A política educacional do primeiro governo petista de São Carlos (2001-2004)

Abstract

This dissertation discusses the educational policy implemented by the first Workers Party s government in the municipality of São Carlos (SP), from 2001 to 2004. Our objective was to evaluate how much that policy contributed towards the democratization of education in the city, in order to help the construction of a public, free and high-quality school for everyone. First of all, we tried to situate our research object in the historical context of the democratization of education in Brazil, which has occurred, in a more effective way, since the military regime (1964-1985). We also considered the Workers Party s program for education and its experience during some emblematic municipal administrations. This documentary research was performed based on the following source materials: articles from a newspaper and official documents from the City Hall of São Carlos. The description of the educational policy implemented by the Workers Party s government in the city was carried out based on the five guide-lines for education formulated by the party on the municipal level: democratization of school access, democratization of educational management, improvement on teaching s quality, adult education and inclusive education. Actions were developed to the benefit of the democratization of access to early childhood education, such as enlargement and construction of schools and accords between the City Hall and philanthropic day care centers. About the democratic management of education, elections for school principals were done, Municipal Conferences of Education were set up, school councils were created and the Municipal Council of Education was revitalized. Escolas do Futuro buildings with a computer room and a library were built, continuous formation courses for teachers were offered and the discussion regarding the Municipal Teaching Statute s reformation was started. The adult education programs MOVA and Brasil Alfabetizado were introduced, and schools were prepared to receive students with special educational necessities. In spite of all the advancement achieved when compared to the previous situation, we concluded that the objectives of the Workers Party s first government in São Carlos towards education were only partially reached, and that more actions could have been done in order to make the democratization of education s process improve in the city.