PAVAN, Fabiana Cruz [1]
PAVAN, Fabiana Cruz. Cultural diversity and significant learning in the construction of citizenship. Multidisciplinary Core scientific journal of knowledge. Year 1. Vol. 9. Pp 632-647., October/November 2016. ISSN. 2448-0959
SUMMARY
The project of teaching cultural diversity and significant learning in the construction of citizenship, with the line in the initial series of teaching elementary school, has been developed with goals of enhance meaningful learning, because every individual needs to know its history, recognize their cultural milieu, as well as the diversity present in everyday life. The education professionals are responsible for mediating an apprenticeship from the reality, considering the experiences of its students. The goal of this project is to take the learner to recognize themselves as historical subject, which produces culture and transformative agent and Builder of its history. The contents listed are history and the hymn of the city, the cultural events, historical monuments, urban and rural landscape and its changes in time and a field class, to understand the changes, infrastructure issues, care and cleaning. The activities are quite creative and interactive. The proposed reading, text production, description of images, books, models will be fundamental for the consolidation of the objectives proposed. For the activities were used sheets of A4 paper, color pencil, crayon, search books, cards, crafts and recyclable materials. Students will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, for performance and craftsmanship expressed in carrying out the tasks. The time to perform will be according to the schedule and routine. Contributed to this work, important writers among them Paulo Freire, Vera Maria José Gimeno Sacristán, Candau, Philippe Perrenoud, David Ausubel, Ana María Salgueiro Boiler among others.
Keywords: diversity, culture, significant learning, citizenship.
INTRODUCTION
The theme of cultural diversity and significant learning in the construction of citizenship was chosen taking into account that the school has the function of providing tools for the student to read understanding of the world, so that he can take over the acquisition of knowledge and of their continuous training, based on the daily and historical experiences which his community built over time. Valuing cultural diversity and understanding their importance in the construction of citizenship as a means of communication for everyday learning. This theme was developed in teaching line for the early years of elementary school, whose research focus is to emphasize the importance of the integral development of future citizens.
Citizenship must be considered the spirit of a nation, a people only end in the fight and in the execution of rights, in appreciation of history, of culture, of its formation, is a people committed to the sovereignty and the prevalence of human rights. This Education project proposes the enhancement of culture, of history built and the influence that this cultural baggage have on current and future formation of society.
So, what is cultural diversity? What is citizenship? What is the relationship between culture and citizenship? Education is an instrument of formation of citizenship? The recognition of local culture have importance to a significant learning? Learn to be citizen is, among other things, learn to act with respect, responsibility, justice, non-violence; Learn how to use the dialogue, establish cultural ties and a commitment with what happens in the life of the community and the country itself.
The goal of this project is to get the student to interact with the cultural practices of their community, with the diverse society in which is inserted to recognize itself as subject constructor of your story and transformer of reality, take ethical principles which express real situations. Develop the ability to analyze and choose values, working knowledge so enjoyable, enriching and valuing diversity, in the process of socialization.
Developed for a line of teaching in the early years of elementary school, the project brings content such as local history; cultural events, historic monuments; photos and facts that depict and rescue moments of your life with your family over the years; local anthem; recognition of community needs and future expectations.
The first will be worked the story of São José de Ubá, RIO DE JANEIRO, through research. In the second stage will be presented, cultural events of the city, which will be represented in a big picture book. In the third part are listed historic monuments of the city and the students will represent through models. In the fourth minute, through old photos and current brought by students working on the construction of its history in the course of time in the community and the transformation of landscapes. The fifth time, on the anthem site. The sixth phase of the project will be carried out a field class, a walk in the vicinity of the school for students to register with notes and pictures, what could be improved in the locality. After, each student will make a text describing the reality and you wish to change, this text will be stored in a time capsule, for ten years and opened for them in a future meeting. The project will culminate with the presentation of the work carried out.
The resources used are books, sheets of A4 paper, rubber, buttons, fabrics, various kinds of papers and textures, ribbons, glue, scissors, boxes of various sizes, paintbrushes, cell phones and cameras.
The student will be evaluated continuously, in actions for the proposed activities, involvement and skills developed.
For Candau (2003) culture is an active component in the life of the human being. Already Forquin (2003), to educate and teach it is necessary to be in the middle. Gimeni Sacristán (2001) explains that the cultural knowledge is not a standard to be followed. McCarthy (1998) establishes the importance of the intersection of cultures and Paulo Freire (2006) describes this appreciation in relationships with each other. And so Ausubel highlights the significant learning, Perrenoud and Santos (2002) talks about the importance of the work of professor upon learning, by promoting cultural appreciation and ethical and social training.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The formation of the human being begins in the family and it starts the process of humanization and Liberation, path that seeks to make the child a civilized, and early school participates in this process. With the knowledge acquired in school, the student prepares for life, is the power to transform and change the world around you. To educate is an act that aims at social and cultural coexistence, citizenship and political awareness.
School education, as well as teaching the scientific knowledge, must prepare people for the exercise of citizenship. Citizenship is understood as access to cultural goods and materials produced by the company, and still means the full exercise of the rights and duties established by the Constitution of the Republic.
More than an essential characteristic of a society, the culture can be considered as the main element that differs from one nation from another. The costumes, the music, the art and, especially, the way of thinking and acting, are part of the culture of a people and must be preserved so that you never miss the feature that sets them apart, which makes them unique.
Each person belongs to a particular nation, adds cultural values, which will express itself in a specific way and making an important adaptation mechanism, because it combines the cumulative factors. The changes that have developed and that have been brought by a generation, pass to a following generation, and complement each other to improve aspects for future generations.
The culture can be understood as all that is human, i.e. production is the way each individual has to speak, dress, eat, manifest. Candau (2003) States that culture is a plural phenomenon, multiforme which is not static, but is in constant transformation, involving a process of creating and recreating. Is an active component in the life of the human being and is manifested in the most mundane acts of individual conduct and no individual who does not have culture, on the contrary each is creator and propagator of culture. And at school, the meeting of cultures produced in society, in the communities of which the students are part and they arrive at the school environment loaded with information and these are going to know, adding and transforming institutional. The opening of the school to the culture of their territory, choosing a curriculum that enhances the plurality and cultural diversity, the school exchange with productions and producers of culture in society are a few paths to merge education and culture.
Education and culture are connected to each other, as if from the assumption that to educate is to train and socialize the individual, or see education as a way of domination, that education will be someone to someone, that to happen requires communication, transmission and acquisition of educational content (knowledge, beliefs, habits, values, among others). Forquin, 2003 claims this idea:
Educate, teach, is to put someone in the presence of certain elements of the culture that this someone of them nourish, incorporates to its substance and build your intellectual and personal identity in their function. (p. 24)
The school daily, where the development of learning also allows a reconstruction of the affective knowledge when it gives room for the integration between the different ways of expression, opening possibilities for the school to recognize the student as subject of the reconstruction of knowledge. All educational concepts are renewed every generation, since in every moment and historical time individuals have a particular view of the world, as well as a set of knowledge and values. This renewal does not mean we forget the old concept, but it is considering new ways of living that characterizes a group or society.
The relationship between school and culture are part of the educational process, in the absence of education that is not immersed in the culture of humanity and particularly the historical moment in which it is located. This is a reflection that is part of the development of pedagogic thinking. Forquin says "the culture is the substantial content of education (…) the education is not anything out of the crop and without it. But, vice versa, that is by and education (…) that culture is transmitted and if perpetua (p. 14)
The school is an institution built historically, in different cultural contexts and has always been considered as a mediator when developing the paramount social function: to transmit culture. Questions arise about this know, that culture is transmitted. What is meant by significant cultural productions? Who defines the aspects of culture, of the different cultures that should be part of school content? How changes and values over time are transmitted? What is considered by the company culture, which has been reproduced in school?
Second Gimeno Sacristán (2001, p. 21),
"Education contributed significantly to substantiate and to keep the idea of progress as process of upward March in history; so, helped sustain the hope in some individuals, in a society, in a world and in a future best. Faith in education nourish the belief that this can improve the quality of life, the development of rationality, sensitivity, understanding between human beings, the decrease in aggression, economic development, or the domain of the fatality and the hostile nature by science and technology progress propagated and incremented by education. Thanks to her, it became possible to believe in the possibility that the illustrated project could succeed due to the development of intelligence, the pursuit of rationality, the use of scientific knowledge and the generation of a new more rational social order. ”
This is a model of education that select knowledge, values and practices that it considers suitable for its development. Model that selects and gives the false idea that equal rights and access to information, to school. This standardization of knowledge does not reach all who need it, this misguided way that cultural knowledge is a pattern to be followed debunking all culture produced by all social classes. You can see the existence of a homogeneous and standardized view of the contents and of the subjects present in the educational process. And what about those subjects who are not suitable to monocultural education practice? The school is actually a crossing space, conflicts and dialogues between different cultures. So Pérez Gómez (1998) proposes we understand today the school as a "crossroads of cultures", so it is important that the professional education see the universe as a place where cultures are interwoven, allowing there to be communication between them and that they are respected and constructive way this know is lever for the acquisition of new knowledge.
Recognize the different socio-cultural subjects present in the school context, open spaces for manifestations and appreciation of differences is the greatest challenge to face. Disregard the cultural diversity in educational practice is to deny the multiculturalism present and evident to McCarthy (1998), in his discussion on the process of cultural hybridization, exchanges of information between the cultures, it is essential that we understand its context, in pedagogical practice, beyond the vision of multicultural cultures as interrelated, as mutually generated and influenced, and seek to facilitate the understanding of the world by the look of the subaltern.
According to the National curricular parameters (PCNs), is a function of the school, addressing the cultural plurality with children in the early grades of elementary school. From the first to the fifth year, they're starting to form opinions and adopt values. Parents and teachers need to be aware that they influence the way of acting and thinking of the children. The teacher performs a fundamental role in the construction of the identity of the student; is a socio-cultural subject in the educational space, and should be a professional who seeks a human's education better, so that at school he search for the humanization of the people and should assume a character of development practices and not a break with history and with reality. When discussing the themes proposed by the PCNs, it becomes clear that while exploring ideas and differing opinions, students interact with each other, with the teacher, with the school community and society. This exchange of knowledge allows the students to have a fairly significant learning because they can draw a parallel between the theory discussed in the classroom with practice, i.e. with their experiences acquired outside the school environment. Thus, theory and practice are worked together in order to achieve a balance that benefits the coexistence in society and make the student a citizen aware, that cultural diversity is important to the interaction between people. The varied conceptions of the world, share ideas, dreams and principles from different cultures add up and complement each other resulting in the formation of identities.
According To Paulo Freire:
Education must be in its content, in its programmes and in its methods-adapted to the end that if hunts: allow the man to be subject, build yourself as a person, change the world, to establish with the other relations of reciprocity, men do the culture and history an e[…]ducation that release, which does not adapt, tame or subdue. (2006, p. 45)
All education thus built, in appreciation of the wonder and the reality of everyday life, relations with the other, makes learning and knowledge construction, full of meanings. Pedagogical practices so developed can achieve relevant results in social life, intellectual, cultural and political. Professional education's stance ahead of this learning is a fundamental factor, because one of the major concerns of school education concerns the learning of students, since it is necessary that they assume ownership of foreground, resulting in their cognitive development. This process is not always as simple as it can happen the student learn mechanically, without having a sense of the real meaning of the information that is being passed. So it is important to provide meaningful learning, being more easily internalized with less likely to be forgotten.
Deep learning takes place when the student seeks to understand the meaning of studying, making relationship with what you learned previously, understanding and interacting with the same. That way it becomes essential that the teacher is to support students, organizing the work and pedagogical time so that students feel motivated to enter the world of knowledge.
The school, in the perspective of the construction of citizenship, need to take appreciation of its culture, surpassing limits, allowing students access to know. It is at school that teachers and students interact and build knowledge, as a space of training that leads to learning content that will encourage the student in daily life, giving opportunity to develop skills, abilities, to understand the social, cultural, economic phenomena and, in addition, be able to take action to promote the development and socialization. The school practice is consistently planned and continuous, the school needs to have a practice in order to help the student to take ownership of the contents of critical and constructive way and is in the daily school professor acquires knowledge essential to develop an efficient pedagogical practice.
Perrenoud (2002) States that the teacher in his work should create situations that stimulate the reasoning ability of your students, using alternative methods to facilitate and develop the knowledge, the skills of these. It is observed that each historic moment the professor has a tendency, build your practice and teaching.
The constant changes in the world, scientific, social, cultural, education and reflect in the way of educating, teaching and forming future citizens. The teacher cannot be static, because the teaching mode of years ago will not always be effective in present times and if you're not ready we need to empower.
The teacher needs to be connected with the educational process, realizing in their experiences, methodologies and ways to promote learning that can actually work as strategies to facilitate the construction of the knowledge of his pupil. Another factor, is that over time, historical and structural changes occur in that the teacher must be aware, anyway, not everything has continuity.
Build citizenship, strengthen the bonds of future citizens in the construction of its history and society is fundamental work. Work culture and their Multiplicities are hitched to a meaningful learning, in which the work of the teacher is of paramount importance, because he drives and media relations between prior knowledge and new know, and promote the development of activities that awaken the formation of a critical conscience and reflective.
The "preparation for the exercise of citizenship" (BRAZIL, 1996 art. 2), according to the law of Guidelines and Bases for national education (LDB) is one of the purposes of Brazilian Education. Thus, citizenship is included in one of the objectives presented by the National curricular parameters (PCN's), which highlights the need for students to be prepared for the exercise of citizenship. Citizenship that points the subject as holder of rights and duties and places all individuals as equal before the law. So, citizen is one who through their actions seeking their effective insertion into society. Being a school institution that enables the formation of this citizen and place of learning and social coexistence, promote actions that foster ethical and democratic relations of respect for differences and diversity, is its function.
The human being lives with other people with the same rights and duties, but with different characteristics and it is in this context that citizenship installs itself as a primary tool for life in society, in the search for harmony between the others. Rights and duties of a citizen should be part of the social context, they should be taught from childhood, must be understood as mutual respect, as rules, boundaries, basic assumptions for the conviviality.
Exercising citizenship is an attitude that depends on the culture and is related to the economics and politics of a society. So that the individual can fight for their rights, he must first know them. For the exercise of active citizenship is necessary to educate individuals for freedom of thought to the critical sense, not passivity on the information, for no repetition of what is imposed, for the construction of new concepts. Media education building for citizenship, because it provides instruments for the accomplishment of this participation motivated and competent, on the personal and social interests.
[…] create cross-disciplinary learning situations; trigger situations for action in real situations that put students in touch with the process of troubleshooting – privileged strategy in identifying and formulating solutions to problems; identifying ethical, economic, social and political problems treated; bring to science teaching related values with the contexts of action ([…]SANTOS, 2002, p. 60)
The integral formation of the human being includes educating for ethics and solidarity, for community life and active participation in society, develop critical thinking, creative and reflective. Citizenship develops and promotes since childhood, part of the culture of a society and prepares the individual to prioritize the common good, for people to live fraternal manner, with habits of solidarity, justice, sharing, truth and respect for differences.
Therefore, the school has all the tools to initiate and stimulate this citizen education, not only discuss and form opinions, but also to combat prejudices, as well as educate their agents of the need to promote concrete actions in search of an active participation. She must have projects that involve not only the school team, as the community, integrating realities confronting cultures, forming in its students the spirit of citizenship.
Thinking on the role of the school, reflect the appreciation of local culture, as a starting point and as part of the curriculum, and be flexible, according to the cultural needs and demands related to the school context. It is necessary to highlight the local culture into the school curriculum, the school often has no knowledge of the cultural reality which is inserted, as well as be attentive to what's going on in the community, their struggles and their achievements. So, how to encourage local culture if the school itself and its professionals do not participate or do not recognize that they are part of this cultural process?
Among many important factors in front of citizen formation, on the assumption that if you need a meaningful learning for that student to build a real story of his role in society, the recognition of local history, the cultural references that are the memory and identity of a community, a country, allows the construction of a feeling of belonging and interest in resolving significant issues for your own personal and collective life.
Thus, work the heritage education has among many, the goal of bringing students to an active process of critical recognition, conscious appropriation in appreciation of their cultural heritage, plus:
Establish relationships between the cultural and historical heritage preserved in the place in which they live and the memories and identities, local, regional, national and worldwide, perceiving and criticizing the predominance of the landmarks associated with stories of the dominant social groups, such as selection criteria and setting the heritage be preserved. The learner recognises, in this way, the need for expansion of the very concept of historical and cultural heritage, in order to encompass the production of different social groups and the landmarks that make remember the significant events for these groups. (NCPS, 2002, p. 75)
In this way, it becomes an instrument that allows the individual to make a world in which he lives, understanding the cultural universe and the historical trajectory in time in which it is inserted. In this context, the school becomes a privileged place for these actions, since it is the date of multiple cultures, knowing, doing, i.e. of human diversity.
To work the local culture in the classroom, the teacher will need to not only have the content domain to be addressed, but also of how to approach it. In this way, requires elaborate activities not only to meet objects and facts of the culture of a society, but activities that lead to a critical analysis of the socio-historical and cultural context in which it is inserted. The heritage education in the classroom must happen on a permanent basis and not in isolation and on time. Without excluding the possibility of preparation and implementation of specific projects.
The school has an educational action and this means that their function is not only the statement, is also educational, in order to increase the ability of the individual to be subject, as subject of rights and duties towards the company.
In addition to the basic content considered school paper work is universal knowledge that allows individuals to be provided social subject, which requires, as well, work values, habits, attitudes and behaviours which allow the full exercise of citizenship. So the school must:
"Contribute to develop tolerance towards the minorities (…); provide openness to other cultures, the equality of men and women, democratic participation in political life, solidarity for the less fortunate, the integration of disabled people, respect for the environment, the protection of human rights, the rejection of discrimination from every genre "(2000, Lan c'est demanin, p.p. 9-10. In: Philipe Perrenoud, 1994, p. 21)
The construction of citizenship is linked directly to the content of everyday life at school, in the formation of attitudes, is the proposal of the school institution, family or society. All are part to assure the future citizens the rights, as well as teaching them the duty, and if they are as good people. Officially, so registered in the LDB in article 2 of the principles and Purposes of education:
Art. 2 education, the family and the State, inspired by the principles of freedom and ideals of human solidarity, aims at the full development of the learner, their preparation for the exercise of citizenship and your qualification for the job.
The citizenship education is the duty of everyone, even the school being a privileged place for its conduct, it is up to society to be part of this process. Education, culture and citizenship, as well as other fundamental rights are also guaranteed by article 4 of the Statute of the child and adolescent:
Art. 4 it is the duty of the family, the community, society at large and the Government ensure, with absolute priority, the effectuation of the rights pertaining to life, to health, to food, to education, sport, leisure, professional training, culture, dignity, respect, freedom and family and community living.
3. THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT
The educational Project "cultural diversity and significant learning in the formation of citizenship, with the line of teaching in the early years of elementary school, talks about the importance of cultural appreciation and its diversity as a means of promoting a meaningful learning, valuing knowledge and from the reality of educating, bringing new knowledge to know that each brings by modifying and constructing, acquiring new concepts. The theme favors the recognition cultural history present in the formation of a people and the formation of a future citizen, active, conscious and reflective about their role in society.
Education is of paramount importance to the construction and production of skills in daily work, favoring the development of the issue. Establishing connection of disciplinary content, giving bibliographic and support thus contributing not only to the professional growth and for the people.
4. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
This project was to show the school as a place where intentional education occurs, so it needs to contribute to a better society. The school becomes a producer of citizenship and generates changes, when the practices developed in it come to appreciate the history and the cultural diversity present in the community in which it is inserted, when these practices are critical actions excluding often built historically, and has the prospect of building a peaceful coexistence between the different.
Significant learning based on reading linked to the knowledge of the world, namely, the students, who represent the various ethnic groups, racial, religious and cultural society, is an alternative to a conscious and training that desfavorece the mass learning. Considers that the recognition of this historical outline held with survey of stories, demonstrations, local anthem, the ancient monuments come encourage communication with the student's experience. And that this gathering of information allows you to build a learning watered of meanings and senses. The field class, not only allows interaction with the locale in a differentiated manner, but also provides a different way of dealing with the reality of the student, leading him to feel as an integral and capable of realizing the needs of what your community needs.
It is understood that the activities that lead the student to compare, raising assumptions, identify needs and formalize solutions is one of the ways to allow him to get involved with social issues in your community and this is to build citizenship. Realizes that it is necessary to promote activities where interaction occurs between students, because in this way will allow that to happen, knowledge exchange opinions, concepts, experiences, anyway, and that all this will flourish ideas and willingness to make your living environment more and more pleasurable, Rico in information. These information to encourage the establishment of local culture to be passed from generation to generation, so that is respected and valued by his subjects.
On the proposal of this project, I might point out that the school's connecting bridge, is against, is nook's fortress, it's history, it's freedom, is consciousness, attitude, is about to close. And still conclude that memory, so important to keep alive the history of a people, make up our identity and that, when constructing the memory, we contribute with the memory to need the other exists and needs to be shared.
REFERENCES
Brazil. Statute of the child and adolescent. Brasilia: MEC, 2005.
Brazil. Ministry of education. Fundamental education Secretariat. National Curriculum Parameters. Ethics and Cultural plurality, 1998.
CANDAU, Vera Maria (Org.). Society, education and culture: issues and proposals. Petrópolis, RJ: Vozes, 2002.
CANDAU, Vera Maria (ed.), (2003). We are all the same? School, discrimination and human rights education. Rio de Janeiro: DP&A
FORQUIN, Jean Claude. School and culture: social and epistemological bases of knowledge. Porto Alegre: Medical Arts South, 1993.
FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogy of Hope: a meeting with the pedagogy of the oppressed. 13th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 2006.
GIMENO SACRISTÁN, Joseph (2001). Compulsory education. Porto Alegre: New Haven
McCarthy, Cameron, (1998). The uses of culture: education and the limits of ethnic affiliation. New York: Routledge.
MEC. PCN + high school: complementary educational guidelines to national curriculum parameters. Brasilia: MEC, 2002. Available at: http://portal.mec.gov.br/index.php. Access: 19 November 2010.
PEREZ GOMEZ, Angel, (1998). La cultura en la sociedad neoliberal school. Madrid: Morata.
PERRENOUD, Philippe; THURLER, Monica Gather. The School and the change. Lisbon, school Publisher, 1994.
Santos, Maria Eduarda birth Vaz Mascarenhas dos. Learn to think through "reinventions": conceptual learning curriculum to prepare for the exercise of citizenship. In: Pink, Dalva E. Gonçalves;
SHARMA, Sameer Camilo (Orgs.). Learning and teaching practices: interfaces with different knowledge and training places. Rio de Janeiro: DPA, 2002.
PORTAL.mec.gov.br/seb/arquivos/pdf/pluralidade.pdf.
[1] Teacher in São José de Ubá, master in education.
