Educational policies and administration conceptions: what say the high school principals of the Federal District

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze the administration conceptions of public school principals of the Federal District (DF) in Brazil. In order to accomplish this, it is organized in three sections: the introduction that discusses the historical highlights of the debate, the topic about the disputes around the theme and, finally, the meanings attributed by the principals to the constitutive elements of school administration. The work also problematizes the legal discontinuity of policies for democratic administration in the Federal District and analyzes how this movement affects speech and practices at secondary education schools. The results point out that there is a certain hybridism of conceptions and that the practices are developed from contradictory movements and apprehensions. They also indicate that there are conditions for the questioning of techno-bureaucratic policies by empowering school bureaus and reflecting critically, deepening mechanisms for participation, ethical-political commitment and professional engagement focused on emancipatory education.