Hungbê, Ewé e vozes de resistência : saberes tradicionais do candomblé para uma educação das relações étnico-raciais e educação ambiental na formação de professores de biologia

Abstract

This dissertation proposes an investigation into the potential of the knowledge of traditional terreiro communities in the initial training of Biology teachers, based on the articulation between Critical Environmental Education (CEE) and Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations (ERER). Chapter 1 presents a mapping of master’s theses and doctoral dissertations addressing Candomblé and education, highlighting the growth of academic production on the topic, its main approaches, and existing gaps, such as the limited attention given to basic education and childhood within terreiros. Chapter 2 presents the empirical research conducted in a Candomblé terreiro located in Aracaju, Sergipe, focusing on traditional knowledge related to the liturgical and educational practices of the terreiro in the formation of critical subjects. The research participants are members of the terreiro and religious leaders, whose narratives emphasize orality, the circularity of knowledge, and the central role of women in the maintenance, transmission, and resignification of ancestral knowledge and practices. Chapter 3 describes the process of designing and validating a didactic sequence based on this knowledge, evaluating its theoretical and methodological coherence with the principles of CEE and ERER. Finally, Chapter 4 analyzes the discursive interactions that emerged during the implementation of a didactic sequence that articulates knowledge from traditional terreiro communities, developed within the context of initial Biology teacher education. The analysis sought to assess the potentials and limitations of this pedagogical experience in articulating ERER and Critical Environmental Education. To this end, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), as proposed by Norman Fairclough, was employed, focusing on the textual, discursive practice, and social practice dimensions, based on the discursive interactions produced by the pre-service teachers during the didactic sequence. This approach made it possible to understand how the student teachers mobilized ancestral knowledge to challenge the curriculum, problematize epistemicide, and construct pedagogical meanings guided by decolonial and re-existence perspectives. Overall, the study demonstrates how the centrality of traditional terreiro knowledge functions as a living and politically relevant epistemology for contemporary education. The results show that engagement with the knowledge of traditional terreiro communities contributes to the formation of Biology teachers who are more critical, ethical, and epistemologically aware, capable of questioning the supposed neutrality of science and recognizing the plurality of ways of producing knowledge. By engaging in dialogue with Candomblé, the research broadens the horizons of Science and Biology teacher education, pointing to pathways for educational practices committed to social justice, sustainability, and the confrontation of structural and epistemological racism.