School coexistence policies between democracy and control: Multilevel policy reconfigurations in Mexico and Morelos

Abstract

This study examines school coexistence policy in Mexico as a dynamic process of configuration, translation, and reconfiguration across multiple levels, from its normative formulation to its appropriation in school practice. Adopting a qualitative sociocritical approach, a multilevel design was developed that articulates the analysis of national policy frameworks, their recontextualization in the state of Morelos, and their interpretation in the practices of primary and secondary school teachers and principals. The analysis was guided by dimensions derived from the paradigms of control and sanction, and democratic coexistence. The findings show that the policy is configured as a hybrid structure marked by tension, in which formative orientations coexist with regulatory dispositifs, with a predominance of a logic of control and risk management, particularly at the local level. This is reinforced by institutional conditions and contexts shaped by violence and insecurity. Nevertheless, in school practice, teachers and principals reconfigure policy through situated strategies that prioritize relationships and the pedagogical meaning of coexistence. The study contributes to understanding school coexistence as a field of tensions among normative regulation, institutional conditions, and teacher agency.