INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND BNCC: LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES OF CURRICULAR FLEXIBILITY

Abstract

The relationship between inclusive education, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) and curricular flexibility constitutes one of the most complex nodes in contemporary Brazilian educational policy. This article, theoretical-documentary in nature, adopts the critical-narrative review modality to examine the conceptual, normative, and pedagogical foundations of curricular flexibility in the context of inclusive education, problematizing its articulation with the BNCC and the concrete challenges of implementation in Brazilian public schools. The analytical corpus was built from educational legislation, official curricular documents, and academic literature selected by thematic relevance in the areas of curriculum, inclusive education, teacher training, and educational public policies; the survey of academic production observed a temporal scope between 2000 and 2024, while foundational normative milestones predating this period were incorporated due to their structuring relevance. The objective is to analyze under what conditions curricular flexibility can contribute to guaranteeing the right to learning without producing curricular impoverishment, pedagogical segregation, or undue teacher accountability. The reflections developed herein indicate that curricular flexibility, when guided by pedagogical rigor, formative intentionality, accessibility, universal design for learning, and institutional support, broadens the participation and learning of historically excluded students. However, when disconnected from structural policies, adequate teacher training, and material and institutional conditions, it becomes a compensatory strategy that reproduces inequalities under the guise of inclusion. The article argues that the realization of inclusive education articulated with the BNCC requires a robust understanding of curricular justice, committed to the right of all students to school knowledge.