Student ombudsman as public action interfaces
Student ombudsman; sociology of public action; socio-state interfaces; student unions.
Student ombudsmen are recent pedagogical practices implemented in some Brazilian states and municipalities. This exploratory and qualitative research analyzed two student ombudsman projects running in the municipalities of Santos/SP and Manaus/AM, called, respectively, Aluno Ouvidor and Ouvidoria Estudantil, established within student unions. The study was initiated from the survey of scientific works published between 2012 and 2021 on public ombudsmen in Brazil, whose result did not identify any previous study on student ombudsmen. Based on the concept of socio-state interface and, especially, on the political sociology of public action, the general objective was to understand the constant dynamics in the selected student ombudsman projects, from the perspective of the interactions established between actors and sectors, as well as their representations, established institutions and selected instruments and the results achieved, in addition to the intersectoral processes involved, within a given territory. This study of two cases resulted in the examination of innovative initiatives of a deliberative and participatory character and allowed to conceive the student ombudsman as an instrument of public action. Still, due to the democratic dynamics observed within the school environment, the concept of public action interface was proposed. Finally, it was evidenced that the pedagogical practice has the potential to serve as an effective instrument for the strengthening of democratic school management and can be implemented in other cities in Brazil.