Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 55 n. 4 Rio de Janeiro out./dez. 2012
Abstract
This article's basic premise is that the main challenge for Brazilian public schools is to redefine the terms of their relationship with the community, from the prevailing asymmetric and paternalistic pattern to an egalitarian and equitable one. This institutional challenge has been raised by a research agenda on the relationship between public schools and the 'students' world', including their families and neighborhoods. The article presents an analysis of data from a survey with the schoolchildren's parents and guardians, nearly all of whom were slum residents. Based on a reading of the data, we reflect on the school's value for low-income communities and how this points to a horizon of conflicts in the school's context. To deal with this scenario from the school administration's perspective, we draw on the notion of responsiveness from the sociology of law, which allows conceiving ways of turning expectations of social mobility and access to the city into greater institutionality and more democracy.
Keywords: school, city, family
DOI: 10.1590/S0011-52582012000400006
Public schools and communities in a context of institutional democracy-building
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