Medicalization for school: what is expected from a child?

Abstract

This article aims to problematize the growing demand from schools for medical evaluation for children, whose behaviors deviate from what is expected by the institution. Thus, it explores the growing medicalization of children and its relationship with the school context, through a bibliographic review, complemented by the presentation of two clinical vignettes. Throughout the discussion, cultural and historical factors are presented that influence the concepts of normality and pathology, and how these change over time, affecting medical and educational practices. The increase in the use of psychotropic drugs and the incidence of diagnoses of psychopathological disorders in children stands out, considering the influence of schools in the construction of these perceptions and the demand for health services. It is clear, through the path taken, that the emphasis on medicalization has significant impacts not only on children, but also on the role of educators and the school institution. Medicalization takes away from the child the possibility of dealing with their issues and also takes away from the teacher the place of their knowledge. In this way, the transformative power of the school environment is ignored. It is understood that the role of the school goes beyond just identifying symptoms of pathologies. It is also a space for listening, elaboration and transformation.