Participação da família e gestão democrática: desafios e possibilidades em uma Escola Estadual do Leste Mineiro

Abstract

This research was carried out as part of the Professional Master's Degree in Public Education Management and Evaluation at the Center for Public Policy and Education Evaluation at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. The study began with a management case that investigated family participation in their children's school life from the perspective of democratic management at Dona Graça State School. This led to the research questions: How has family participation been in that school? How can school management contribute to improving family participation in students' school life? Based on this, the general objective was to analyze family participation at Dona Graça State School from the perspective of democratic management. The specific objectives defined for this study were: a) to describe the participation of families in the Dona Graça State School and the strategies used by the management to promote their participation in the students' school life; b) to analyze the perception of family members and staff about participation in the students' school life and c) to propose actions to improve the participation of families in the students' school life. The theoretical foundation was based on studies by Lahire (1997), Paro (2001), Cury (2002a, 2002b), Polonia and Dessen (2005), Castro and Regattieri (2009), Perez (2010), Lück (2011), Libâneo, Oliveira and Toschi (2012) e Saraiva-Junges and Wagner (2016), among others. We carried out a case study, document analysis of meeting minutes, attendance lists, the Pedagogical Political Project, school regulations and data mapping from the Inep covering the period between 2018 and 2023. In the field research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the school manager, a basic education specialist, two teachers and nine parents/guardians. The research showed that families participate to a limited extent, and the school needs to restructure its practices, promoting spaces for discussions and expanding opportunities for effective participation. Based on the research, the Educational Action Plan was proposed, with strategies to encourage the participation of guardians in school activities. It is hoped to contribute to improving the permanence of students in Brazilian public schools, which could result in improvements in the quality of public education.