Emancipatory curriculum for youth and adult education: a possible construction

Abstract

Studies in the curriculum field have currently been in the centre of debate and reflection, regarding all modes of education. As a cultural artifact, the curriculum carries out various roles in educational institutions especially in public educational institutions, and in particular in elementary education. However, the way the curriculum is fulfilled in schools, and especially in classrooms, always depends on the way teachers conceive teaching and learning. Therefore, it can be developed either in a more technical perspective or in a more critical one. The present article structures itself around the development of the curriculum in a critical and emancipating perspective. In this article, we present some results of a research project on the teaching practices in the first segment of the Youth and Adult Education (YAE). The study was developed in two classrooms of a school from the municipal public school system, involving two teachers and thirty-six students. In methodological terms, we used participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a field journal. Based on teacher practices, the results obtained allowed us to conclude that it is necessary to rethink the traditional curriculum in order to proceed to its (re)construction in a critical and emancipating perspective.