EDUCATION IN COLLAPSE: BETWEEN GUARANTEED ACCESS AND DENIED LEARNING

Abstract

This article analyzes the contemporary educational crisis, characterized by the contradiction between expanded access to schooling and the fragility of learning processes. Although public policies have ensured broader school enrollment, many students complete basic education without mastering essential knowledge. This scenario is associated with excessive curricular flexibility, weakened assessment systems, persistent social inequalities, and precarious teaching conditions. As schools take on multiple social roles, the centrality of teaching has gradually diminished, compromising their pedagogical function and deepening educational inequalities. The study highlights that school inclusion, when disconnected from consistent pedagogical practices, may result in educational trajectories marked by learning gaps. It argues for the need to restore pedagogical rigor, strengthen teacher training and professional valorization, and align educational policies with the real demands of teaching and learning. It concludes that overcoming the educational crisis requires structural actions that integrate access, permanence, and learning with socially referenced quality.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2026.004-012