BETWEEN MOVEMENT AND CULTURE: NOTES ON CORPOREALITY IN QUILOMBOLA SCHOOL EDUCATION IN JEQUIÉ, BAHIA, BRAZIL

Abstract

This article, resulting from a master’s dissertation, aimed to analyze corporeality as a cultural language in the daily life of a quilombola school, seeking to understand how body movements are experienced by elementary school students and how such experiences enhance their cultural references. The qualitative research was guided by the ethnographic method, articulating the Body–Culture–Education triangulation. Data production was conducted in a quilombola institution located in Jequié, Bahia, Brazil, through the observation of an Elementary School II class and the experiences of students participating in educational practices developed during the after-school period. The results showed that the body occupies a tensioned position in educational dynamics, sometimes subjected to regulations and restrictions within school organization, and sometimes recognized as an expressive and cultural dimension, especially through practices such as capoeira, which strengthen identity bonds and quilombola knowledge. However, institutional and pedagogical limits remain, restricting the expansion of these experiences. It is concluded that recognizing the body as a cultural dimension broadens the understanding of formative processes in Quilombola School Education and contributes to pedagogical perspectives committed to knowledge, belonging, and quilombola cultural practices.