, questions are asked about the understanding of welding to verify the presence of any prior knowledge. Subsequently, concepts and applications are tested. This way, those who already have prior knowledge obtain more satisfactory answers. From there, concepts are related to other definitions, applications, and problems.

Another action taken is the insertion of concepts from other areas of knowledge, for example, relating the effects of welding energy on the properties of steel, and associating preliminary knowledge of materials for mechanical construction. The application of interdisciplinarity is important in the application of Ausubel's theory, with the integration of different curricular components. The change of the teacher is not simple: there are some barriers in the interdisciplinary practice, such as insecurity about dealing with content that covers another discipline, the lack of time for personal study and with colleagues from other disciplines so that they can be interdisciplinary strategies were carried out, and the workload was exhaustive.

In the assessment, continuous monitoring of learning is important to detect possible problems resulting from a poorly used technique, as assessment cannot be rigid, as it can change according to the class. Occasionally, it is necessary to detect problems in the methodology resulting from the use of inappropriate texts, and the lack of preparation and/or planning. Therefore, the teacher must serve as a bridge between the apprentice and learning, having much broader functions, with a more complex activity that requires greater preparation.

Thus, the various difficulties in consolidating teacher training are evident, which has a direct impact on student training. Therefore, for the work to happen, it is also necessary that professionals linked to the educational institution are aware of the issue of dropout. Therefore, to be able to obtain the expected result, students must establish an open dialogue with teachers, so that all difficulties can be understood, with support from the teaching and technical-pedagogical coordination.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The great importance of pedagogical practices for students' retention in the course is notable, as they contribute significantly to the teaching and learning process. It is also evident that more actions are needed to reduce course dropouts. Despite the concern with the issue and the implementation of various activities to minimize this phenomenon, this is still not enough to reduce the problem considerably.

There was a need to train teachers with pedagogical recycling programs, not only aiming to improve the methodologies used, but also the relationship between teachers and students; to develop and execute retention and success programs; to increase the offer of scholarships, such as training assistance, monitoring, PIBIC Jr.; to expand the holding of events to publicize the course; to intensify reorientation actions for students who are already inserted in the academic environment and who are uncertain about remaining in the course; and, finally, to constantly discuss the curriculum.

Initial and continuing training for teachers is a basis for teachers to be better able to deal with these and other situations, expanding their vision of their position in the classroom. Many teachers only had experience in the industry, others who only worked in higher education, and some who made the transition from graduation directly to the classroom. Furthermore, the turnover of teachers resulting from removal, competition, and redistribution, for example, emphasizes the importance of work that must be done continuously on each campus.

Evasion is silent and often only appears in the final act for many teachers who do not monitor their students closely and attentively. More studies are needed to evaluate the main dropout factors (failure, simultaneous work, lack of knowledge of the profession, teaching methodology, relationship with students, deficiency in basic education, etc.), which will contribute to drawing up guidelines that reduce dissatisfaction and students' difficulties, as teachers often do not know what actions to take because they do not have data to carry out more specific planning.