CRENÇAS E VALORES SOBRE A ESCRITA EM MANUAIS ESCOLARES DE LÍNGUA MATERNA PARA O ENSINO MÉDIO

Resumo

Based on new studies of literacy (Barton, Hamilton, Kleiman, Rojo,Signorini, Sreeet), this paper was designed to provide the discussion of the set of values and beliefs about writing identified in three secondary school textbooks for mother-tongue Portuguese. In the first part of the article, we comment briefly on the relations between school literacy, the culture of writing and textbooks. After that, we analyze six chapters of the textbooks which are concerned with writing, the history of writing, or the relation between writing and the spoken language. The analysis suggests the existence of a set of beliefs which may help understand writing practices within school literacy. On the one hand, we have observed that students in secondary schools are commonly treated as non-writers and/or non-readers. This attitude serves not only as a model of autonomous literacy (Street, 1984), but also as a model of society. On the other hand, the textbooks are themselves in conflict in relation to values and beliefs about writing, such as what good writing is and the kind of writing that should be taught in the secondary school. Considering these issues, our research suggests that understanding (des)established values and beliefs about writing has become a crucial aspect of the teaching and learning process, at least insofar as inculcating patterns of behavior and values actually reproduces and consolidates the social order.