Democratization of school management: essential pillar for developing the quality of public education

Abstract

The article in question has as its primary objective to reflect, from a theoretical-critical perspective, the importance of democratic school management as a mechanism that favors collective participation, becoming an essential element for improving the quality of teaching and, consequently, brazilian public education. Democratic management, understood as a “pedagogical principle” and a “legal precept”, is provided for in the Federal Constitution of 1988 and, subsequently incorporated into our current LDB 9,394/1996, represents a significant advance for the entire society. Thus, democratic management translates into an important instrument that strengthens the mechanisms of collective participation in schools and civil society. The theoretical framework on which we base our discussions, in addition to legal texts, is also supported by studies by Lück (2009), Freire (1985), Libâneo; Oliveira e Toschi (2011), Gadotti (2014), Paro (2000)  among others that treat the problem of school management as a theme that is at the center of current debates, understanding that its effective implementation is a sine qua non condition for another model of society that strives for a truly emancipatory educational space, thus breaking with the instrumentalizing logic still in force in hegemonic social structures. Methodologically, our outline is configured as a bibliographical study with a critical-reflective bias that aims to present theoretical discussions on the theme of democratic management, highlighting the advances and challenges of this field of study for the creation of participatory and collective spaces, within the schools and even more so in the social sphere. We recognize that despite advances, many obstacles are still present, especially with regard to effective “social and popular participation”, which is, in Gadotti (2014) view, the path to building a truly “active, autonomous and democratic”.