A política educacional de Maceió em tempos de gerencialismo : sujeitos, discursos e sentidos

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the speech meaning effects produced by different subjects by formal educational area about educational policy named “Implementation of Basic Standards of Learning of Maceió (2010-2019)” whose materiality is in the official documents from the Municipal Department of Education (SEMED). The proposal has been configured when disclosing meaning effects on school management and pedagogical work at municipal schools. To achieve this research objective, we are committed to the Discourse Analysis (D.A.) of French origin as well as a theoretical and methodological referential. The theory was founded by Michel Pêcheux who thought the whole discourse, such as an articulation with language, history and ideology, was understood as well as the relationship between subjects in the production of meanings. The basis for this study is based on theoretical productions of classical authors of D.A like Pêcheux e Orlandi, articulated with theoreticals from the education area as well as Apple, Libâneo, Saviani and Freire. Based on the analyses it was possible to find that (i) the “Implementation of Basic Standards of Learning of Maceió (2010-2019)” is part of a conservative project for education. The proposal is led by multilateral organisations through the implementation of managerialism as a model of public management with the aim of adapting education to serve market interests; (ii) the conservative character of this educational project is subsumed in the discourse of the concept of quality education materialized in the Sustainable Development Goals and reproduced in SEMED’s official documents. The results indicate that the meanings are re-signified in the terminologies efficiency, efficacy, effectiveness, cooperation, commitment,responsibility and meritocracy. The metaphorical game produces effects on instrumentalisation of pedagogical work as it turns school into “companies” where teaching is treated as a product that needs to be submitted to quality standards; (iii) in this project, the school community is treated as customers and teachers as employees who need to meet production targets and can be rewarded or punished depending on whether or not such targets are meet. Finally, the research identified that this policy of standardization of learning subsumes the social function of the school that educates critical-reflexive subjects capable of developing a democratic society, citizen and with social justice and increases the precariousness of teaching work with the offensive of private initiative in public and gratuitous education.