The meanings of education and employability for youth and adults with down syndrome: challenges and expectations

Abstract

This article is about a study that sought to investigate the meanings of education and the professional insertion of young and adults with down syndrome who work or have already worked. The study approach is based on a qualitative research in which the data collection prioritized the semi-structured and open interview with people with Down syndrome. Through the analysis of content, the information was analyzed from the historical-cultural theory assisting in the process of understanding that the subject is constituted as a subject with disability, through the relationships established in society, as well as that the creation of disability is a social creation, established in the interactions between subjects, the instruments and the signs that surround it. Education was listed as preponderant to the preparation for the world of work, the subjects attributed to the trajectory school and learning the gains that they obtained later in adult life and that led them to achieve professional practices. The findings consider that the social inclusion of the person with Down syndrome becomes real to the extent that it occupies spaces and perform activities common to all people.