A interface público-privada na governança educacional brasileira: Considerações a partir de uma análise subnacional

Abstract

This article investigates changes in the interference of the private sector in Brazilian public education, following the military dictatorship through today, focusing on evaluation policies that introduce data for education governance and results-based management. This research identifies changes related to educational policies and practices influenced by managerial models, showing the progressive disconnection of the public character from educational institutions. The political–educational context of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and its capital, Florianópolis, serves as the empirical case. Qualitative content analysis explores how ideas from the private sector have been integrated into Brazilian public education and how evaluation and the use of data according to the logic of that sector contribute to incorporating managerial practices into public education governance. Interviews with key actors in the field of education in Santa Catarina and Florianópolis reveal how the private sector influenced political developments in education. The analysis indicates that education governance in that context follows the principles of New Public Management, associated with public–private interactions, providing a specific type of rationality to the field of education.

Datafication in schools: enactments of quality assurance and evaluation policies in Brazil

“…School actors clearly find it necessary to have some sort of data to assess quality and to orient them in future actions towards improving education. This confirms the alignment of their discourses with the current modes of governance in education in Santa Catarina, which depend on data and self-regulation (Candido, 2018).…”

“…Creating possibilities for different sectors of society to participate in policymaking is a feature of the current mode of governance (Candido, 2018). However, respondents' reluctance to view their ideas as accepted shows inefficacy of school actors' engagement in policymaking.…”

“…Education data production in Brazil dates to the beginning of the 20th century. It intensified in the 1980s until now (Kauko et al, 2016), counterbalancing the decentralisation associated to the New Public Management (NPM) ideas flourishing in the country at that time (Candido, 2018). The yearly national school census, for instance, collects data of over 27 million basic education 2 students and 128 thousand schools (INEP, 2018).…”

“…The federal government operates SAEB, relying on cooperation between sub-national entities for its implementation, and setting IDEB's targets for education in the national, state, municipal and school levels 4 (Candido, 2018). Through the decentralised education system, SAEB and IDEB data are expected to facilitate the local management of education at the subnational government and school levels (Machado & Alavarse, 2014), despite rhetorical autonomy of such federal entities (Candido, 2018).…”

“…The federal government operates SAEB, relying on cooperation between sub-national entities for its implementation, and setting IDEB's targets for education in the national, state, municipal and school levels 4 (Candido, 2018). Through the decentralised education system, SAEB and IDEB data are expected to facilitate the local management of education at the subnational government and school levels (Machado & Alavarse, 2014), despite rhetorical autonomy of such federal entities (Candido, 2018). Moreover, national education programmes, as the National Pact for Literacy at the Proper Age (Pacto Nacional pela Alfabetização na Idade Certa -PNAIC) and the Interactive School Development Plan (Plano de Desenvolvimento da Escola Interativo -PDDE Interativo), as well as sub-national programs, contribute to data production in Brazilian education.…”