Educação de jovens e adultos e os tensionamentos da “Aprendizagem ao Longo da Vida” na proposta curricular de geografia escolar no estado da Bahia

Abstract

Thi This study analyzes, within the context of the globalization of the economy and its repercussions on dependent countries, how the curriculum policies of the state of Bahia, designed for Youth and Adult Education (EJA) and materialized in the proposals for school Geography, appropriate the concept of “lifelong learning.” The analysis is situated within the broader process of the globalization of education and its effects on dependent nations. The objectives of this research are: to understand the role of the concept of “lifelong learning” in the context of capital globalization since the 1990s; to identify how this concept has been appropriated by Brazilian curriculum policies directed toward Youth and Adult Education (EJA); to analyze how curriculum policies for EJA in the state of Bahia express this conception; and to examine how the curricular proposals for the teaching of Geography in this state incorporate the perspective of lifelong learning. Grounded in the historical-materialist method, the adopted methodology consisted of documentary analysis, focusing on documents produced by international organizations concerned with Youth and Adult Education, on the normative frameworks of national curriculum policies – surch as the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) – and on the documents guiding EJA policies in the state of Bahia, particularly the ‘Organizador Curricular da Educação de Jovens e Adultos’ (OCEJA). The document analysis revealed that youth and adult schooling in Brazil is embedded within a neoliberal educational project designed for dependent countries – one that conceives “lifelong learning” as a mechanism to align the education of these subjects with the demands imposed by the capitalist market in times of productive restructuring. The analysis also made it possible to reflect on both the limits and possibilities of EJA in Bahia, as an educational modality, for fostering critical formation among its learners. Furthermore, the study underscores the need to advocate for the construction of popular educational projects conceived by and for workers, as an alternative for the working class in its pursuit of an education that promotes the autonomous development of youth and adult learners, values the culture they produce, and embraces an emancipatory character.