Abstract

RAMALHO, Henrique. School Meritocracy and its Influences on the Youth Condition of Students of the Portuguese Public School: A Sociological Analysis of Official Narratives. SOCIOLOGIA ON LINE [online]. 2020, n.24, pp.27-63.  Epub Jan 18, 2022. ISSN 1647-3337.  https://doi.org/10.30553/sociologiaonline.2020.24.2.

This study analyzes the formally instituted directions of the meritocratic agenda of the school system, having as a specific reference the occupation of a student. Its main goal is to understand how the legal and normative structure of the system lists the assertions raised by the domains of educational service provision, school organization and management, and the curriculum structure, culminating on its main focus on students’ school results. Three decades after the publication of the Basic Law of the Educational System (LBES), we analyze the evolution of legislator’s interest on prescribing youth’s education and, specifically, the occupation of being a student, according to the argument of meritocratization. We proceed with a systematic content analysis of the reference legislation. Our conclusions are based on the hypothesis of the consolidation of the educational system through a strong tendency of meritocratization of the youth.

Keywords : school meritocracy; youth condition; meritocratization of the system; normalized meritocracy..

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