State Institute of Education

The research seeks to understand and discuss the spaces for democratic participation of the school community at the Santa Catarina State Institute of Education a unique institution with over 100 years of history in Florianópolis during the period from 1985 to 1995. Issues related to the activities and processes of democratic constitution that took place through the direct participation of the school community in decisions were investigated identifying the obstacles (limitations) and facilitating elements (possibilities) of this participation. In this sense concepts such as participation social capital and symbolic capital were discussed to better understand these processes.