As relações de poder na gestão da Escola Estadual Presidente Kennedy em Natal/RN: as ações decisórias dos órgãos colegiados - o conselho de escola e o caixa escolar

摘要

The present study examined the relations of power in the management of the EscolaEstadual Presidente Kennedy, including the deliberate decisions on the School Counciland School Fund, which guided the organization of the school. We sought to understandthe management models that influenced the school organization, promotingcontradictions in the decision making process. The school management is intenselymarked by management models from the business logics as in the case ofmanagerialism of bureaucracy. The formulation of educational policies based onmanagerialism has proposed a school-centered management with intense accountabilityof the school community in planning and monitoring the public services. The influencesof these models subsidize hierarchical power relations that undermine the actions ofdecision-making of the collegiate bodies for the democratization of school management.To develop a research on the power, the investigation was based on studies of Bourdieuand Foucault. These authors understand the power in a relational system in a doublesense, both in terms of discipline and the possibility of resistance. A theoreticalmethodologicalmatrix was developed focusing on literature review, document analysis,structured interviews with twelve representatives of the segments belonging to theSchool Council and School Fund, as well as observations in meetings with theproduction of field notes. It was found that power relations experienced in theorganization and activities of the school boards are marked by changes in publicmanagement over the years, promoting the contradictions between the concepts ofcorporate management originated in the business logics and the perspective ofdemocratic management subsidized by official legislative documents at the national andstate levels. The observations in meetings and analysis of the records showed thatrepresentatives related to management (president and manager of the school) have aprivileged position with regard to exposure of their propositions, and are more likely totake a position in the political game of the collegiate bodies of work. It was also seenthat the irregularity of meetings, particularly of the School Fund meetings, limits theexperience of operation of the representatives in discussions concerning the planningand monitoring the actions of school management. Reports from representatives of theSchool Council showed that certain segments related to the management recognize theirpower of decision, however others have little interfere in the decision-making process inorder to expound the desires of those who are represented by them. In the School Fund,the analysis of the records and interviews showed restricted moments of the meeting ofrepresentatives, and these only being aimed at choice or approval of the implementationplan prepared by the school management. The results showed no indications ofmoments of reflection to study the best chance for applicability of resources. Thiscollegiate body (School Fund) has a questionable action when planning and monitoringthe applicability of the financial resources of the School. To sum up, it was found thatthe Escola Estadual Presidente Kennedy still lives hierarchical power relations thatundermine the institutionalization of democratic management in the variousrepresentative segments may take place in the game of political decision-makingprocesses necessary for the organization of the school