Redefinitions of the role of the state: Public/private partnerships and the democratization of education

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the public-private relation and its consequences for the democratic management of schools in Brazil. It displays the current context, because it comprehends the inclusion of private logic in public schools as part of changes in this particular period of capitalism, which redefine the role of social policies, and presents an example of a partnership between the public schools and third sector, which was the subject of research recently completed. The theoretical framework, which supported the research was based on authors who analyze the current period, David Harvey and Istvan Meszaros, and the concept of democracy based on Ellen Wood. The data, mostly qualitative, were collected through interviews with managers of the policy document analysis, observations and interviews with school teachers, principals and teaching staff. Overall, it was concluded that the relationship between public and private are manifested in the current period both in terms of change of ownership (public non-state), and in relation to what remains in state ownership, but rearranges educational processes in the logic of the market.