What the Textbook Proposes, What the School Provides: An Analysis of the Practical Activities Proposed by the Textbook and Artistic Practice within the School Context.
Art Education; Elementary Education; Textbook; Pedagogical Mediation; Artistic Practices.
This research aims to identify the factors that negatively impact the teaching and learning process of practical artistic activities proposed in the Art textbooks distributed by the National Textbook Program (PNLD) for the final years of elementary education. The study is based on the assumption that art, as an expressive language and curricular component, requires appropriate pedagogical conditions to effectively contribute to students’ education. The methodology is exploratory, combining bibliographic review and field research conducted in a public school in Natal/RN, approaching, in some aspects, the characteristics of action research. Data collection included student questionnaires, classroom observations recorded in a field diary, and the analysis of Art textbooks used in the 2017, 2024, and 2025 editions. The results reveal significant limitations to the implementation of artistic practices, such as the lack of didactic and artistic materials, inadequate physical spaces, and pedagogical proposals that are inconsistent with the school reality. The theoretical framework is supported by authors such as Barbosa (2003), Libâneo (2006), Lajolo (1996), Eisner (2008), and John Dewey (1934), among others. The findings indicate that, although structural difficulties hinder the full development of artistic activities, they also open opportunities for creative and adaptive pedagogical strategies. It is concluded that the conscious use of textbooks, combined with critical and sensitive mediation, can foster more effective teaching practices and ensure students’ access to artistic experience as a fundamental aspect of their integral education.