Parentocracia e investimentos educacionais: “fabricação de bons alunos”

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to understand the concept of parentocracy, aiming at the understanding that the phenomenon can be a factor for school differentiation for specific social groups, reiterating structural inequalities that exist in our society. It is important to justify that parentocracy is a topic of great relevance in the current context of society. We live in a time when parents play an increasingly central role in the education of their children, often going beyond the limits of influence and becoming authoritarian and controlling. Not all families are actively practicing parentocracy. The so-called intellectualized middle classes are the ones most prone to parentocratic practices. In addition, parentocracy can also contribute to the perpetuation of social inequalities, since parents with more financial resources are more capable of influencing and controlling the education of their children. The methodology is based on bibliographic research that uses articles and materials already published to give credibility to the topic addressed in this research. In the theoretical basis, among the main interlocutors, we highlight Brown (1980; 1999); Bourdieu (1970; 1976; 1979; 1982; 2007;); Zaia Brandão and Isabel Lellis (2010); Nogueira (1997; 2012); Santos, Pereira and Santos (2018); Darchy-Koechelin (2005); Adrião (2014); Cattani and Kieling (2007); Pinçon and Pinçon-Charlot (2003); Nogueira, Romanelli and Zago (2008); Riedner and Pereira (2012); Adrião (2014); Ferreira, Diogo and Melo (2018); Stoer (2002); Silva and Assis (2019). Parentocracy is not just a matter of individual choice, but a social phenomenon that has profound impacts on educational inequalities, and recognizing this dynamic is crucial to developing policies that aim to promote more equitable education, where all children have access to the same opportunities, regardless of the socioeconomic conditions of their families.