Do nacionalismo ao neoliberalismo: reflexões acerca da docência em Geografia no Brasil

Abstract

This dissertation aims to understand the teaching in Geography present in laws, documents and educational reforms of Brazilian Nationalist and Neoliberal political projects, based on two moments that we believe that are central to the consolidation of the Brazilian nation: the first from 1930s to 1964, marked by the presence of nationalist policies; and the second from 1985 to 2018, supported by neoliberal political projects. The 1930s were a time of major political incursions and reforms in the country, for example: Getulio Vargas’ coup (1930), ratification of the new Constitution of 1934 and the creation of the University of São Paulo (USP, 1934), birthplace of the first Geography course in Brazil. Over the years, Nationalism, as a public and economic policy adopted in the governments of Getulio Vargas (1930-1945 / 1951-1954) and Juscelino Kubistchek (1956-1961), gave way to Neoliberalism from the 1990s onwards. Arising from neoliberal policy, many changes took place in the national political and economic sector that resulted in real offensives to the educational sector and, consequently, to the Geography teacher. Therefore, with this dissertation we seek to understand the influence exerted by nationalist and neoliberal policies on education and on Geography teaching, since we consider the theme important to rethink the place of teaching nowadays. For this purpose, a national historical review became necessary in order to address the main aspects that marked this period, as well as the objectives linked to the Geography teacher. This research is characterized as bibliographical and documentary, having as theoretical support the productions and writings of Paul Vidal de La Blache (1928), Delgado de Carvalho (1925, 1945), Fernando de Azevedo (1971), Pierre Monbeig (1935), Rui Ribeiro de Campos (2011), Bernadete Angelina Gatti (2009, 2010, 2013), Antônio Nóvoa (1995, 2011), Milton Santos (1977, 1999, 2004, 2011), and others, in addition to laws and reforms such as: Reforma Francisco Campos (1931), Reforma Capanema (1942), Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional of 1961, 1971 and 1996, Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais of 1997-98, Planos Nacionais de Educação of 2001 and 2014, Reforma do Ensino Médio (2017), Base Nacional Comum Curricular (2017), and others, in order to understand the interference of the political projects and educational documents in the exercise of teaching Geography in Brazil. As a theoretical research, we carried out a survey of academic and literary productions about the theme, in view of the progress of discussions about teaching Geography. Through this survey, we observed discussions about the idealization of the teacher, in other words, who have favorable conditions for a critical and reflective teaching apart from political, economic and social interventions. However, we notice that there is little research linking teaching Geography to conjunctural interests, i.e., how the political and economic interests of the ruling class interfere in the teaching work. Therefore, we can see two great moments of the Geography taught at schools: one devoid of any critical sense; and another presenting a critical-reflective character both in teacher training and in Geography teaching. Both, however, did not cease to suffer interference from the political and economic powers that even today act as maintainers of the interests of the ruling class.