Processo educativo na Guiné-Bissau no período pós-colonial: as contribuições educacionais e de ciências para reconstrução da identidade nacional

Abstract

Education, whether formal, non-formal or informal, is essential for social formation, especially because it teaches how to create and recreate one's own sociocultural beliefs and identities, which encourages society to build its culture and develop critical and collective thinking. Portuguese colonization and exploration in Guinea-Bissau had a response triggered by the revolutionary movement, that is, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and society in general through cultural resistance and educational policy to maintain national values and the country's progress. The national liberation project is linked to education and unity between different ethnic groups, as a form of social transformation and emancipation against the colonial yoke. Paulo Freire's conception of education is intertwined with the process of Guinean national reconstruction, as it demands collective action and involvement from the entire social class, especially to combat the reality marked by social inequality. The development of this research sought to answer: What contributions did education and science teaching, based on Paulo Freire's critical thinking, bring to transformation and social awareness with a view to reconstructing national identity in Guinea-Bissau? The work consists of bibliographic and documentary research, which made it possible to understand the contributions that education and the science teaching process from Paulo Freire's perspective brought to the reconstruction of national identity, the formation of critical citizens and social transformation in Guinea-Bissau in the post-colonial period. We realize that education and science contributed to the deconstruction of discriminatory European culture and the reconstruction of Guinean identity, mainly in the “re-Africanization of minds” and respect for the country's society and culture. Even so, it was found that, despite great efforts made to rescue national and cultural identity through educational policies, there is still a strong influence of European culture and standard of living in Guinean society, resulting from the Portuguese invasion and colonialism, and the Overcoming this situation demands collective action and consistent educational policies.