EDUCATIONAL QUALITY AND EVALUATION CULTURE BETWEEN THE IDEAL AND THE POSSIBLE

Abstract

This research discusses the relationship between educational quality and evaluative culture in public schools, focusing on the contradictions between normative discourses and the everyday practices lived within school institutions. The study analyzes how assessment models based on standardized metrics and technical indicators can restrict the construction of formative practices by disregarding the actual conditions of educational institutions. The objective was to critically analyze the limitations of external evaluations and identify possibilities for reframing evaluative culture as a participatory planning tool and an element of institutional strengthening. The methodology adopted was an exploratory literature review, based on contemporary authors in educational management and institutional assessment, and grounded in recent methodological references, such as Gil (2023) and Marconi & Lakatos (2021). Required works from the course and complementary sources addressing democratic management, evaluative practices, and institutional diagnosis were included. The theoretical findings suggest that the use of tools like the SWOT matrix (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), when applied critically and collectively, contribute to a more situated and reflective evaluative culture. Therefore, educational quality is not defined as an abstract ideal but as a feasible institutional project, constructed in dialogue with school communities.