Literary reading mediation in high school: between guidelines and silences of the BNCC

Abstract

Considering that literary reading mediation can be a determining factor in students’ interest in reading within the school context, this article examines how the National Common Curricular Base for High School (Brasil, 2018) addresses this issue. In this study, the concept of literary mediation is adopted. While in American educational discourse this practice is often referred to as facilitation of literary reading, the term mediation is maintained here to highlight its cultural and pedagogical Brazilian tradition of the teacher’s active role in fostering students’ engagement with literary texts. The study follows a qualitative documentary approach, drawing on Soares (2001) regarding the schooling of literary reading, Paulino and Cosson (2009) on literary literacy, and Novais (2023) on the mediation of literary reading. The analysis of the BNCCEM guidelines on literature seeks to identify both explicit and implicit forms of mediation that contribute to the education of literary readers. Findings reveal that teacher mediation appears only implicitly: although the BNCCEM recognizes the role of literature in students’ holistic education, it remains silent on the centrality of the teacher’s role.