A EJA e o ensino de Geografia para adultos e idosos no município de Itaboraí (RJ): um olhar sobre o CREMII

Abstract

Over recent decades, curriculum policies have delineated the distinct sciences within Basic Education and its various modalities, reshaping the teaching-learning relationship. This process has had a significant impact on Geography education through the consolidation of the Pedagogy of Competencies. In the case of Youth and Adult Education (EJA), the continuation of a streamlined and accelerated format has been observed, marked by the suppression of content due to its curricular and chronological structure, given—understandably—its polyvalence in offering education across different systems. In the context of the Itaboraí Municipal Education Reference Center for the Elderly (CREMII), curriculum prescriptions were modified to create the Geo-History subject. Accordingly, this master’s dissertation focuses on CREMII's curriculum policy, aligning it with broader trends at higher levels, and examines its potential—or lack thereof—to foster critical geographical education. The general objective of this research is to understand curricular practices within EJA and CREMII, emphasizing the role of critical geography education in schools. This involves developing and adopting a historical-critical curricular framework tailored to the specific needs of students over 50 years of age within the context of EJA at the national level and in the municipality of Itaboraí. This is a basic, exploratory-explanatory research project, employing bibliographical review, data collection, and quantitative analysis of official sources and educational legislation documents as its technical-methodological procedures. These procedures reflect the exploratory nature of the study, which is based on a case study of CREMII due to its characteristics as a reference center for adult and elderly education. The research seeks to propose a geography teaching approach for this age group, considering their particularities and specific contexts, while fostering reflections on the importance of critical and emancipatory education in Brazil’s current social, political, and economic landscape. This discussion is especially relevant in light of counter-reforms in education aimed at steering theoretical and pedagogical processes towards producing flexible workers who meet the neoliberal demands of dominant classes. The main findings point to a significant decline in EJA enrollment rates, coupled with the consolidation of ENCCEJA as a nationwide certification exam and the way states and municipalities manage enrollment offerings within their networks. The research also highlights the "juvenilization" process in EJA, linked to managerial practices within education departments, alongside the aging teaching workforce. This latter issue stems from young people’s waning interest in teaching careers due to low social, political, and financial recognition, as well as the expansion of temporary hiring regimes. Lastly, the study underscores the contrast between the Pedagogy of Competencies and the adoption of historical-critical curricular frameworks, informed by critical epistemology in geographic science. These frameworks focus on work, the social production of space, class relations, and the arrangements and contradictions of capitalist geographical space.