Escola em disputa : o espaço de razões e a sala de aula em tempos de Escola Sem Partido

Abstract

The potential of argumentative exchanges in the constitution of subjects inspires the problem of this study. Here, we seek to understand: how do public school students process controversies related to the propositions of the Escola Sem Partido movement through deliberation? Our theoretical links point to the need for subjects to be included in discussions about the processes that concern them. Understanding elementary and high school students as actors directly affected by institutional provisions in relation to the direction of public education, this work is aimed at investigating the deliberation of these subjects on the subject. To situate the School without a Party movement in the broader Brazilian socio-political context, we present the initial controversies that are evoked by the organisation’s actions. Its origin and the context of its rise in Brazil are exposed. Through a literature review, we explore the traits of censorship and ultraconservatism that are latent in the group's claims. By using the theoretical model of the democratic pendulum, we place the rise of Escola Sem Partido in a larger scenario of far-right uproar and democratic crisis in Brazil. This study is anchored in the legacy of Jürgen Habermas and Paulo Freire as we analyse Escola Sem Partido and design our field activity. Multiple dialogues between the work of the Brazilian pedagogue and the German philosopher are explored, with an emphasis on the founding character of intersubjectivity in the constitution of subjects. Based on Habermasian reflections on communicative rationality and public deliberation, the concept of space of reasons is mobilized to investigate argumentative exchanges among students. To assess research goals, ten discussion groups were organized, composed of students from two schools located in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The activities consisted of the display of an informative video, filling out two questionnaires and discussing in two deliberative rounds, in which students talked about some of the main controversies related to Escola Sem Partido. The results of this research point to important changes in the processing of controversies on the subject. Based on the observation of the students' responses to the two questionnaires, their positions regarding various controversies related to the work of Escola Sem Partido are explored. As the repertoire of mobilized arguments is reconfigured by the deliberative rounds, a new design of the space of reasons seems to emerge by the end of the discussion groups.