Poetry in Portuguese textbooks of Mozambique and Brazil: a comparative study

Abstract

configured in relation to the poetry present in the Portuguese textbooks of Mozambique and Brazil, seeking to understand the schooling practices of reading poetic texts and its importance in the formation of young people. The research is qualitative. Poetic texts were analysed in four Portuguese textbooks (two from Mozambique and two from Brazil). Among the various aspects, social representations that could emerge in textbooks were taken into account. In addition to bibliographic research, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers, eight from four schools in Mozambique and eight from four schools in Brazil. The goal was to understand the importance that teachers attach to poetry and how poetic work is conducted with their students. Despite the phenomenon of globalization, which shatters national boundaries, the national continues to induce the formation of narratives (in this case, poetic narratives), in order to generate official identity. Considering the fact that textbooks are an instrument that gives visibility to literacy practices and ways of reading the texts they institute, it is expected that this research will contribute to the fact that poetry is not just an important element in the formation of teachers and students, but can also contribute to the reflection about the readers’ formation.