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This essay critically examines the real scope of school autonomy in public educational institutions in the district of Santa Marta (Colombia), within the framework of educational decentralization promoted by the Ministry of National Education as a State policy. Although the legal framework grants schools the authority to self-manage their pedagogical, administrative, and evaluation processes, in practice, this autonomy is severely limited. This tension constitutes what is herein referred to as the paradox of school autonomy: a formally recognized right that is not effectively exercised in vulnerable contexts.
From an argumentative approach based on documentary review, regulatory analysis, and contextual interpretation, the essay presents six arguments that explain this contradiction. First, institutional evaluation is often reduced to filling out formats, without follow-up or methodological appropriation. Second, family and socioeconomic dynamics hinder the effective participation of parents and students. Third, there is a structural weakness in participatory institutional culture, preventing the development of collective evaluation and improvement processes. Fourth, there is a disconnect between improvement plans, the PEI (Institutional Educational Project), and the school’s daily practices. Fifth, schools operate in a context of political instability, administrative turnover, and governance problems, which fragment their planning capacity. Finally, the absence of contextualized and flexible evaluation models suited to the realities of public schools is evident.
The analysis concludes that school autonomy, rather than serving as a transformative tool, has been emptied of meaning due to the tensions between normative discourse, institutional conditions, and everyday practices. To overcome this paradox, institutional evaluation must be reoriented as an ethical, pedagogical, and contextualized practice that invites educational actors to engage in critical and collective reflection aimed at improving education from within the territory.
