Exame nacional do ensino médio no Brasil: das intencionalidades às formas de legitimação pelas escolas no jogo das classificações e desclassificações

Abstract

This research investigates the intentions of the National High School Examination (ENEM) in contrast to both the forms of apprehension of cultural capital and the provisions of the game of classifications and declassifications by the school social agents, expressed by the discourses and strategies employed. For this, Bourdieu's method of praxiological knowledge was chosen, whose theory served as theoretical reference and support of data analysis. It was opportune, it was decided that the object of study should be observed in public schools of the same Federal Unit, which is why three middle schools of the Distrito Federal were selected, belonging to Administrative Regions whose socioeconomic conditions are different: High School (CEM) Piloto Plano, CEM Ceilândia and CEM Recanto das Emas. Aiming at a more effective field research, it was decided to diversify the instruments and strategies of data collection: direct observation, with the help of the field diary; application of questionnaires with open and closed questions; and interviews with semi-structured script. The investigation had a total of 281 respondents from the questionnaires - directors, teachers and students - among which 28 of these agents were interviewed. From the theoretical reference, the discussion dealt with the fundamental logic of the exams, which is to select and exclude; and unveiled some of the mechanisms that lead students from privileged classes to achieve a better performance in the Exam. This is because, besides incorporating in an "osmotic" way a favorable habitus in the school field, they can employ better strategies against the privileged capitals that they possess. The data collected were analyzed from the following categories: a) Acquisition of cultural capital; (b) reproduction and processing strategies; c) Legitimation and its forms; and d) Resistance. It was identified that three particular forms of legitimation of the Examination stand out: by the discourse, by the policies with social acceptance that were attached to it and by the "support" to the students. As for the policies linked to the ENEM, these have allowed some social advances, while at the same time reinforcing the legitimacy of the inequalities that still continue to operate by it. In turn, the results point out that contradictorily the school unit most affected by the rules of the Exam is the one that most legitimizes it. One of the factors that confirms this is the race issue. This unit, that of CEM Recanto das Emas, has 78% of blacks among its students, in contrast to 61% of CEM Plano Piloto and 76% of CEM Ceilândia. However, only 47% of its students approve racial quotas, compared to 65% of CEM Plano Piloto students' approval and 71% of CEM Ceilândia. Another factor that confirms more legitimacy for the most penalized school is the teacher evaluation of the ENEM selection form: 75% of the teachers participating in CEM Recanto das Emas consider it fair, while 50% of the CEM Plano Piloto teachers and 62,5% of CEM Ceilândia teachers consider this. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that, although the school system is one of the State's reproductive instruments, the existence of discourses and resistance practices in the schools investigated suggests that it is possible to fight for a school system whose political-pedagogical orientation is beyond social reproduction.