GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: CHILDREN'S PERCEPTION OF SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION AMONG THE SPACES OF THE CITY

Abstract

The article shares the results of a study conducted on a group of 15 (fifteen) children, living in Lomba do Pinheiro, neighbourhood, located in the eastpart of the city of Porto Alegre (RS) and proximately 20 km away from the city center. We sought to understand the ways in which these children perceive the city and themselves in this relationship with the urban space, intending to access children's contents and then learn about their daily experiences, which are mostly secreted from adults. The research used the concept of atypical adult by William Corsaro (2009). The city of Porto Alegre, understood as an education content, an educational content and an educating agent (CAVALCANTI, 2008), is the central focus for the analysis of the established dialogues. The observation of some elements of the urban landscape combined with the experiences of bodies and imagination in the world compose the repertoire from which the city is being interpreted at the same time that it is being lived. And the recognition of spatial differences, that once impacting the quality of life of individuals become inequalities leads to the argumentative axis through which children demonstrate to be knowledgeable of the complex socioeconomic arrangement  they are linked to.