Vozes que decidem: avaliação das políticas de participação social e democrática na gestão educacional a partir dos Conselhos Escolares de Maracanaú

Abstract

Participation in decision-making within educational policies has been understood based on compliance with the law, as well as the social conditions necessary for democratic practice, such as respect for human rights and life itself. This dissertation aims, in general, to evaluate the role of the school council as a mobilizing body in the process of democratic management. It presents a theoretical debate on the construction of new possibilities for democracy, proposing a reflection on the challenges involved in building and contributing to changes that promote quality education and fulfill the social function of public schools, which is the promotion of the teaching and learning process (Spósito, 2011; Oliveira, 2014; Libâneo, 2018; Paro, 2016; Poubel, 2018; Moura; Bispo, 2021). This evaluative research is exploratory and qualitative in nature and was carried out in three schools in the municipality of Maracanaú (CE), one small, one medium-sized, and one large. To enable its implementation, the research adopted an evaluative epistemology with in-depth evaluation, focusing on the dimensions of content, context, and policy trajectory (Rodrigues, 2008; 2016; Gussi, 2008; 2015). Data collection involved bibliographical and documentary research, along with semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic content analysis (Minayo; Deslandes, 2009; Dias; Mishima, 2023). The research findings indicate: (i) the recognition of school councils as legitimate spaces for collective participation, with deliberative, consultative, supervisory, and mobilizing functions, especially when there is articulation between school segments and management; (ii) the persistence of challenges such as the low participation of parent and student representatives, a sense of non-belonging, and the lack of a consolidated participatory culture; (iii) the predominance of financial and pedagogical agendas in council meetings, often with limited resolutions due to the absence of quorum or structural conditions of the school; (iv) the finding that although councils have the potential to contribute to democratic management, their actions are often restricted to formalism and bureaucracy, lacking greater engagement and representativeness; (v) the importance of continuous training for council members and the creation of adequate institutional conditions as pathways to strengthening participation and shared responsibility; (vi) the overload of administrative demands and pressure for results from the Department of Education emerge as obstacles to placing democratic management at the center of daily school life; (vii) the effective performance of the school council is associated with improvements in learning and the quality of education, especially when there is active involvement of the school community and context-based pedagogical projects. The evaluation of the policy shows that, despite significant progress, school councils still face practical and cultural limitations that need to be addressed in order for democratic management to be fully, critically, and transformatively implemented in public schools.