Between bridges and walls: prescriptive regimes and dilemmas in a vulnerable- territory school

Abstract

The article focuses on the description and the logic that guide the perception of a professional group (managers and teachers) from a public school located in a vulnerable territory in Belo Horizonte (MG) regarding the public they serve. It specifically analyzes how the territorial dynamics of a favela region in the city of Belo Horizonte (MG), marked by socio-spatial vulnerability, contribute to shaping the school team’s perceptions and practices regarding the students and their families. We start from the sociological paradigm that the physical space is a reification of the social space, in which and through which social agents are built. Thus, the study articulates the territory effect - used here as an index that sums up social and economic advantages of social groups due to their location in the social space of the city - with the analyses and interpretations about the relationship between students and families with the school. The data used were gathered through interviews, focus groups, field diaries, and documentary material gathered during research visits to the school. We conclude that the prescriptive regimes and the pedagogical relationship tend to be predominantly grounded on labeling students and families; however, discursive modulations sensitive to a relativization of stigmata can establish cooperation moments and regimes.