THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM AND COMMON

NATIONAL BASE

Historically the definition of education programmes has been the responsibility of the states, taking the form of noncompulsory curricular proposals designed with the aim of helping schools organise their teaching programmes. Until 1995 there was neither a national curriculum nor guidelines for its preparation. After a broad consultation period with a number of education stakeholders in 1995 the curriculum for the first four grades of primary school and accompanying teacher training were created. Between 1995 and 1998 one of the Ministry of Education's priorities was to generate reference points for the primary curriculum by gathering ideas for reform that were already being used in various states and municipalities. This process was adopted with the aim of creating a democratic and participatory spirit in the adoption of the basic education national curriculum in Brazil. In 2010 the National Education Council approved national curriculum guidelines or parameters for early childhood, primary, secondary, indigenous, adult education and teacher training.

As part of the curriculum development process the following documents were produced: National Curriculum Parameters (PNE) for primary education; National Curricular Guidelines for early childhood education; National Curricular Guidelines for adult education and National Curricular Guidelines for indigenous education. The National Curricular Parameters can be used by state and municipal secretariats of education in the process of defining or revising their proposals, which are adapted according to the needs and characteristics of their contexts. The guidelines do not include lists of compulsory content but provide an overview of each subject area allowing the secretariats of education, schools and teachers to revise the subject content taught and choose what they view as more important topics.

The LDB describes the construction of the curriculum in primary and secondary education as having a 'Common National Base which is complemented in each education system and teaching establishment, by a differentiated of the society, culture and economic life of the target group'. The LDB also stipulates that the Common National Base must include:

'Portuguese Language and Mathematics studies, the knowledge of the physical and natural world as well as the social and political reality, especially of Brazil, the teaching of Arts [...] in such a way as to promote the cultural development of students, and Physical Education, as incorporated into the school's pedagogical project.'

Subsequent amendments to the legislation specified curriculum content to include 'diverse aspects of the history and culture that characterise the formation of the Brazilian population, beginning with these two ethnic groups, such as the study of the history of Africa or Africans, the struggle of the black and indigenous peoples in Brazil, the Brazilian black and indigenous culture and Indians in the formation of national society, recovering their contribution in the social, economic and political areas, pertinent to the history of Brazil.'

Disponível em: https://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/sites/

default/files/attachments/english_in_brazil.pdf. Acesso em 20

de dezembro de 2018.

No trecho "Historically the definition of education programmes has been the responsibility of the states, taking the form of noncompulsory curricular proposals designed with the aim of helping schools organise their teaching programmes.", o termo em destaque pode ser compreendido como: