Possibilities and limits of democratic management in brazilian public schools

This theoretical and bibliographical article seeks to reflect on the possibilities and limits of democratic management in Brazilian public schools. Inserted by the Law of Directives and Bases (LDB) 9.394/96, which assures education as a right for all, the term has been widely used but little is reflected about its true meaning and its practice. Browsing investigations on the subject, it was found that there is great resistance from managers in allowing the community to actually participate in the school management, particularly in the poorest communities, revealing great prejudice regarding their socio-economic and cultural level. What the school community needs in fact is to take a stand on a political level on participation, taking the community claims as a whole to the instance of the State, since technical contribution is responsibility of the school. Therefore, it is necessary to approximate theory and practice. Te school institution must abandon its authoritarian position, which ends up secluding the community creating a double omission: the parents do not participate because they do not feel welcomed and the school does not urge the community to participate saying it omits itself.