Un análisis de contenido de libros de texto para la alfabetización emancipadora de adultos en el contexto educativo poscolonial. El caso de la Amazonia brasileña en los años 1980
This research focuses on the notion of emancipation in textbooks inspired by the work of Paulo Freire, that were used for adult literacy programs in the context of postcolonial education in the North of Brazil between 1960 and 1980. The research sample was composed of four literacy textbooks used in teaching Portuguese, Poronga (1983) and O Ribeirinho (1984). This study was based on the methodology of content analysis of textbooks (Chu, 2017b; Holsti, 1969; Wade, 1993) and literature on Citizenship Education, once the main objective was to construct and evaluate the strength of a conceptual model of emancipatory literacy through three methodological steps to analyze the contents in textbooks that are favourable for the development of this type of literacy. Hence, the main objective was divided into three specific objectives: identify and describe the ideological, cognitive and citizen dimensions of emancipatory literacy within the framework of a conceptual modeling perspective and operationalize those dimensions in analysis criteria for the adequacy of textbooks; test and evaluate the consistency of the criteria in the analysis of the emancipating potential of textbooks; and evaluate the criteria that shaped the structure and content of the textbook favorable to emancipatory literacy. It should be noted that so far, there has not been much analysis of textbooks for emancipatory literacy in adults in international literature. Based on the identified research gaps and Wade's recommendations (1993) - which proposed to researchers in Social Studies textbooks to discover the ideological contexts that shaped their structure and content - the following research questions were elaborated: What are the criteria for identifying and analyzing the content of textbooks aimed at adult emancipatory literacy in the postcolonial educational context? And which are the ideological contexts that shaped the structure and content of these textbooks? In this perspective, the present research was supported by the studies of Citizenship Education and literature of textbook's content analysis, mainly in the observations and suggestions of Wade (1993) and Chu (2017b) on how to improve the quality of the Social Studies textbooks' qualitative content analysis. Given that the research in Citizenship Education and textbook content analysis has allowed the identification and analysis of essential elements viii of adult emancipatory literacy from a perspective of Citizenship Education (which has a critical-theoretical tradition), we allowed ourselves the adoption of some categories of analysis related to the concepts originated from these studies. Therefore, it was from these concepts and postulates that we elaborated the methodology to meet out goals. Considering the main objective of this research, as mentioned earlier, the present analysis of the qualitative content of textbooks was divided in three methodological steps: i) identification of the structure of the cognitive process in examples of pedagogical exercises with textbooks’ texts (according to Bloom's taxonomy, revised by Anderson et al, 2001); ii) revision of codification categories from emancipatory literacy (identity, empowerment and critical thinking) and identification of such categories in indicators and citations of textbooks (based on Bartlett, 2005, Butler, Suh & Scott, Freire, 1969, 1970, Kahne & Westheimer, 2003, Romão & Gadotti, 2012, Scott & Suh, 2015, Stronquist, 2009, 2012; Yoon & Sharif, 2015); and iii) recognition of different citizen profiles in the didactic instructions present in the monitor’s booklet (based on Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Following the order of presentation of our specific objectives, we reached the following conclusions: 1. This research allowed us to identify and describe the ideological, cognitive and citizen dimensions of emancipatory literacy within the framework of a conceptual modelling perspective and operationalize those dimensions in analysis criteria for the adequacy of textbooks. In this sense, we should highlight the following conclusions: i) exercises with text that required creative thinking were fundamental to stimulate the development of student's critical thinking (Lavere, 2008), one of the key elements of adult emancipatory literacy; ii) in relation to the codification of emancipatory literacy according to the criteria of identity, cognitive empowerment and critical thinking, from the analysis of exercises with text classified within the level of higher thinking order, it was possible to confirm that the two samples analyzed had exercises with texts that favor the construction of identity, cognitive empowerment and critical thinking, and they were therefore in favor of an emancipatory literacy (which promotes emancipation). 2. The study has allowed to test and evaluate the consistency of the criteria in the analysis of the emancipating potential of textbooks. 3. The research also allowed evaluating the criteria that shaped the structure and content of the textbook favourable to emancipatory literacy. In this sense, it was verified that, in the sample studied, the types of ix citizen justice or citizen participation are part of the primary criteria that help define the contents of the textbooks that favour emancipatory literacy (or that promote emancipation). In addition, we invited other researchers in this research field to follow the methodological steps we have developed and used in the present analysis with the aim of being tested in other contexts and improved, if necessary.
Paulo Freire Analysis of textbooks Content analysis Citizenship education Emancipatory literacy Adult literacy