Digital Citizenship and (Multi)Literacies in the Curricula of Brazil and Portugal: An Analysis of Textbooks

• Grant number: 24/21649-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: April 04, 2025
• End date: April 03, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Curriculum
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Roberto Gomes
• Grantee: Ana Paula dos Santos de Sá
• Supervisor: Carlinda Maria Ferreira Alves Fautino Leite
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade do Porto (UP), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/15222-5 - Education for citizenship and subject-reader training in Post BNCC textbooks: analysis from the objective hermeneutics theoretical-epistemological framework perspective, BP.PD

Abstract

The objective of this Research Internships Abroad (BEPE) project is to conduct a comparative study of the curricula in Brazil and Portugal regarding digital citizenship, focusing on the meanings of citizenship and the (multi)literacy practices associated with it in school textbooks from both countries. This study provides an opportunity for in-depth analysis of part of the data collected during the execution of the regular scholarship project in Brazil (FAPESP Process n. 21/15222-5), as the specific relationship between citizenship and the digital context, observed in Brazilian textbooks, has emerged as a notably relevant topic. In the Brazilian context, these findings indicate that, following the approval of the National Common Curricular Base - BNCC (2018), digital citizenship has been presented in textbooks in a diffuse and optional manner, embedded within broader approaches to the Cross-Cutting Theme "Citizenship and Civics". In Portugal, the National Strategy for Citizenship Education - ENEC (2017), in addition to integrating the "Citizenship and Development" component across all levels of education, establishes "Media Education" as one of its guiding principles and, consequently, as one of the dimensions of citizenship education to be addressed in school textbooks. Drawing on the theoretical-methodological foundations of Content Analysis, as well as in dialogue with specific procedures and premises of Comparative Education Studies, we posit that qualitatively and horizontally comparing how digital citizenship is represented in textbooks from both countries-emphasizing historical context rather than prescriptive and descriptive models-contributes to a deeper understanding of this issue in Brazil and situates it within a global context.