Relação escola-família e o “mito da omissão parental” na educação básica: escuta aos docentes

Abstract

This article focuses on the complex relationship between school and low-income families, specifically concerning the discussion about parental involvement in their children’s school life. It confronts two discourses: one of them, recurrent among teachers, affirms that families are omissive regarding their offspring’s schooling; the other, the sociological discourse, argues that “parental omission” is “a myth”. This paper emphasizes the listening to teachers, so it analyses data from interviews and focus groups with professionals from two municipal public schools in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We found some consensus among the interviewees: 1) families are more involved nowadays, although this involvement is still considered insufficient; 2) parents of high-achievement students are the most involved; 3) the involvement decreases with the students’ age. We perceived differences between both schools, with a higher mention of parental “absence” in the most vulnerable community. The analysis concludes that, on one hand, the interviewees’ discourse morally blames low-income families, justifying the demystification effort from sociological literature. On the other hand, beyond the stereotypes about these families, this discourse highlights the magnitude of the challenges experienced by the teachers, therefore, it should be considered by the same literature.