ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM IN QUILOMBOLA SCHOOLS: A READ-ING THROUGH THE LENS OF COMPLEXITY THEORY

Abstract

This article analyzes the English Language (EL) curriculum in Quilombola 
School Education (QSE) in the Marajoara region of the Brazilian Amazon through the lens of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Based on documentary and field research data  with English teachers from quilombola schools, it argues that the curriculum cannot be under
stood as a linear prescription but rather as an open, emergent, and adaptive system. This approach makes it possible to understand the tensions between the guidelines of the Brazilian  National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) and the valorization of quilombola identity  knowledge, highlighting the instability and unpredictability of the curricular process. Dialogue with the decolonial perspective reinforces the view of the curriculum as a space of dispute and resistance, where Afro centered and plural pedagogical practices are asserted. By conceiving  the curriculum as a complex dynamic system, it becomes possible to problematize the Eurocentric hegemonies present in English language teaching and to recognize the creative potential  of QSE in producing decolonial alternatives.