DESAFIOS DA INCLUSÃO DIGITAL NA EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL E TECNOLÓGICA: A DESIGUALDADE DE ACESSO ÀS TECNOLOGIAS E SEU IMPACTO NO ENSINO TÉCNICO

Abstract

Digital inclusion presents a central challenge for achieving equitable education in Professional and Technological Education (PTE). This study investigates the economic, geographic, and social barriers that hinder access to digital technologies and analyzes their impacts on the technical training of students in different contexts. Using critical frameworks such as Freire (1996, 2005), who advocates for emancipatory education, and Saviani (2020), who discusses the school's role in overcoming social inequalities. The work also dialogues with Tapscott (2008) on the digital generation and with Bourdieu and Passeron (1970) on the reproduction of inequalities in the educational field. The methodology adopts a mixed approach, combining a literature review, analysis of secondary data (IBGE, Cetic.br, and INEP), and the planned collection of primary data in technical schools. Preliminary results indicate that digital exclusion compromises the use of innovative methodologies, the development of digital competencies, and student retention, especially in rural and peripheral regions (Oliveira & Scopel, 2024; Marques, Vieira & Pontel, 2020). Thus, it is evident that inequality in access to technologies perpetuates a cycle of social and professional exclusion, reinforcing the urgency of public policies that promote digital inclusion as a basic educational right and a condition for comprehensive human development. Keywords: Digital inclusion; Professional and Technological Education; Social inequality; Access to technologies; Emancipatory education.