From the countryside to the city: memories and stories of non-literate migrants

Abstract

This study registers the social education experiences of illiterate rural workers who migrated to medium and large size cities in São Paulo and Paraná. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with sexagenarian men and women, born and raised up to their youth in rural settings, that later on established themselves in urban areas. Of a total of ten interviewees, four were selected: two women and two men. The selected interviewees identified themselves as illiterate and had lived similar situations in different localities. When faced with the complexity of urban settings and the demand for reading press material, they were impelled to develop a form of social literacy that needs to be recognized and valued, leading to pedagogical practices more coherent with social demands.