Novo Ensino Médio: percepções de alunos e professores sobre os desafios na implementação da política pública em uma escola de Minas Gerais

Abstract

This dissertation was developed within the scope of the Professional Master's Program in Management and Evaluation in Public Education (PPGP) at the Center for Public Policies and Education Evaluation of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (CAEd/UFJF). The New High School reform (Novo Ensino Médio – NEM), initiated by Provisional Measure No. 746/2016 and later converted into Law No. 13,415/2017, aimed primarily the high school curriculum flexibilization and the expansion of the school course load hours. However, since its implementation, the NEM has faced criticism due to the speed of its approval process and for disregarding longstanding structural problems in Brazilian education, such as inadequate school infrastructure, poor teacher training and career plans, limitations in school transportation, and disregard for regional and local specificities. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the perceptions and experiences of students and teachers regarding the reform and implementation process of the NEM in a public school located in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais state, seeking to understand the challenges and potentialities of this educational policy in the school studied. Specifically, the study aimed to describe the planning stages for the NEM implementation, and to analyse the criteria used for the selection of elective courses (itinerários formativos) of the school curriculum beginning in the 2022 academic year. This study adopted a qualitative research approach, using a semi-structured interview conducted with the school principal; questionnaires were administered to high school teachers who worked between 2022 to 2025 (n = 10), and students enrolled in the 2nd and 3rd-year high school classes during the 2025 school year (n = 96). The main theoretical references used in this research were based on studies by Ferretti (2018), Alves, Silva and Jucá (2022), Barcelos and Valeiros (2024), Fabis (2023), and Gomides (2025), among others. Our results showed that the NEM implementation in the school studied contributed to redefining the teacher role, which ceased to be the ‘’central figure’’ in the teaching process and became a ‘’facilitator’’ of learning. This change was claimed to require socio-emotional competencies and constant pedagogical innovation in order to create a more engaging learning environment. Also, the study identified a shift in the conception of education from a collective social right toward a more individualist sphere with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, aligning teaching with labour market demands. Additionally, the results showed that students' autonomy in choosing their elective courses proved to be limited, since the NEM structural decisions were implemented through a hierarchical top-down approach, restricting the student protagonism proposed by the reform. Based on the research results, an Educational Action Plan (Plano de Ação Educacional – PAE) was developed, in accordance with the guidelines of Law No. 14.1945/2024, known as the ‘’reform of the reform’’, The PAE proposes actions aimed to adress the students academic needs supporting feasible teaching practices, seeking to reduce teacher overload and promote a more effective NEM implementation, aligned with the reality of the school studied, equalizing learning opportunities for students.