Traços de colonialidade no livro didático de inglês: uma análise documental

Abstract

This research aimed to analyse three English textbooks approved by the 2024 National Textbook Program (PNLD) for the 6th grade of Elementary Education and investigate the presence of texts that challenge discourses reproducing the paradigms of the coloniality of power, fostering a decolonial education process. Among the specific objectives were the identification of both verbal and non-verbal texts that disrupt naturalized discourses responsible for perpetuating colonial power structures; the analysis of these data, focusing on the key categories of "heterosexual man" and "capitalist"; and, finally, based on the emerging opportunities observed in the activities, offer some suggestions for classroom interventions aimed at promoting critical decolonial agency th challenge discourses sustaining the colonial power structure. In terms of methodology, this research is qualitative and documentary with an interpretivist approach, employing content analysis techniques for data categorization. For data analysis, the theoretical framework was primarily grounded in decolonial studies and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), particularly regarding the role of discourse in constructing reality, propagating ideologies, and facilitating social change. Concerning the intervention proposals, the concepts of critical agency and gaps were utilized, with gaps understood as opportune moments in pedagogical practice. Among the results, a variety of verbal and non-verbal texts reflecting colonial ideologies related to the aforementioned categories were identified, which allowed for the proposal of questions and reflections intended to deconstruct these hegemonic discourses. In conclusion, although some activities demonstrate efforts to dismantle certain underlying models of modern colonial beliefs, the analyzed data reveal a predominance of colonial discourses concerning the categories under study. This results in a limitation of the potential for critical decolonial education, as the critical agency process will largely depend on the teacher's attitude and critical decolonial thinking skills.