Concept of the isolation effect and analysis of competencies in educational reforms

Abstract

This paper is about a theoretical and exploratory study on the possibilities of using the concept of the isolation effect, developed by the Greek Marxist philosopher Nicos Poulantzas (1936-1979), to analyze the notion of competencies in neoliberal educational reforms, more specifically in the High School Reform (HSR). Poulantzas’ concept of the isolation effect helps to shed light on the individualistic nature of the training of new generations, adapted to a scenario of structural crisis that characterizes this historical period. This character can be seen in the HSR in various aspects: in the competences themselves, derived from the Brazilian Common Core State Standards (known by the acronym BNCC), replicated in the HSR; in the equivalence of rights and learning objectives to competences and skills; in the emphasis on life projects and entrepreneurship. The thesis defended is that the effect of isolation as a mediated effect of competences removes from the subjects the horizon of their belonging to the social class, reducing the conception of the world to individual life, to one’s own interests and needs for competition to overcome the crisis, thereby deepening an individualistic sociability. In this sense, subjective competences overdetermine knowledge competences, thereby emptying the human formation role of education.

Keywords: Isolation effect. High School Reform. Educational reforms. Neoliberalism and education. Nicos Poulantzas.