Magda Soares contributions to literacy policies and practices in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to conduct a bibliographic study of the works of Magda Soares, which are considered fundamental in the debate on literacy and literacy skills in Brazil, with the goal of fostering reflections on her contributions to the understanding and promotion of reading and writing in the Brazilian educational context. Additionally, it seeks to analyze the developments of her ideas in broadening the discussion on the topic, considering socio-anthropological perspectives, such as critical literacies, and multicultural approaches, such as multiliteracies. The study also aims to highlight the influence of Soares’ work on public literacy policies and the formation of readers. To achieve these objectives, the article analyzes the author’s academic output and offers a historical contextualization that underscores the relevance of her theoretical assumptions (1998, 2003, 2004, 2016, 2020) in knowledge production and academic research, as well as their impact on Brazilian educational public policies. This is a qualitative study with a cross-sectional design, based on Bardin’s (2011) content analysis methodology. The theoretical framework includes authors such as Correa and Corrêa (2017), Kalantzis, Cope and Pinheiro (2020), Kato (1986), Kleiman (2004, 2014), Laroca and Saveli (2001), Street (2014), and Tfouni (1988), given their relevance to literacy studies. It is hoped that this article will contribute to the academic-scientific production on the subject and reinforce the recognition of Soares’ legacy in discussions on language and education in Brazil.