This paper explores the nature of educational provisions available to young people who lived on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. It is an outcome a research entitled ‘Between Streets and Schools’. This study provided a description of how young men constructed new identities through social negotiations in multiple times and places, taking a close look at the dynamics of life on the streets, in shelters and in schools. The theoretical framework was based on theories of identity (Hall, 1996), agency (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998), space and place (Massey, 1992). It also drew on previous studies about “street children” conducted in Brazil (Barker & Rizzini, 2006; Butler & Rizzini, 2003; Carraher et al., 1988; Filho & Neder, 2001; Hecht, 1998; Leite, 1998; Rizzini et al., 1999; Wong & Balestino, 2001) and in other countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia (Aptekar & Heinonen, 2003; Baker, 1998; Beazley, 2003; Benitez, 2003; Brink, 2001; Ennew & Swart-Kruger, 2003; Epstein, 1996; Heinonen, 2000; Salami & Beers, 2003). On a descriptive level the study provides an account of youngsters’ return to formal education, which was developed in three phases. Phase one focused on youth’s careers on the streets. The central challenge for adolescents in this phase was to dissociate from the street subculture, developing new memberships. Phase two started when young men decided to move in with relatives, partners or into shelters. It was a transitional period, a liminal phase, when they were not completely detached from life on the streets, nor completely institutionalized. During this phase they were required to follow new social and moral rules, changing their sense of place and time, which in turn shaped personal and social identities. Phase three began when young men established a temporary residence and engaged with mainstream social institutions, such as schools, vocational courses, artistic groups, sports and apprenticeship work.

Aptekar, L., & Heinonen, P. (2003). Methodological implications of contextual diversity in research on street children. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1), Retrieved on September 2005 from http://cye.colorado.edu. Baker, R. (1998). Negotiating identities: a study of the lives of street children in Nepal. University of Durham, Durham. Beazley, H. (2003). The construction and protection of individual and collective identities by street children and youth in Indonesia. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1), Retrieved on September 2005 from http://cye.colorado.edu. Brink, B. (2001). Working with street children: reintegration through education. Support for learning, 16(2), 79-86. Butler, U., & Rizzini, I. (2003). Young people living and working on the streets of Brazil: revisiting the literature. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1), Retrieved on September 2005 from http://cye.colorado.edu. Ennew, J., & Swart-Kruger, J. (2003). Introduction: homes, places and spaces in the construction of street children and street youth. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1), Retrieved on September 2005 from http://cye.colorado.edu. Epstein, I. (1996). Educating street children: some cross-cultural perspectives. Comparative Education, 32(3), 289-302. Freire, P. (1972b). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Education. Graciani, M. S. S. (1997). Pedagogia social da rua: análise e sistematização de uma experiência vivida. São Paulo: Cortez. Hall, S. (1996). Introduction: who needs identity? In P. Du Gay & S. Hall (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity (pp. viii, 198). London: Sage. Hecht, T. (1998). At home in the street: street children of Northeast Brazil. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press. Massey, D. B. (1994). Space, place and gender. Cambridge: Polity. Oliveira, W. F. d. (2007). Educação social de rua: bases históricas, políticas e pedagógicas. História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos, 14(1), 135-158. Wong, P. L., & Balestino, R. (2001). Prioritizing the education of marginalized young people in Brazil: a collaborative approach. Journal of Educational Policy, 16(6), 597-618.