Competências gerenciais e suas contribuições para o desempenho educacional em escolas públicas de ensino médio

Abstract

The quality of public education has been one of the main challenges facing Brazilian education policies, requiring managers capable of coordinating resources, people, and strategies to promote effective results. In this context, managerial competencies play a fundamental role in running schools and achieving educational performance goals. This study's overall objective is to understand how managerial competencies contribute to educational performance in public high schools in the state of Ceará. To this end, three specific objectives were defined: to analyze managers' perceptions of the management approach and model employed; to investigate how school managers perceive the individual and managerial competencies existing in public high schools; and to identify educational performance indicators in public high schools and how managers perceive the challenges faced in improving this performance. This multiple-case study adopted a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive approach. Primary data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with principals and school coordinators from four public high schools in the state of Ceará. The interview scripts were developed based on the Cognitive Reflexive Approach (CRA), as proposed by Pinho and Silva (2025), which consists of three stages: introductory, cognitive, and exploratory. Data were obtained by capturing the interviewees' perceptions and cognitions spontaneously; guided, using the index card technique; and interactively. Secondary data about the schools were obtained through document analysis of the schools' websites and social media, as well as document analysis of laws, regulations, school reports, and official indicators. Data analysis was performed using content analysis, as per Bardin (2016), with thematic categorization and interpretation based on the management competency model of Quinn et al. (2003). The study revealed that schools with structured management practices and a focus on monitoring results are better able to plan assertive pedagogical interventions and promote continuous improvement. In summary, the research concludes that management competencies contribute to educational performance, not only through technical and rational planning and monitoring actions, but also by strengthening human relationships, teamwork, and the appreciation of all school stakeholders. The results revealed that management competencies not only contribute to raising educational performance indicators but also strengthen organizational culture and reinforce the importance of implementing structured competency-based management models that integrate the professional development of managers, particularly managerial competencies, with educational goals, to enhance the results of public high schools in Ceará.