ESCOLAS DO LEGISLATIVO INSTITUÍDAS NOS MUNICÍPIOS DA REGIÃO SUL DE MINAS: constituição, resultados e significados

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to get to know the Legislative Schools established in the municipalities of the southern region of Minas Gerais and analyze their constitutions, results, and meanings. The region studied encompasses 155 municipalities, where forty Legislative Schools were identified, installed in the region's Municipal Chambers. Methodologically, the research was based on a qualitative approach, combining a study of numerous cases with the Oral History Methodology. Thirty-six leaders of Legislative Schools and public servants from the Municipal Chambers of the region studied were selected to collaborate with the study. The instruments used were the electronic questionnaire and the interview. Forty leaders were invited to answer the questionnaires, and 36 answers were obtained. Four of these leaders were invited to participate in the interviews. The data obtained were analyzed by the triangulation technique, articulating the data from the questionnaire to the narratives of the researched subjects, as well as the context to the dialog, based on authors who study the theme. The conclusion was that: the work with education for citizenship already existed before the creation of the first Legislative School, and the emergence of these schools happens in larger numbers generally in the first years of a legislature. The Schools of the Legislature, despite their importance for education for citizenship and democracy, face difficulties related to the Brazilian political culture, such as personalism and discontinuity. The schools are influenced by the Minas Gerais State Assembly, the Brazilian Association of Legislative and Accounting Schools, and higher education institutions. The main target audience is high school students. There is, in general, recognition of the importance of the schools, but some political, budgetary and human resources obstacles prevent their full realization. Finally, the subject of Legislative Schools in Brazil, in general, and in Sul de Minas, in particular, despite presenting good results, constitute a different way of working and structure, so that they contribute to the advancement of political participation and, as consequence, to democracy.