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Social Representations; Women Fishers; Popular Education; Traditional Knowledge; Artisanal Fishing Communities.
This study, entitled “Social Representations of Being a Fisherwoman: Women Fishers of Maxaranguape/RN and Beyond-the-Sea Education,” aimed to understand the meaning of “being a fisherwoman” through the social representations constructed by artisanal women fishers and to identify the elements that shape their self-image, fishing-related education, and educational possibilities within the framework of Popular Education. The research adopted a qualitative approach and was characterized as descriptive and exploratory, with ethnographic features. Data were collected through the analysis of historical documents from the fishing colony, the application of the Free Word Association Technique (FWAT), and the Representational Spiral System (RSS). The study was grounded in Social Representations Theory (SRT) to analyze the symbolic dimensions associated with the identity of women fishers. The findings revealed the need for a renewed perspective on the systematic education and training of fisherwomen, emphasizing the importance of valuing traditional and cultural knowledge in educational processes. The results identified four central pillars that structure the social representations of being a fisherwoman: Affection, Ancestrality-Being, Belonging, and Resistance. These dimensions highlight the significance of identity, collective memory, cultural heritage, and social struggle in the construction of fisherwomen’s self-perceptions. The study concludes that educational initiatives grounded in Popular Education and informed by the experiences and knowledge of women fishers can contribute to more contextualized, inclusive, and culturally responsive pedagogical practices, while strengthening the recognition and appreciation of traditional fishing communities.