Afro-Brazilian Dances in School Physical Education: The Coco de Roda as an Anti-Racist Practice
School Physical Education; Afro-Brazilian Dances; Anti-Racist Education; Afro-Brazilian Civilizational Values; Coco de Roda.
School Physical Education, as a curricular component responsible for addressing the different bodily practices produced by humanity, still faces challenges related to the appreciation of Afro-Brazilian knowledge and cultural manifestations. In this context, contents related to its history and culture remain invisible in classes, a reality that can also be observed in the Brazilian National Common Curricular Base (BNCC). Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the teaching of Afro-Brazilian dances from the perspective of anti-racist education in Physical Education classes of a 5th-grade elementary school class in a municipal school in the city of Patos, Paraíba, Brazil. This is a qualitative participatory study developed with 20 students from Alírio Meira Wanderley Municipal Elementary School. The pedagogical intervention was carried out through a didactic sequence consisting of eight classes, grounded in Afro-Brazilian civilizational values and structured around Coco de Roda. Data were produced through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, a field diary, and photographic and audiovisual records. The data were analyzed using Bardin’s Content Analysis, which enabled the construction of the following categories: ancestry and memory; circularity and orality; musicality and playfulness; religiosity and vital energy; and corporeality and communitarianism. Preliminary results revealed advances in students’ understanding of Afro-Brazilian dances as bodily practices that foster the recognition and appreciation of Afro-Brazilian history and culture, the strengthening of Black identities, and reflection on the importance of combating racism in the school environment. As an educational product, the Anti-Racist Guide to Afro-Brazilian Dances will be developed, systematizing a didactic sequence and serving as a guiding tool for Physical Education teachers.