Narrativas de professores(as) indígenas sobre suas práticas pedagógicas em escolas de São Gabriel da Cachoeira-AM

Abstract

The organized and systematized assumptions address the narratives of Indigenous teachers about their pedagogical practices in schools in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas State. The proposed objective was to describe the pedagogical practices and identity characteristics of Indigenous teachers in municipal schools in the urban and peri-urban areas of the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, mentioning: the knowledge and strategies used by the teachers, the meaning and forms of professional practice, personal histories and educational paths, ethnic diversity present, relationships established with the community, practical actions aimed at improving schools, and new tools that can contribute to the teaching-learning process of students. The specific objectives that guided the thesis are: 1. Identify elements that represent the pedagogical practices and professional identities of Indigenous teachers in municipal schools in the São Gabriel da Cachoeira-Amazonas region; 2. Observe and listen to teachers to gather information about their personal and professional trajectories, positions, and perspectives in various contexts, such as classrooms, extracurricular activities, and informal moments at their schools. This also provides opportunities for conversations with other stakeholders seeking information about the professionals in question; 3. Describe the data produced in depth, based on narratives about the pedagogical practices and professional identities of the observed teachers, highlighting elements that characterize them, considering their trajectories, relationships, professional performance, and strategies; 4. Analyze the information generated from cultural studies of Postcolonial theory and the Modernity-Coloniality group, and discuss the realities of the schools participating in the study in contrast to the importance and necessity of decolonizing subjects and knowledge in the study region. Indigenous teachers from the Tukano, Baré, Piratapuia, Tariano, and Baniwa peoples participated in this study. Throughout the various approaches, it was necessary to discuss the limitations, approaches, distances, and slip-ups produced during the methodological approaches, as well as the perceptions of these fields of experience and the observations made with the research subjects. Considering issues related to identities and teaching practices, and aware of the need to decolonize subjects and knowledge rooted in the colonial period, this study establishes a powerful dialogue with Indigenous authors, some from the Upper Rio Negro, within the field of Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Theory, and the Modernity-Coloniality group, as they have become indispensable to the construction of this thesis. The need to decolonize knowledge and subjects amidst a colonizing project with a strong tendency to silence or erase diverse cultural manifestations. Data collection involved ethnographic procedures, including questionnaires, conversations, photographs, field diaries, and observations of teachers' pedagogical practices. Based on the data collected, it was clear that the pedagogical practices described by Indigenous teachers in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, are closely linked to the community's journey; everyone is a participant and coresponsible for the whole. Their trajectories are marked by the redefinition of methodologies, utilizing what is unique to their cultures, and, as a community, they celebrate the knowledge and wisdom produced through Indigenous pedagogy.