Indigenous school education as contested spaces - The Brazilian experience in São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul

Oct 15, 2026

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Indigenous schools are analyzed as contested spaces where diverse worldviews converge and where creativity challenges external, established concepts and methodologies. The article examines key trends and remaining gaps in Brazil’s indigenous education from 2007 to 2019, focusing on school characterization, teachers and students, and changes in enrollment, infrastructure, language, and pedagogic approaches across Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo. Findings show tangible improvements, including expansion of schools and student numbers, while persistent unresolved issues remain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Autonomous and creative indigenous schools

Indigenous schools as contested spaces

International recognition and legal foundations

Decolonisation, indigenisation, and indigegogy

Racism, exploitation, and educational transformation

Indigenous school education as contested spaces: The Brazilian experience in São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul Antonio Augusto Rossotto Ioris1 , Flávia Longo2, Roberto do Carmo2 and Jose Mauricio Arruti2 1 Cardiff University – School of Geography and Planning, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3WA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, email: [iorisa@cardiff.ac. uk](iorisa@cardiff.ac. uk) 2 Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas – IFCH, Unicamp, Rua Cora Coralina, 100 – Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Barão Geraldo, Campinas – São Paulo, CEP 13083-896, Brazil Indigenous schools are spaces for the convergence of different worldviews and to demonstrate how the creativity of each ethnic group challenges exogenous and established concepts and methodologies. The present article examines main trends and pending gaps related to indigenous education in Brazil between the years 2007 and 2019. Issues such as the characterisation of indigenous schools, teachers and students are analysed, with a focus on the evolution of the number of students enrolled, infrastructure, language and pedagogic approaches. The analysis is focused on the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, which has a large indigenous population and an economy based on export-oriented agribusiness, and São Paulo, the main economic, demographic and political centre of Brazil with a much smaller indigenous population. The results demonstrate concrete improvements, especially the expansion of the number of schools and the student population. A growing number of schools are now dedicated to serve indigenous populations and make use of specific teaching material (although this material is of uneven quality) . However, many problems remain unresolved, as in the case of threats to funding and uncertain administrative support from public authorities, a situation that has been aggravated in recent years with the growing adoption of elitist, anti-indigenous government policies. Keywords: Brazil, indigenous studies, indigenous geography, social justice, primary schools, basic education Introduction: Autonomous and creative indigenous schools The school constitutes a privileged space for sharing the past and bringing it into the present as a collective learning strategy that can mobilise transformative powers to disrupt processes of domination and exclusion. That is even more the case in indigenous communities where the interaction between schoolteachers, pupils and parents is often an important element of their struggle for land, rights, entitlements and recognition. In many cases, the introduction, functioning and appropriation of indigenous schools are directly related to the preservation or recovery of traditional territories and the campaign for self-determination. Formal school training may greatly deviate from the knowledge of indigenous peoples accumulated over several generations, but it can nonetheless be an important empowering step in the difficult interaction with the national state and the non-indigenous society. The organisation and implementation of education programs that reflect the particular socio-spatial features and demands of an indigenous group certainly plays an important strengthening and compensatory role. All that makes indigenous schools a very contested space and a field of confrontation, reflection and solidarity. Instead of empty, liberal calls for nationalism and equality (simply) before the law, the recognition of colonial legacies and persistent injustices are fundamental instruments of the decolonisation effort, a creative reaction based on community experiences and subaltern perspectives (Mignolo, 2012), which also relies on adequate and autonomous indigenous schools. The right to good quality, appropriate indigenous education has been increasingly recognised by sectors of national and international civil society, some segments of the state apparatus and many multilateral agencies, i

FAQs

What years does the article focus on when examining indigenous education in Brazil?

It examines indigenous education in Brazil between 2007 and 2019, identifying trends and gaps across that period.

Which states are analyzed, and how do they differ in indigenous population and context?

The analysis focuses on Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo. Mato Grosso do Sul has a large indigenous population and an export-oriented agribusiness economy, while São Paulo is Brazil’s main economic, demographic, and political center with a much smaller indigenous population.

What improvements and remaining problems does the article report?

The results show concrete improvements, especially growth in the number of schools and enrolled students. However, many problems remain unresolved, including threats to funding and uncertain administrative support, worsened by anti-indigenous government policies.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz