The History curricular component in the context of high school reform and performativity

Abstract

This article proposes a critical analysis of the High School Reform, with a specific focus on the History curricular component, in light of Stephen J. Ball's approach to performativity in education. The research uses the documentary analysis methodology to examine the reform, established by Law No. 13,415/2017 and consolidated by the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), which introduces a logic of curricular flexibility, assigning schools the task of organizing training itineraries, promoting, at the same time, an instrumental and market view of education. Ball's concept of performativity describes the pressure on educators to demonstrate measurable results aligned with efficiency standards. Therefore, we seek to understand how this logic impacts the teaching of History. Performativity, together with educational governance, emphasizes control, evaluation by external metrics and standardization of content, which tends to reduce the critical and reflective role of History, transforming it into a means of adapting performance indicators.