CONSELHO ESCOLAR NA REDE MUNICIPAL DE ENSINO DE CAMPO GRANDE – MS: INSTRUMENTO DE PARTICIPAÇÃO NA GESTÃO DEMOCRÁTICA ESCOLAR?

Abstract

This dissertation is linked to Research Line 1: History, Politics, and Education of the Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (PPGEdu/UFMS). The object of research is the role of the School Council, understood as one of the mechanisms of participation that make the public school system effective in terms of democratic management. With the implementation of the School Council by Municipal Decree No. 10,900/2009 in the Elementary School Units of the Municipal Education Network of Campo Grande – Mato Grosso do Sul (REME), the objective is to examine the School Council in terms of its implementation and performance, organization, and functioning, verifying the advances and challenges to its effectiveness as a mechanism for Democratic Management in public schools. Based on the theoretical references of historical-dialectical materialism, the methodological categories of contradiction, mediation, and participation were defined, which, when articulated, make it possible to understand the relationships and implications of neoliberal forces on educational policies and participation, and mediation in the management of public education. The authors who highlight the analyses of this study are: Adrião and Camargo (2002); Arelaro (2020); Arretche (2015); Drabach and Souza (2014); Harvey (2014); Mészáros (2002 and 2008); Paro (1993; 1996; 2000, 2010; 2014; 2016); Peroni (2008); Souza (2006; 2009; 2018; 2019); Vieira (2004 and 2015); Werle (2003); Wood (2011). The methodological procedures for the research were literature review, document analysis, qualitative field research, and interviews. In order to broaden the empirical scope of the research, qualitative field research was conducted in seven REME elementary school units, one in each region of the city, which enabled the analysis of documents/data, information, and interviews with the president of the School Council in these school units, who reported on the actions and performance of the School Council. This allowed for an analysis of the functioning of the Council, verifying, in light of the theories, the possibilities and challenges for effective action as a mechanism for democratic school management. Based on the analysis, it was possible to observe differences in the practices of the educational units surveyed and weaknesses in the democratic participation of council members, which indicates a reduction in the functioning of the School Council to that of an Executive Unit, without effective decisions on management and political debates among the different segments that make up the school community, as is the function of the School Council from the perspective of Democratic Management. The School Council of the seven educational units surveyed needs to be taken over by the responsible body, the Municipal Department of Education, for guidance on the functions of the School Council in REME, and to develop a training proposal for principals and councilors, so that they can establish a democratic relationship in the Teaching Units, with monitoring and evaluation of this mechanism, in order to achieve effective Democratic Management in public schools.