A educação da mulher: Pesquisas, Teorias e Debates no Diretório de Grupos de Pesquisa no Brasil (2014-2023)

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the production of knowledge on women's education in Brazil, analyzing the perspectives attributed to education in terms of social conservation or transformation. The focus lies on the output of research groups registered in the Brazilian Directory of Research Groups. To this end, a bibliographic review was initially conducted on the history of women's education in the country, aiming to understand its historical trajectory and its echoes in contemporary debates. Subsequently, using the following descriptors: 1) Feminism and education; 2) Women's education; 3) Female education; 4) Feminist education; and 5) Women and education, 37 research groups were identified. These groups were analyzed in terms of location, year of formation, composition, objectives, and the scientific output of their leaders. To explore the educational concepts presented by these groups, 15 articles authored by their respective leaders were selected. Articles were included if they contained any of the aforementioned descriptors in the title, abstract, or keywords. The review of the thematic literature and selected articles reveals that, historically, women's education in Brazil has been associated with the imposition of social roles linked to motherhood and marriage, reinforcing the sexual division of labor and contributing to the reproduction of relations of exploitation and domination of women. On the other hand, the women’s resistance movement throughout history is understood as a transformative force that drives emancipation and challenges structures of gender, race, and class oppression. Regarding whether education is viewed as conservative or transformative, ten out of the fifteen articles identify traditional education as reinforcing gender inequalities. Among the articles discussing education's transformative potential, six highlight feminist education as a possible path to overcoming the patriarchal society, while four discuss popular education as a tool for addressing gender inequalities. However, most articles that explore transformative education frame it as an individual-level change, often avoiding discussions of broader societal transformation. The results highlight the need to deepen the connection between academic research and feminist social movements to promote radical societal change and emphasize the importance of teacher training that incorporates discussions on patriarchal and sexist cultures. As a further step, the study suggests expanding the debate on the practical impacts of this research on education and the strengthening of women's resistance movements.