Entre contos e (des)encantos: narrativas de contos infantis e educação antirracista

Abstract

Children's stories play a fundamental role in children's development. Their narratives enable meaningful learning, allowing teachers to approach a variety of topics in a playful and enjoyable way. Through the magic present in stories, children learn, from an early age, to cope with their fears and build their identities and values. However, by excluding Black representation, these narratives contribute to the persistence of structural racism. From this perspective, this study aims to analyze whether the narratives present in children's storybooks used by elementary school students and teachers align with or deviate from an anti-racist education, as defined by Law 10639/03. To this end, in order to answer the question of to what extent these children's stories distance themselves from or approach an anti-racist education, a qualitative bibliographical research was carried out, whose theoretical basis is based on the contributions of authors who reflect on structural racism and the silencing of racism in the educational context, the particularities of the identity construction of Black children, and the importance of an anti-racist approach from the early school years. Among the main authors who support this analysis are: Almeida (2019), Bento (2022), Cavalleiro (2012), Gomes (2005, 2012), Munanga (1996, 2005, 2009, 2022), Schwarcz (1993, 1996, 1998, 2012), and Vinco (2019). Furthermore, the National Curricular Guidelines for the Education of Ethnic-Racial Relations and for the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African History and Culture (2004) were considered fundamental to the completion of this research, especially regarding the implementation of Law 10.639/2003 and the promotion of a basic education committed to ethnic-racial equality. The results showed that although children's stories are recognized as a pedagogical support material with great potential for promoting anti-racist education, these narratives, which are being used by teachers and students in the early years, do not explicitly address anti-racist education in their narratives.