Considering political-educational discourse as a context for power manifestation, this study goal explores the power-knowledge relationship in official educational documents in different government instances where forms of resistance can be spotted. To verify how this relationship is established, two specific curricular documents are analyzed: Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio: Linguagens, Códigos e suas Tecnologias (2006), the official curriculum orientations issued by the Basic Education Department (Secretaria de Educação Básica - SEB), and Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo: Língua Estrangeira Moderna-Inglês (2008), the official curriculum proposal issued by the Department of Education of São Paulo State (Secretaria da Educação de São Paulo - SEE). This study theoretical framework deals with the following concepts: power-knowledge relations, forms of resistance, and truth regimes largely discussed by Foucault (1971, 2008), Pêcheux (1990), Mascia (2002), Bertoldo (2003), Coracini (2003), Gregolin (2004), Orlandi (2006), Veiga-Neto (2007), Possenti (2007), and Amarante (2009). The analysis of the documents reveals some of their argumentative traces that contribute to the establishment of a truth regime influenced by power-knowledge relations. Moreover, results point out conflicting issues between the Curriculum Orientations and the Curriculum Proposal concerning theoretical presuppositions and practical guidelines to language teaching and learning.
Teaching; Foreign language; Power-knowledgerRelation; Political-educational discourse