THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

This research emerged in the context of a curriculum overhaul at a state school in São Paulo between the 2021 and 2022 academic years, during which teachers and pupils worked together to ensure that elections were held to form the governing bodies (School Council, Student Union and Parents’ and Teachers’ Association). The motivation for this engagement arose from the political threat of the Alfredo Inácio Trindade State School being nominated for the Full-Time Education Programme (PEI) announced by the government. This engagement by the school community to legally prevent the organisation and introduction of full-time education at the school triggered a series of conflicts with the school management, threatening the school’s autonomy. The status quo of the school, which for years was governed by a logic of symbolic violence, is in decline; this is evident in the current level of engagement among teachers and students who are seeking to put an end to the practices of violence and arbitrariness carried out by the school management. The research is grounded in the principles of qualitative analysis in education, employing a case study methodology, as the issue addressed draws empirically on experiences of resistance to the policy of implementing the PEI, which also affected two other state schools in the State of São Paulo, located in the northern zone of the city of São Paulo. In terms of data collection, the research will use a questionnaire as its instrument and semi-structured interviews as the technique to be applied to the teachers and students participating in the study, as well as drawing on institutional documents such as: school regulations, legislation, and minutes of assemblies and collegiate body meetings, as well as applications, complaints submitted to the ombudsman’s office, and administrative documents and proceedings. Data processing and analysis will be carried out based on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of historical-critical pedagogy. The aim is to produce scientific knowledge that highlights the attack on and control of the school’s autonomy and provides a critical analysis of the relevance of the PEI, in view of the need to challenge the São Paulo education project.