Política pública educacional e a língua inglesa: considerações sobre o ensino médio da rede estadual de educação da Bahia no período de 2010 a 2021

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the contribution of the state education network to regional economic development through the promotion of English proficiency as a foreign language in high school in Bahia, from 2010 to 2021. The importance of this study is based on the emphasis given to the learning of this language in contemporary times and the strategic relevance of state public schools in high school in promoting English language learning, since they are responsible for 87.2% of enrollments at this level of education. To this end, it took into account how this teaching is structured through current federal and state legislation and data from the School Census of the period studied. The methodology adopted was classified as qualitative, using the exploratory model, through documentary research associated with data collection carried out through the School Census (INEP), the study on public policies for the teaching of English, coordinated by the British Council and data provided by the Bahia Department of Education. Set in an interdisciplinary context, this study is based on theorists in the area of ​​economic and regional development, scholars in the educational and linguistic fields such as: Pereira (2021), Batista (2012), Souza (2016), Schultz (1973), Amartya Sen (2010), Gala (2019; 2021), Gala and Carvalho (2020a; 2020b), Domingues (2003), Kupfer (2009), Pennycook (1994 and 1998), Scheyerl; Siqueira (2009) and Crystal (2003). The results found with the examination carried out in the normative documents that regulate the teaching of the English language indicate that there has been some advances in the definition of educational policies in relation to the attention given to the English language and its purpose in society, and the State of Bahia lacks its own public policy aimed at teaching the English language in the state. The survey of actions aimed at students and/or teachers of public state high schools in Bahia, for the teaching and learning of the English language, gives an idea of ​​the need for greater commitment from the State Government of Bahia to public access policies that aim to minimize the difficulties faced by these students.