PEDAGOGICAL COEXISTENCE IN PARTICIPATORY SCHOOL MANAGEMENT: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PANDEMIC AND POST-PANDEMIC PERIOD

Abstract

This article analyzes school management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic period, grounded in the principles of Historical-Dialectical Materialism and the Historical-Cultural Approach, with pedagogical coexistence as its central analytical category. It is based on the premise that the pandemic does not constitute an exceptional event, but rather a historical moment that intensified and reconfigured structural contradictions already present in Brazilian public schools. The study draws on an excerpt from Carreiro (2025) doctoral dissertation, developed from the lived experiences of school administrators, teachers, students, families, and staff members in a Basic Education institution articulated with a Faculty of Education. The objective of this study is to analyze the dynamics of school management during the pandemic and post-pandemic period, seeking to understand how pedagogical coexistence and the participation of the school community constitute fundamental mediations for the organization of pedagogical activity and for the construction of humanizing educational practices. Empirical data were produced through participatory meetings organized into thematic working groups and analyzed in light of the categories of vivência (lived experience) and pedagogical activity. The findings indicate that the post-pandemic period cannot be understood as a return to normality; rather, it constitutes a singular historical moment, marked by the need to reconstruct school bonds, reorganize management practices, and strengthen relationships among school, family, and community. Participatory management emerges as a necessary mediation for confronting contradictions and reorganizing pedagogical activity. In this context, pedagogical coexistence is understood as a humanizing dimension of educational processes, underpinning school management practices committed to integral human development and social transformation.