A educação de pessoas com deficiência em Santarém-PA: embarcando nos (des)caminhos da história (2008-2019)

Abstract

The present study aimed to analyze, from a historical perspective, the process of constituting education for people with disabilities, the target population of Special Education, within the municipal school system of Santarém, Pará, focusing on the period from 2008 to 2019. The choice of this time frame is due to the relevance of public policy debates on Special Education that intensified from 2008 onward, with the creation of the National Policy on Special Education from the Perspective of Inclusive Education (PNEEPEI) and the publication of the regulations that shaped its implementation. This milestone represented a significant shift in the approach to education for people with disabilities in Brazil, consolidating the institutional commitment to inclusion and equity. The year 2019, in turn, marks an inflection point, since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 interrupted in-person schooling, limiting the analysis of subsequent inclusive practices. The specific objectives of the research are: a) to contextualize how the material, cultural, and political conditions of different periods structured the social and institutional practices directed toward people with disabilities, highlighting tensions, ruptures, and continuities; b) to problematize how public policies aimed at the education of people with disabilities historically emerged as responses to the social and educational demands of each period, revealing contradictions between inclusion processes and mechanisms of social regulation; c) to document, based on the analysis of various sources (legislation, reports, municipal records, census data, and local news articles), the development of education for people with disabilities in the municipal school system of Santarém, Pará, identifying points of convergence and divergence in relation to national policies. This is a historical and qualitative study grounded in documentary analysis and literature review, guided by the theoretical framework of historical-dialectical materialism. The study is based on the understanding that the defense of a school for all is intrinsically linked to class struggle and to a historical-philosophical and socio-political perspective of human emancipation. The findings indicate that the period analyzed reveals a movement of consolidation and tension in educational policies for people with disabilities in the municipality of Santarém, marked by institutional advances but also by persistent structural and cultural challenges. It is observed that, in several moments, the municipality followed the guidelines and orientations of the national context, despite being located in the interior of the state of Pará. However, the distance from major urban centers imposed limitations on the implementation of these policies, especially regarding material conditions, teacher training, and the availability of specialized support services. These factors demonstrate that the realization of education for people with disabilities depends not only on normative adherence but also on overcoming the regional inequalities that continue to shape the Brazilian territory.