Na última década vêm ocorrendo importantes alterações na organização e na administração da educação brasileira, entre as quais ganham relevância propostas de administração descentralizada, participativa e autônoma. Não se trata, todavia, de uma particularidade brasileira, pois essas propostas apresentam-se também nas reformas educativas empreendidas em outros países, correspondendo à emergência de um novo conceito de governação, o qual é produto do processo de (re)definição do papel do Estado e de (re)orientação de suas práticas, tendo por referência os novos modelos de gestão pública, que envolvem descentralização, reforço da autonomia e ampliação da participação social. Partindo dessas considerações, realizamos um estudo comparado das reformas ocorridas na administração do sistema educativo do Brasil e de Portugal com os objetivos de compreender as razões da relativa homogeneidade do novo modelo de gestão escolar e de identificar, ao mesmo tempo, as orientações comuns e as particularidades dos modos de apropriação de tal modelo nos dois países¹.

Important changes within the organization and administration of Brazilian education have occurred during the last decade. Suggestions for decentralized, participatory and independent educational management have been on the increase. These issues are, in fact, not a Brazilian particularity since they are on the agenda of the educational reforms in other countries. In fact, the phenomenon is more extensive and coincides with the emergence of a new governing concept which, in its turn, is part and parcel of the process involving the (re)definition of the role of the State and of the (re)orientation of its praxes. Since the new models of public management involves decentralization, reinforcement of autonomy and widening of social participation, these three factors are the categories on which current comparative study reforms occurred in the administration of the education system in Brazil and Portugal. Data of these studies are employed in current essay to discuss the reasons of the relative homogenization of the new model of school administration and, at the same time, identify common guidelines and particularities in the appropriation of the model in both countries.


Pendant la dernière décade, d’importants changements dans l’organisation et dans l’administration de l’éducation au Brésil sont en train d’avoir lieu, parmi lesquels sont mis en évidence des propositions envisageant une administration décentralisée, participative et autonome. Pourtant, ceci n’est pas une particularité brésilienne: de telles propositions apparaissent aussi dans les réformes éducatives entreprises en d’autres pays, ce qui montre que ce fait est beaucoup plus ample, correspondant à l’émergence d’un nouveau concept de gestion, qui, à son tour, fait partie du processus de (re)définition du rôle de l’État et de (re)orientation de ses pratiques. Étant donné que ces nouveaux modèles de gestion publique comprennent la décentralisation, le renforcement de l’autonomie et de la participation sociale, sont celles-ci les catégories que nous prenons en tant que base pour réaliser une étude comparée des réformes survenues dans l'administration du système d'éducation au Brésil et au Portugal. En utilisant les données de cette étude-là, l’objectif de ce texte est de discuter les raisons de la relative homogénéité du nouveau modèle de gestion scolaire et d’identifier, au même temps, les orientations communes et les particularités des modes d’appropriation de ce modèle dans les deux pays.