PROJETOS PEDAGÓGICOS DO ENSINO MÉDIO: PRINCÍPIOS BASILARES ORIUNDOS DAS POLÍTICAS DOS SISTEMAS DE EDUCAÇÃO EM TEMPOS DE PANDEMIA

This article analyzes the foundational principles present in the curricular organization of Brazilian secondary education (Ensino Médio) through pedagogical projects derived from educational system policies, within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It takes as its legal framework Law No. 13.415/2017, which amended the Law on Directives and Bases of National Education (LDB) No. 9.394/1996 and established the so-called "New Secondary Education" (Novo Ensino Médio), with an emphasis on "life projects" and "formative pathways" (itinerários formativos). The research—which employed a dialectical approach, a quantitative-qualitative methodology, and a descriptive-exploratory design—combined document analysis (the 1988 Federal Constitution; LDB No. 9.394/1996; Law No. 13.415/2017; and the 2018 National Common Curricular Base/BNCC) with the administration of semi-structured questionnaires via Google Forms. Conducted between June 1 and June 29, 2022, the study involved 33 students and 17 teachers and administrators from public and private schools, primarily in the municipality of Serra, Espírito Santo. The results indicate that 81.8% of students view themselves as the protagonists of their own life paths; entrepreneurship emerges as the primary vision for their future; and 88.2% of educational professionals consider full-time schooling to be a source of new formative experiences. Simultaneously, tensions arise regarding teachers' workloads, school infrastructure, the reduction of space for traditional curricular subjects, and the misalignment between this new organizational structure and the requirements for higher education admission. The study concludes that the identified foundational principles—equity, justice, accessibility, autonomy, youth agency, and lifelong learning—can only be realized when supported by state policy, ongoing teacher professional development, and adequate infrastructure; otherwise, the pedagogical project risks becoming nothing more than normative rhetoric.