MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION IN MOSSORÓ-RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL: A STUDY OF ITS DELIBERATIVE FUNCTION

Abstract

This article analyzes the decision-making process of the Municipal Council of Education of Mossoró in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The Municipal Council of Education is a collegiate body that directly supports the Municipal Secretary of Education in the implementation, discussion and referral of municipal policies. Based on a qualitative approach, this study involves individual and semi-structured interviews with six representatives of the said council. The data were analyzed based on the contributions of content analysis. It was identified that meetings and guidelines represent an initial stage of decision-making, followed by a process of raising awareness of the subjects about the decisions to be put into practice through the majority vote. However, it is concluded that the council has been revealed as state control body, deciding more on matters of the Municipal Secretary of Education, by stating that the Law of Educational Responsibility was the decision that most benefited education in the municipality, relegating the Municipal Education Plan to a place of lesser importance, although it recognizes its relative autonomy to decide, and believes that it was instituted as a democratization mechanism.