THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE “EDUCAÇÃO QUE PROTEGE” PROGRAM IN SCHOOLS IN RECIFE
School Violence; School Community; Democratic Management; Policy Cycle Approach; Protection at school.
This research focuses on policies to address violence in schools, taking as its basis the Education that Protects Program (Programa Educação que Protege – EQP), established by Ordinance No. 2367/2024 in the Municipal Education Network of Recife. The object of the study seeks to investigate the role of the School Community in the interpretation and translation of the EQP in everyday school life. The research adopts the Policy Cycle Approach developed by Stephen Ball and Richard Bowe, as well as the Theory of Enactment proposed by Stephen Ball, Meg Maguire, and Annette Braun, as its analytical framework. These perspectives break with linear and traditional views of public policy implementation and emphasize the micropolitical processes through which local actors interpret and translate legal policy texts. Methodologically, the study follows a qualitative approach and is designed as a field study conducted in two municipal lower secondary schools (Ensino Fundamental II). Data collection includes document analysis and semi-structured interviews with twenty-two participants, including school administrators, teachers, students, and family members. The analysis seeks to identify how the four contextual dimensions of the Theory of Enactment—situated, material, professional, and external—shape the EQP within the context of practice. It is expected that this research will contribute to the debate on the school as a space of dispute and meaning-making, in which the effective enactment of the School Community is an indispensable condition for the implementation of policies to address violence and for the promotion of a culture of peace.