Pedagogias da Sul: decolonial perspective in continuing professional development for education of ethnic-racial relations

Abstract

This article analyzes part of the experience of a teacher professional development project conducted by the Regional Education Office of Campo Limpo (DRE-CL), during the government of Mayor Fernando Haddad in São Paulo (2013-2016). Pursuant to the objectives for education detailed in the program of goals of the term of office in this period, the professional development project of DRE-CL set as one of its objectives to enforce laws no. 10,639/2003 and no. 11,645/2008. To this end, the Office elaborated a series of professional development activities, such as courses and seminars, with contents that challenged curricular bases, rooted in the Eurocentric white Western intellectual canon. Thus, an approximation with the decolonial theoretical and methodological perspectives was started, which grounded most of the training processes developed by DRE-CL during the period considered. “Da Sul,” the expression found in the title of this article, values this political-pedagogical proposition originated in the south region of the city of São Paulo, inspired by the decolonial epistemic insurgence produced in the global South, referring to one of the key books published in this context (Santos; Meneses, 2010). In this paper, based on the review of the documents produced by DRE-CL in the period, especially its Pedagogical Political Project - unpublished document in the municipal system - and the syllabi of organized professional development events, the objective was to understand this professional development project, in terms of conception, scope, and outcome, which confirm its protagonism in the history of the Municipal Education System of São Paulo. As provisional conclusions, the following stands out: - the project of Campo Limpo seems to have had an influence on the professional development proposal of the Municipal Department of Education (SME); - the decolonial perspective favored territorialization of the SME curriculum, reinforcing the constitutional principle of Democratic Management; - including the historical-critical approach, the decolonial perspective contributes to deepening and radicalization to combat racism in education.