DO THE IMAGES IN TEXTBOOKS CONTRIBUTE…

…TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIVERSE REALITIES…

…TO THE REINFORMECENT OF THE DISCRIMINATORY SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN THE STUDIED ENVIRONMENT…

…TO AN IDEALISED REALITY?

As a reflection, it is understood that the discussion developed during the workshop referred to the (in)visibilities of discourses present in Portuguese primary school textbooks for Social & Environmental Studies (1st year) used between 2016 and 2024. The participants' main highlight was the construction of gender roles in the various textbooks (a). However, there was also a noted lack of cultural and ethnic diversity (b), a limitation related to ages (c), almost an absence of diversity in abilities (d), and an idealised construction of a world of privileges (e), which reinforce a Westernized view provided to children through the languages of images-images and images-words. These languages foresee a closed and exclusionary reading of the social environment in which these children are involved.

The participants in this debate mainly discussed the visual expectations intended to be realised in the future of children with access to these educational materials. They also considered the representations as the basis of a hegemonic, patriarchal, capitalist, Western, and racist narrative that is reproduced in their positions throughout their lives. The family imagery, the gender roles to be socially performed, the normalisation of an exclusively white and ableist reality, the distribution by social class and its organisation and professional contribution, and the expectations of life stages (child, adult, and elderly) are realities illustrated in these textbooks. However, the workshop aimed to verify whether these representations construct and promote a hegemonic narrative or if the experiences of each participant provide them with lenses to identify the social structures that transcend these images. No one has a perspective free from history, memory, emotions, aesthetics, prejudices, and political intentions. In this sense, the workshop allowed each participant to carefully examine the images themselves, the group discussion, and the possibility of (de)construction. One of the most evident and unexpected results was the disagreement on what constitutes discrimination and the right to representation in textbooks.

The visual discourses, representing visual stereotypes and concealing diversities of realities, addressed analyses that highlighted five types of identity representation and discrimination.


(a) The visual discourses of gender roles were analysed based on binary stereotypes, reinforcing heterosexuality:


  • in the chromatic selection and accessories of the characters (pink/blue, dolls/cars, clothes, hairstyles).
  • in the relationship between interior and exterior spaces (domestic space/exterior space).
  • and in the attitudes and occupations of the characters (active/passive, leaders/caregivers, strength/emotion).


(b) Cultural and ethnic diversity focuses on 'white' people, limiting the representations of ‘non-white’ individuals and, in some cases, completely concealing the existence of certain identity representations.


(c) The representations of age groups are mostly limited to children - the readers of these textbooks - and are associated with an idea of happiness, fantasy, and activity, contributed to by adults. The older the person, the more passive and limited they become.


(d) By limiting the representations of diverse abilities to the use of glasses in a few characters, almost all possibilities of representation are practically absent.


(e) The same discourse of invisibilising different social classes privileges the representation of upper-middle classes through housing, clothing, and activities.

In the textbook discussion, it is necessary to consider that these books are commercially successful products. Their success is measured by the number of schools that adopt them and the teachers and students who use them. How they are used in the classroom or for independent study is a question beyond the scope of this workshop.

For this sample of textbooks, it is essential to note that the Porto Editora and LeYa Groups dominate the Portuguese textbook market. 

For this sample of textbooks, it is essential to note that the Porto Editora and LeYa Groups dominate the Portuguese textbook market. Regarding the production of textbooks in Mozambique, a connection with Portugal has been maintained through: