PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY: AN ANALYSIS OF GOAL 9 OF THE 2026–2036 NATIONAL EDUCATION PLAN

Abstract

This article analyzes how cultural and ethnic-racial diversity is incorporated into the formulation of Brazilian public education policies, focusing specifically on Goal 9 of the National Education Plan (PNE) 2026–2036. The issue at hand stems from the tension between the normative recognition of differences and the actual guarantee of the right to education for peoples and communities historically affected by processes of inequality, invisibility, and cultural homogenization. The study aims to analyze how Goal 9 addresses the cultural, territorial, linguistic, and identity-related specificities of Indigenous School Education, Rural Education, and *Quilombola* School Education, as well as to identify the limitations and possibilities for its implementation. This is a qualitative study based on a review of literature and documents, grounded in research on educational policies, planning, cultural diversity, interculturality, and ethnic-racial relations, combined with an analysis of Law No. 15.388/2026 and its goals and strategies. The results show that Goal 9 expands the recognition of diversity as a constitutive dimension of the right to education, incorporating aspects related to identity, territory, languages, traditional knowledge, curriculum, teacher training, community participation, and assessment. However, the analysis reveals a tension between the normative formulation and the concrete conditions for implementation, particularly regarding funding, intergovernmental coordination, the training of education professionals, the production of specific materials, and effective community participation. The study concludes that the legal recognition of diversity, while fundamental, does not in itself ensure an intercultural and socially grounded education; realizing such an education requires the practical implementation of the PNE guidelines across different territories.