This article presents the reflections of teachers and managers in basic education schools who participated, as researchers, in a survey; the Institutional Self- Assessment survey: perceptions of elementary school students about quality education, which was conducted between 2016 and 2018. The research involved four public schools in the municipality of São Paulo; two in the municipal network and two in the state network. The data gathered here is the result of analysis of documents generated in the research process: minutes of monthly meetings and records of meetings held to evaluate the application of the data collection instruments and for the final evaluation of the project. The results confirm the view that the development of research in the public school, with the participation of teachers and managers as researchers, promotes the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and the practical implementation of this knowledge. It also helps strengthen the relationship between teachers and students, among the teachers themselves, and between the university and the school.