Formative itineraries and life projects in the new high school reform: processes, proposals and subjects

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Secondary education in Latin America: reforms and youth experiences in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic

Proposal

The presentation discusses preliminary results of a national research on the introduction of formative itineraries and the life project component in the curricula of the State and Federal District Education Systems of the so-called new Brazilian high school (Law No. 13.415/2017), supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/MCTI/FNDCT No 40/2022 PRÓ-HUMANIDADES, No. 420356/2022-3). The inclusion of formative itineraries and the life project component are structuring aspects of the reform given that they occupy about 40% of the total planned workload (minimum 1,200 hours). Regarding these aspects, there are still many uncertainties, for example, in relation to the changes that will be necessary in the National High School Exam (Enem) and the expected knowledge for the continuation of studies in higher education level. We do not know if the reduction of basic general education to up to 1,800 hours will be able to deal with one of the biggest problems, which concerns school dropout. Nor do we know if the formative itineraries and the life project component, introduced as a promise of an education that considers the diversity and desires of young people, will be able to reverse this situation. Faced with this reality and the challenges exposed, the research is being developed by a network of researchers from Amazonas, Pará, Ceará, Bahia, Distrito Federal, São Paulo, Minas Gerais who chare the understanding that the analysis of the effects of the current reform from the perspective of the school community is essential for the formulation of diagnoses and shaping of public policies at this level of education. The project comprises three axes of investigation, aimed at the study of the State and Federal District Education Councils Opinions about the new high school curricular structure; survey of information on the organization of formative itineraries and the life project component offered in public schools in eight states of the five regions of the country; comparative analysis of the offer of formative itineraries and the life project component in public schools in eight capitals and eight inland municipalities of each state. In addition to the presentation of the curricular proposal in the eight states studied, we will analyze the perception of teachers and students about the reform in the schools where the empirical research is carried out.

Author

• Wivian Weller, Universidade de Brasília - UnB