TEORIAS DA ESCOLA NO PROCESSO DE MARGINALIZAÇÃO: DISCORRENDO SOBRE AS TEORIAS CRÍTICO-REPRODUTIVISTAS EM CONTRAPOSIÇÃO COM AS TEORIAS NÃO-CRÍTICAS DA EDUCAÇÃO

This article offers a critical analysis of explanations for school marginalization by contrasting Non-Critical Theories and Critical-Reproductive Theories, discussing their implications for educational success and failure in the contemporary Brazilian context. The study begins by problematizing the social role of the school amid structural inequalities, examining how discourses of social mobility, meritocracy, the competency-based model, and the uncritical use of technology reinforce a neo-technicist perspective that obscures class struggle. Methodologically, this is a qualitative bibliographic study based on the analysis of classical works and recent contributions from the Sociology of Education, organized into categories that address theoretical foundations, explanatory tensions, and implications for curriculum, inclusion, and assessment. The findings indicate that Critical-Reproductive Theories remain essential to understanding mechanisms of social reproduction, yet they are insufficient to explain resistance practices, pedagogical innovations, and inclusive experiences that generate emancipatory possibilities within the school environment. Evidence shows that approaches such as multiliteracies, critical use of digital technologies, Universal Design for Learning, and authentic assessment can challenge reproductive logics and expand pathways of participation and success for students from working-class backgrounds. The study concludes that the school must be understood as a contradictory space in which reproduction and emancipation coexist, demanding an educational theory that is critical, inclusive, and committed to social justice.