Literacies, decoloniality, and literary education in the early years of elementary education

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the results of a research project entitled "Impacts of the Territorial Policy for Children's Literacy in Rio Grande do Norte on the Training of Literacy Teachers." We address reading practices for elementary school children´s literature in a literacy post-graduate course for public school teachers. The study was carried out in Applied Linguistics and is, in general terms, theoretically grounded in sociocultural literacy studies and decolonial studies, configuring itself, methodologically as qualitative and interpretive research. We used, as data generation instruments, a questionnaire, field notes, testimonies, videos, photos, and audio recordings, in addition to oral and written texts produced by the teachers participating in the project. To improve  children's reading development and guarantee them the right to learning, our approach to teaching beginning literacy involves the children´s immersion in literacy practices from a decolonial perspective. This demands teacher training courses that innovate and redefine pedagogical practices in the academic sphere, allowing  teachers to engage in new experiences and diversify literacy practices in their own classrooms.