Práticas discursivas e modos de subjetivação no ensino médio particular

Abstract

This work analyzes discursive practice and modes of subjectification in private high school, questioning the purposes of this stage of education. In Brazil, high school has had, over the years, distinct purposes, either preparing students for entrance examinations or providing them with profissional training. This analysis is done based on Foucault´s theoretical reference that production of subjectivity is made possible by knowledge available in our society. Discursive practice produces objects of knowledge, structuring individuals´ actions through various techniques, among which are pedagogical devices. In order to achieve the aim of this study, interviews were conducted with ten teachers from a private school, whose statements were submitted to textual discourse analysis proposed by Moraes (2003) and foucauldian discourse analysis supported by Willig (2001). This research has shown that the discursive production of high school emphasizes preparation for entrance examinations, which gives form to a series of educational practices. Access to university is seen as the professional project for high school graduates. Civic education and preparation for life in its cultural, political and social aspects are not considered as important as students´ training for entrance examinations. It is possible to infer, from the research findings, that it is largely believed that the formation of identity relies on labor. Pedagogical practice produced by this discourse promotes a relationship with knowledge that matches its consumption with social mobility. There is no room in this school system for the pleasure of learning, for the classes are conducted especially by teachers and are restricted to memorizing information required by entrance examinations. Individuals can not ask their own questions, giving rise to issues that mobilize them, because they have to meet the requirements of exams. By structuring pedagogical practices this way, this discourse prevents other purposes for high school education from arising. It is believed that the best thing to do in high school is to prepare students for their profession. Thus, school knowledge supports individual life projects, which impairs subjects´ involvement in collective life. Private high school has shown elitist traits, since it focuses specifically on preparing students to college. Moreover, it is clear that school disciplinary mechanisms produce individualization and docile bodies, undergoing subjects to the demands of the production system, which are never put into question. Besides, the psychologizing of school knowledge promotes the government of individuals, controlling their behavior in a very subtle way. A question that arises from this study is whether the problematization of school knowledge can promote the process of "self-invention" rather than molding subjects to productivity demands, undermining their political action. However, it is just by putting into question high school discursive production that there is a chance we think of other possibilities of subjectification. Therefore, this study contributes for the problematization on youth culture, education policy and teacher training.