O programa Escola Ativa e a gestão participativa em escolas no campo

Abstract

Active School program was originated from the Colombian Escuela Nueva. It´s a strategy that aims to improve the quality of education in rural areas through the implementation of specific methodology and participatory management in multigrade schools. In Brazil, it has been deployed since 1997, primarily in the North, Northeast and Midwest regions, managed by Fundescola and funded in part by the World Bank. In its final phase, from 2008 to 2011, the program was expanded to all regions of Brazil, was managed by SECAD and funded entirely by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC). Active School aims to develop autonomy in students and encourage the participation of rural communities in school management. This research aimed to analyze the possibilities of communities participation in school management and discuss what type of autonomy can be developed within the management perspective suggested by the program. We chose the municipality of São José do Rio Pardo as a locus of study. We adopted Gramsci, Marx, Engels and authors who discuss education and pedagogy based on them as theoretical references. This research was conducted through document analysis of Active School (Fundescola and MEC), World Bank and São José do Rio Pardo. We also conducted interviews and on site observations. We conclude that the autonomy that the student is able to develop is instrumental. The school management suggested by the program is strategic and not politic, so the participation of rural communities is also instrumental. However, Active School should be understood in its contradictory aspects, because it is possible that political participation (that is so important to rural schools) may happen in the context of strategic management.