Contributions of the policy cycle approach to the analysis of brazil’s new upper secondary reform

Abstract

This article examines the New Upper Secondary (Novo Ensino Médio) as policy-in-practice, adopting Stephen J. Ball’s policy cycle—together with subsequent contributions, as the analytical framework. We address how core instruments of the reform, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), curricular pathways, and the “Life Project” componente, are reinterpreted and translated within schools, producing the enacted curriculum. Methodologically, this is a theoretical-analytical bibliographic study grounded in a narrative review of Brazilian literature (2017–2025) and in a documentary analysis of relevant regulations, from which we derive categories mediating between policy text and practice. The analysis shows that, far from a linear implementation, the reform is translated by actors who negotiate prescriptions with available time, space, and resources, resulting in considerable variation in organizational and pedagogical arrangements: from interdisciplinary experiences to configurations oriented toward bureaucratic compliance. Recurring effects include curricular segmentation, tensions surrounding teachers’ work, and persistent challenges in integrating pathways with the BNCC common core. We conclude that understanding the New Upper Secondary requires acknowledging that quality and equity hinge on mediations in the context of practice. We recommend strengthening enabling conditions, sustained teacher professional development, and non-punitive evaluative governance, along with a comparative empirical research agenda to deepen understanding of variation across systems and schools.