Dilemas internos para efetivação de uma gestão democrática-participativa: o caso de uma escola da rede estadual em Riachão-MA

Abstract

In times of constant change, where democracy struggles for its effective existence within education, it is essential that schools, as spaces for the production and reproduction of knowledge historically produced by humankind, be studied internally in the pursuit of understanding their management activities. School management must strive for democracy and the achievement of participation, making it crucial to seek and analyze the internal dilemmas that intersect and hinder the implementation of democratic-participatory management with principles of liberation and emancipation of the individual. Therefore, the central question for the development of this study was: what are the internal dilemmas for the implementation of democratic-participatory management in a public school of the state education network in the Municipality of Riachão-Maranhão? Regarding the objectives, the general objective is to analyze the internal dilemmas for the implementation of democratic-participatory management in a public school of the state education network in the Municipality of Riachão-Maranhão. The specific objectives were to structure a theoretical framework on democratic-participatory management; to characterize the management profile currently in effect in the state public school in the municipality of Riachão-MA; to interpret, based on documents and interviews, the internal dilemmas that hinder the implementation of democratic-participatory management; and to produce a continuing education course for managers that addresses democratic participatory management of public schools as its central theme. Methodologically, a case study with a qualitative approach was developed, due to its perception of an object in constant interactive making and remaking with the social reality of its belonging, at the Belezas Azuis Teaching Center, the only state school in Maranhão, located in the municipality of Riachão MA. Semi-structured interviews and documentary research were used as data collection instruments, analyzing the institution's Political Pedagogical Project (PPP). Furthermore, the Content Analysis method, as described by Bardin (2016), was used analytically, aligning discussions in the field of internal dilemmas of participation that emerge in the school context and resulting in the following categories of analysis: the material dilemmas of participation, institutional dilemmas, political-social dilemmas: the interests of groups within the school, and the ideological dilemmas of participation. From these discussions, it becomes evident that the construction of the concept of school management demonstrates an evolutionary perspective when analyzed comparatively to past forms of managing public schools; however, evolution does not mean a total loss of past traits. On the contrary, the school management experienced by administrators, students, teachers, staff, and the school community largely retains past characteristics – characteristics stemming from management theories, for example – and more modern characteristics, such as those perceived post-1990 with the neoliberal model, incorporating economistic and market-oriented behaviors as a quality balance through managerial management. However, despite its industrial and managerial characteristics, passive acceptance of the order of Capital is not the only possible path. This demonstrates the importance of democratic-participatory management, emerging through collectivity and democratic participation in school management, while simultaneously rebelling against the traps of the hegemonic class, even as it also invades this field. Therefore, public school management is a political space of struggles driven by diverse interests that needs significant evolution to make democracy and participation its structural pillars, enabling the school community to experience a democratic-participatory management that builds an ethical and just social reality.