A proposal for the restructuring of the current geography curriculum in the State of São Paulo, and how it's implementation into the classroom may impact the educational system

• Grant number: 15/14493-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Straforini
• Grantee: Gabriela Fernandes Jordão
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Once it is acknowledged that Sao Paulo's present geography curriculum plays an essential role in influencing the politics of the globalized world, it becomes evident that is is necessary to discuss the ways in which this information should be presented, in order to enhance the effectiveness and importance of the overall message. How and by whom the curriculum is communicated and implemented, should be addressed. According to Basil Bernstein, key author for the development of this project, the curriculum is a result of the exchange, meeting and relocation of other messages' and parts, which are then combined into a new text, with a whole new message - in this case, a pedagogic message. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that the curriculum is the product of the redefining and restructuring process, which has guided and supported this research. This process may also happen on a "classroom" scale or level, which is the context that will be used in this project, in which the ethnographic analysis will be implemented to investigate and understand how politics affect local contexts as well. This should be helpful in determining which educational messages and specific strategies are most effective when analyzing the curriculum restructuring process, which in this case is looking at the State of Sao Paulo's current geography curriculum, and determining how it's importance and relevance on a global scale can be best communicated to students by teachers and educators while in the classroom. (AU)