LITERACY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROJECT: IMPLICATIONS FOR CITIZEN FORMATION
Keywords: Portuguese Language Teaching. Literacy Projects. Entrepreneurship. Youth and Adult Education.
Reading and writing practices focused on entrepreneurship are not frequently developed in schools in general, especially in educational units offering Youth and Adult Education (EJA). When the topic is addressed, it is often done in isolation from Portuguese language classes. Considering this, the proposed study brings the opportunity for EJA students to learn through the methodology of Literacy Projects, which presupposes the deterritorialization of learning. This approach suggests activities in reading and writing geared towards daily social practices that go beyond the scope of school tasks. The present work aims to analyze the implications of literacy projects and literacy events focusing on entrepreneurship in the perspective of generating improvements in student education, specifically in their reading and writing practices. To achieve this, we adopted the concepts of Discursive Genres according to Bakhtin (1981; 1997; 2016) and Literacies as social practices (Kleiman, 1991; 1995; 2001; Soares, 2009; Barton, 1998; Oliveira, 2010). Additionally, we drew on references related to Literacy Projects (Oliveira, Santos and Tinoco, 2014; Kleiman, 2000; 2006; 2012; Oliveira, 2008) as well as literacies for citizen practices (Rojo, 2004; Suassuna, 2017) and studies on entrepreneurship (Dolabela, 2006; Rosa, 2007). Methodologically, it is action research (Thiollent, 2011; Tripp, 2005) with a qualitative data approach (Bogdan; Biklen, 1994). The research was conducted in a public school within the state network, located in Currais Novos/RN, exclusively dedicated to EJA. The participants in the study were the Portuguese language teacher and students from the "B" block of elementary education. Data generation tools included field notes, questionnaires with open and closed-ended questions, interviews, reading/writing activities produced by students, and photographic records. The development of this research was collaboratively designed by its participants, recognizing that literacy project work should be based on the needs and interests of those involved. At the end of the research, together with the students, we analyzed the methodology of literacy projects and their impacts on their education, particularly on the evolution of their writing process. This analysis involved comparing the initial productions with the texts produced at the end of the project, considering the perceptions and opinions of each participant. In conclusion, we found that the methodology of literacy projects had a significant effect on students' learning regarding entrepreneurship practices, especially in terms of individual business plan development. Moreover, it provided support for both the improvement of students' writing and the understanding of genre use, in terms of specificities related to the nature of interaction situations and the spheres of activity in which they circulate daily.