What is expected from elementary school: do families and teachers converge in terms of expectations?

Research objective: The objective of this study is to identify whether the users of municipal public education and the teachers of these schools converge in terms of expectations related to the services developed in the Elementary School I units. Theoretical framework: The study discusses the concept of the 5 Gaps Model, theoretical concepts of managing expectations in organizations, the family-school relationship and educational marketing. Methodology: The research has a cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative approach, with data obtained through the application of structured questionnaires to two types of participants: for the families (parents or guardians) of students in the 1st year of Elementary School and for the teachers of the 10 investigated public schools. These questionnaires were designed based on the 5 Gaps Model. Data analysis was performed based on the characterization of the profile of each group, as well as a comparison of the means for each of the variables contained in the instruments applied. Comparisons of means for independent samples (t test) and multiple linear regression were performed together with the tests of sample validation. As a support tool, the IBM & REG; SPSS & REG; software, version 27 was used. Results: The study identified that there are, in fact, differences in expectations between the students' families and the faculty of the investigated schools. The four most significant themes for families were: good physical structure, demanding level of education, access to student information and freedom of thought and expression; while for the teachers, the five most significant themes were: degree of teaching demand, clear and defined bureaucratic processes, pleasant and conducive environment for learning, general expectation about the school's teaching and general expectation about the school. These data point to important lines of action that can be carried out by managers in the educational area. Originality: This study raises the expectations of families that use public basic education and analyzes them from the perspective of school marketing. There are no academic articles, published on the internet, that present applications of educational marketingprinciples to Brazilian public elementary schools. Theoretical and practical contributions: The research contributes to discussions related to the perceptions of families and teachers about the services provided in public basic education schools in Brazil, thus, it can assist in decision-making by the managers of basic education in the municipality, aiming at expanding the satisfaction of users of public services.