Conselhos Municipais de Educação : democratização, legitimidade e funções

Abstract

This Master's thesis has as main objective to analyze how the Municipal Councils of Education, managing organs of Educational Policies in Education Municipal Systems, structured themselves historically and were constituted in their functions, and how assured legitimacy and democratization in the process of its implementation. The aim of this study is to contribute to the reflection and strengthening, the credibility and legitimacy, the qualification and the organization of this organ. The guiding research question can be expressed as follows: what are the necessary conditions for CMEs establish themselves as spaces of democratic management, mediation between the state and civil society, in developing educational policies and supervision of the effectiveness of these policies? To meet these purposes, a revisiting the history of the construction of the Brazilian educational system was realized and, based on this, was made a study on the genesis of educational systems and boards of education, about how these organs were constituted in Brazil and Rio Grande do Sul, its tensions and political, social and economic influences. For this analysis, categories such as system, decentralization, municipalization, local government, democracy, participation and citizenship education were activated. The methodology, with a qualitative approach, involved document and literature review. This choice allowed a consistent dialogue among the authors who deal with the subject matter and with the documents listed as sources, namely: Constitutions, Decrees, Resolutions and Announcements that in whole or in sections address the CMEs. As a result of the investigation, relevant to be exposed, briefly, the following aspects: the CMEs appear as organs that climbed their first steps, namely, the creation and implementation, but still face many challenges to their actual achievement, like its strengthening, its improvement, autonomy, legitimacy and credibility. We propose ways of democratic action and political engagement of representatives, in order to take a pedagogical and political participation role. In summary, the CMEs constitute important mechanisms that contribute to the strengthening of democratic management in the Municipal Teaching System and that may contribute to policy coordination, organization and dialogue among civil society and the government about the educational policies of the municipality, becoming a space of local government