EDUCATION AND REPRODUCTION OF SOCIAL INEQUALITIES IN BRAZIL: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL POLICIES IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM

Abstract

The constitutional guarantee of education as a fundamental social right with full efficacy faces factual barriers under contemporary capitalism in Brazil. This research examines the role of state educational guidelines in maintaining socioeconomic disparities and proposes the National Educational Equity Program as a redistributive public policy model. A qualitative approach was employed, through bibliographical research and critical documentary analysis, grounded in critical theory and Pierre Bourdieu's concepts. The investigation found how the school system operates in social reproduction by transmuting inherited cultural capital into individual merit. The historical review demonstrated the planned nature of pedagogical selectivity since the formation of the Brazilian State, generating regional and racial liabilities that persist after the 1988 Constitution. Neoliberal administrative reforms introduced the culture of performativity, hollowing out the axiological density of legal guarantees in the name of fiscal efficiency. As an applied response, the PNEE was structured into four axes: equitable funding, student retention, digital inclusion, and teacher valuation. It is concluded that current educational policies operate as instruments for the perpetuation of inequality, requiring asymmetric and redistributive state action to support hyper-vulnerable students and transform the school into a mechanism for social emancipation.