School cartography in Brazil and its inclusive perspective

ABSTRACT

This article presents an overview of School Cartography in Brazil, demonstrating how academic research in the area has influenced official documents proposed by the Ministry of Education, the teaching of Cartography in Basic Education, and the curricula of undergraduate courses in Geography. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of cartography in the teaching of geography and how learning through maps has contributed more intensively to the formation of Brazilian citizens from the 1990s onward, at the same time that cartography-related content has become more and more present in schools at the primary level in Brazil, and the text discusses this process. It also presents the background of the Tactile Cartography in Brazil, discussing the importance of reflecting the process of adapting graphic/visual representations to tactile representations, in the context of Cartographic Communication and its contribution to the teaching of cartography from an inclusive perspective.

RÉSUMÉ

Ce papier présente un panorama de la cartographie scolaire au Brésil et démontre comment la recherche académique dans ce domaine a influencé les documents officiels proposés par le ministère de l’éducation, l’enseignement de la cartographie dans la formation de base et les programmes des cursus de géographie. Les études, dont le but est de comprendre le rôle de la cartographie dans l’enseignement de la géographie et en quoi l’apprentissage à travers les cartes contribue à la formation des citoyens, ont été plus intensément menées au Brésil à partir des années 1990. Le papier développe l’idée que ce processus est contemporain à l’augmentation de l’usage de contenus cartographiques dans l’éducation de base au Brésil. Le papier présente également l’histoire de la cartographie tactile au Brésil et débat sur l’importance de réfléchir au processus d’adaptation des représentations graphiques et visuelles pour les cartes tactiles dans le contexte de la communication cartographique et sa contribution à l’enseignement de la cartographie dans une perspective inclusive.

KEYWORDS:

• School Cartography
• tactile cartography
• inclusion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Carla Cristina Reinaldo Gimenes de Sena, Bachelor’s Degree in Geography from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, a Master’s Degree in Physical Geography from the University of São Paulo and Doctorate Degree in Physical Geography from the University of São Paulo. Currently a volunteer researcher at the Metropolitan Technological University, volunteer researcher at the University of São Paulo and assistant professor at the Júlio de Mesquita Filho State University of São Paulo. CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [National Council for Scientific and Technological Development]) ‘School Cartography’ Research Group Leader, Chair of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission on Cartography and Children

Waldirene Ribeiro do Carmo, Bachelor’s Degree in Geography and Master’s degree in Physical Geography from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Currently exercising professional duties at the Teaching and Teaching Material Laboratory of the Department of Geography at the School of Philosophy, Arts and Human Sciences of the University of São Paulo. Collaborating researcher at the Center of Tactile Cartography of the Metropolitan Technological University in Santiago, Chile. Deputy-Chair of the Commission on Maps for the Blind and Visually Impaired at the International Cartographic Association and member of the Ibero-American Braille Council’s Relief Materials Technical Commission.