Curima a mucanda vavuro! Pelo direito à educação escolar quilombola: saberes em confluências, histórias de vida e demandas emergentes no Quilombo Cafundó (SP)

Abstract

This study arises from the concerns, knowledge exchanges, and questions experienced within the Quilombo Cafundó community, located in Salto de Pirapora (SP), Brazil. The case study was developed from the extension project “Roots and Resistances,” focused on adult literacy, which has been active since 2017. The main objective of this research is to analyze how the absence of a school in the Quilombo Cafundó territory and the limited access to quilombola school education impact the life trajectories of quilombola residents, in dialogue with the knowledge exchanges between a teacher/researcher and community members. This qualitative study was guided by Stake’s (1995) case study methodology and oral life history interviews (Meihy; Holanda, 2023), emphasizing the memories and narratives of residents. The interviews focused on access to education and the possibilities of continuing and completing basic education. Notably, the community lacks a quilombola school, and students attend nearby schools. The study is grounded in the reflections of Antonio Bispo dos Santos (Nêgo Bispo) (2015, 2018, 2023), translator and recorder of quilombola knowledge, and his concept of counter-colonization. The research frames education as a space for knowledge sharing and confluence, reaffirming ancestral practices and quilombola ways of learning and teaching. The study further examines how quilombola school education, as recommended by the National Curriculum Guidelines for Quilombola School Education in Basic Education (2012), is being implemented, or not, in the Cafundó community. Findings contribute to expanding research on quilombola education and strengthening public policies that recognize the knowledge, historical, and social relevance of quilombos.