Participative institutional evaluation and the seek for school quality: limits and potentialities of student participation

Abstract

This article analyzes limits and possibilities of students’ participation in the agreement process of quality public school favored by democratic policies, as in the case of Participative Institutional Evaluation (Avaliação Institucional Participativa – AIP), implemented in the elementary schools of the Municipal Education Campinas/SP. The research was carried out in three schools selected from an exploratory study of events organized by the AIP policy, which are enablers of students’ participation in the process of reflecting on the quality of the school. The data indicate that schools have been reorganizing themselves to ensure the principle of student participation in the CPA (Comissão Própria de Avaliação – Self-evaluation Commission). However, it was made evident that there are still dimensions that require deeper understanding in order to enable further participation beyond spaces such as CPA, and thus promote a formal education that de facto contributes to the involvement of students in school life.