This book seeks to contribute toknowledge in two areas that are key to poverty reduction andsocial development: education and youth vulnerability.Specifically, the book focuses on the relationship betweenpoverty, ethnicity, gender, and educational exclusion infour Northeast states in Brazil: Maranhao, Paraiba,Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte; and in the Southeaststate of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has vigorously sought toexpand the coverage and quality of education, and hasachieved rapid results over the past decade. Progress hasbeen achieved on important indicators, and the quality ofeducation is now undoubtedly better than it was in the past.But social background, either as insufficient family incomeor low parental schooling, persists as a determinant ofchildren's lagging educational achievement. Rural,indigenous, and Quilombola (descendants of fugitive slaves)students have precarious access to education, with schoolsoften not offering the last four years of the mandatoryeight in the fundamental cycle. Dropout and repetition ratesremain key areas of concern for policymakers. Thus this bookincludes what youth think about themselves, their schools,their families, and the vulnerability provoked by theirgender, their ethnic background, and sometimes the depth oftheir poverty. This book demonstrates the efforts thatBrazil should engage in to reach a pattern of developmentthat is inclusive for all.