Por uma inclusão com raízes originárias: intersecção entre a educação escolar indígena e a educação especial no Amazonas

Abstract

The state of Amazonas is distinguished by its exceptional cultural and environmental diversity, being home to the largest concentration of indigenous peoples in Brazil, with a population exceeding 490,000 (IBGE, 2023). In the field of education, the intersection of Indigenous School Education (EEI) and Special Education (EE) constitutes a rich area for investigation, marked by multiple layers of sociocultural and political complexity. The general objective of this study was to analyze the conceptions of disability from the perspective of indigenous teachers and their leaders, exploring the social and cultural representations that underpin their educational practices. The specific objectives were: to understand their perceptions of EE and inclusion; to examine how these perceptions are articulated with educational practices in the context of EEI; and to comprehend the ways in which this articulation occurs in the Parque das Tribos community, located in Manaus (AM). The approach is grounded in the Theory of Social Representations (TSR) and the paradigm of critical interculturality, guided by a qualitative, ethnoecological, exploratory, and descriptive perspective. For data analysis, a methodological triangulation was employed, integrating the analysis of narratives from indigenous teachers and their leaders, which allowed for a deeper understanding of their experiences and conceptions. The narratives were examined through the lens of a triangulation between Moscovici's (2007) and Jodelet's (2001) TSR, Walsh's (2010) critical interculturality, and a Narrative Inquiry approach that prioritized the perspective of Clandinin and Connelly (2000). The latter was fundamental for accessing human experience in its lived and temporal dimension, exploring how individuals attribute meaning to events and how these narratives shape their identities and interactions within the "three-dimensional narrative inquiry space" (temporality, sociality, and place). Additionally, Labov (1972) structural analysis of narratives was employed to dissect the linguistic architecture of the selected accounts, focusing on the identification of narrative components (Orientation, Complicating Action, Evaluation, Resolution, Coda) and evaluative strategies, revealing how participants linguistically construct the "point" and relevance of their experiences. The information was produced through semi-structured interviews and conversation circles with indigenous subjects active in the community. The findings indicate that both EEI and EE still operate from colonial and homogeneous paradigms, disregarding the educational purposes, traditional knowledge, and sociocultural demands of indigenous peoples. In this context, the urgency of repositioning indigenous teachers as protagonists in the educational process is highlighted, ensuring their autonomy in the formulation and implementation of pedagogical practices that respect the distinct ways of teaching and learning of their ethnic groups. Interculturality emerges as a guiding principle that values horizontal dialogue between different knowledge systems and cultures, contributing to the development of genuinely inclusive educational proposals rooted in indigenous contexts and cosmovisions. Thus, the study advocates for the strengthening of the interfaces between Indigenous School Education and Special Education, with a view to constructing public policies and pedagogical practices that recognize and enhance the cultural, linguistic, and epistemological specificities of indigenous peoples, promoting an emancipatory, pluralistic, and equitable education.