FULL-TIME EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF THE MUNICIPAL EDUCATION SYSTEM OF SOROCABA: BETWEEN THE EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL DAY AND COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION

Abstract

Full-time education occupies a prominent position in the Brazilian educational debate, as it simultaneously involves extending the school day and the need to reorganize the curricular, pedagogical, and administrative structures of educational systems. This article analyzes full-time education in elementary education within the municipal school system of Sorocaba, emphasizing the relationship between the extension of students' time at school and the implementation of a comprehensive education approach. This is a qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary study based on recent academic literature and normative and guiding documents, particularly the Municipal Education Plan of Sorocaba, the Pedagogical Guidelines for Full-Time Elementary Schools, and the 2026 Planning Guidelines Handbook. The analysis was organized into four dimensions: the concept of comprehensive education, curriculum and interdisciplinarity, implementation conditions, and contemporary challenges of municipal educational policy. The findings indicate that, over recent years, Sorocaba has developed its own frameworks for full-time schooling, linking the expansion of educational time and spaces to formative dimensions and student protagonism. However, the consolidation of this policy requires institutional continuity, adequate infrastructure, professional appreciation and training, curricular integration, inclusion, and quality monitoring. It is concluded that an extended school day acquires educational meaning only when aligned with a pedagogical purpose capable of promoting students' cognitive, social, cultural, ethical, and civic development.