Based on the perspective of Ball's policies cycle and on Laclau's discourse theory, we analyzed the curriculum policy of the municipal school system of Niterói (RJ) in the three-year period 2005 - 2008, focusing on the meaning of the curricular integration proposal and the articulations and disputes between the context of text production and the context of practice. We noted two particular meanings of integrated curriculum in dispute: one that aims to foster dialogue among school subjects and another that is trying to prevail over the school subjects. In both, the senses of curricular integration and interdisciplinarity are fluctuating, according to the demands in play and in view of the political articulations. Accordingly, the social groups are trying to hegemonize a given meaning of curricular integration.
curriculum policy; curricular integration; interdisciplinarity