Educação humanista cristã em tempos de mercantilização: um estudo de Escolas Notre Dame no Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The theme of this research deals with the investigation of an issue situated in the field of contemporary educational policies, focusing on confessional educational institutions. The research reflects on the identity of private education with a Christian-humanist hallmark in a context of commercialization. The empirical selection was taken from schools maintained by the Sisters of Notre Dame (ND), their structure and management of education in Brazil, specifically in Rio Grande do Sul, from a perspective of critical analysis and approach. The case develops from the way the ND Educational Network is structured to survive in the market; since 2002, it has made use of specific administrative and pedagogical strategies of the market system at the same time that it positions itself as a network of Christian confessional schools. The goal of this thesis is to analyze why the number of students of the ND Network in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is increasing above the state and the national average, and investigate how the Network sustains and articulates the principles of the Christian humanist identity. The study unfolds within the framework of historical-critical methodology, while it seeks to articulate text and context in a dialectical perspective. Using the method for document analysis (PIMENTEL 2001), the following sources were considered: microdata INEP (School Census) on enrollment and basic education establishments; enrollment data of the ND Network (2002 to 2016); historical writings of the ND Congregation; Strategic Plan of the ND Network; institutional evaluation reports (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) and voluntary written comments from 2015; interview records from the parents of the students, and evaluation of the ND organizational atmosphere of years 2012, 2014, and 2016. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. Among the results, in spite the contradictions, one of the highlights falls on the ND Educational Network. The Network maintains the Christian humanist identity, which clearly reflects the historical principles recognized by the internal and external community. The articulation of this identity takes place in daily relationships, in personal formation and in the way managers and community create educational activities and education itself, participating and evaluating, recognizing limits and values. Identity is recognized in the quality and excellence of education and the educational policies; in family history and tradition and recommendation by others; in the convenience of location; in the values, religion and spirituality of the Catholic school; in the structures, organization, accessibility, security, and other aspects.