A experiência educativa na escola família agrícola de Natalândia/MG: contribuições para o fortalecimento da identidade campesina

Abstract

This study aims to identify, systematize and analyze the Social Representations in Motion of peasant students from the Escola Família Agrícola de Natalândia (Natalândia’s Family Farming School) (EFAN) about the experience of being a peasant. The research was carried out with peasant students, residents of Agrarian Reform settlement areas northwestern Minas Gerais, of the 9th year of Elementary School, and of the 2nd and 3rd years of High School integrated with the Technical Course in Agriculture at EFAN. Accordingly, the research addresses the struggles and resistance of the peasantry, as well as the construction on the disqualification of this group and denial of rights historically imposed upon it in the process. At EFAN, the young peasants were faced with the tension between the devaluation of their lifestyle and the valorization proposed by the school. To understand this process and capture the ways in which these students think, feel and act, we used the Theory of Social Representations in Motion, which is being developed by the research group GERES (Group of Studies in Social Representations) of the Faculty of Education (FaE) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Other contributions were the conceptual matrices of peasant, identity, Pedagogy of Alternation and Theory of Social Representations. As for the methodological course, regarding technical procedures, we resorted to narrative interviews and observation. The analysis of the narrative interviews was carried out based on three dimensions: affective, cognitive and attitudinal. The results showed that the informants like living in the countryside, feel welcomed by EFAN and recognize that the school helps them have other ways of thinking, feeling and acting what “being a peasant” is. The narratives evinced the importance of the Pedagogy of Alternation for strengthening the peasant identity of the subjects based on the opportunity for technical education, socialization with other students and teachers, recognition of Family Farming and the awakening of the desire to continue their studies.