What changes in high school? Understand in 8 points – 04/04/2023 – Education

Pressured by students and teachers, the Lula government should publish in the next few days an ordinance that suspends the calendar of changes related to the new secondary education, in particular the one that was planned for the Enem.

The news left public and private education networks, as well as teachers, families and students, with a series of doubts.

Below, understand the main points of the reform and the current debate.

What is the new high school?

• The new secondary education expands the workload, from 800 hours to 1,000 hours a year, and reformulates the curriculum
• Of the 3,000 hours of the course, 1,800 (60%) are reserved for a curriculum common to all, with traditional subjects such as mathematics and Portuguese
• The other 1,200 hours (40%) are devoted to so-called disciplines formative itinerariesthat the are specific curriculum options that each student should choose

How should the deployment be?

• The reform was determined by a law signed during the Temer government, in February 2017
• The schedule was defined in an ordinance, signed on July 13, 2021, in the Bolsonaro government, and provided for three phases:

1. 2022: implementation in the 1st year of high school in all schools
2. 2023: implementation also in the 2nd year of high school
3. 2024: implementation in the 3rd year, thus covering the entire high school

And the exam? As the end of 2024 would see the completion of the first classes under the new high school, the ordinance also defined that Enem be adapted to the model from that year onwards

What are the training itineraries?

• These are large areas chosen by students to have greater depth. There are five itineraries created by law:

1. Mathematics and its technologies
2. Languages ​​and their technology
3. Natural sciences and their technologies
4. Applied human and social sciences
5. Technical and professional training

• The itineraries can be combined: mathematics + languages ​​or natural sciences + languages, for example
• They may also have more creative names, such as Scientific Investigation (natural sciences) or I think, therefore I am (human sciences)
• The elective subjects would, in theory, give the student the chance to learn in a more interesting way

What are the arguments in favor of the model?

• It could reduce school evasion by creating more interesting curricula for young people, connected with current affairs and market needs
• It could also create links that the traditional curriculum did not allow, with greater engagement of students and teachers
• It is an attempt to overcome a teaching model that has not been efficient for decades: of young people who complete high school in the country, only 5% have adequate learning in mathematics and 30% in Portuguese, according to Saeb (Sistema de Evaluation of Basic Education)
• Once implemented, it has already consumed a lot of effort, time and money from education networks and schools

What are the arguments against the model?

What are the alternatives studied to adjust the model without revoking it?

• Reducing the time of training itineraries to 20% of the curriculum, precisely the expansion portion. The 2,400 hours that already existed in the previous model would continue with the same traditional curriculum
• Make the itinerary that would be in that 20% optional, which would reduce the pressure for students who have to work
• Make the model more flexible, so that each network adjusts to its reality
• Make the deadline for implementation more flexible, in addition to creating scholarship mechanisms for more economically vulnerable students

How is the discussion now?

• Pressured by teachers and students, Lula plans to provisionally suspend the implementation of the new secondary education with an ordinance in the coming days
• The suspension must last for 90 days, the duration of a public consultation on the subject, but it can be extended.
• The document should also halt the reform of the Enem, which would be molded to the itineraries

What should be the effects of the suspension for schools and students?

• For now, there should be no change in classes for those who have already adopted the model — the implementation was total for the 1st year in 2022
• However, the measure creates uncertainty in public and private networks about which way to go, especially considering the lack of definition about Enem