Urban and rural spaces as objects of knowledge in the support materials of the geography curricular component of the São Paulo State Education Network

Abstract

This article presents a critical analysis of the digital support materials (slides) for the Geography curriculum component produced by the São Paulo State Department of Education (SEDUC-SP) for the first year of Upper Secondary Education (High School), during the first bimester. The study aims to examine how the concepts of urban space and rural space are addressed in these materials, considering their pedagogical and formative implications. Adopting a qualitative approach, the research employs content analysis, with the prior definition of analytical categories followed by their systematization and interpretation. The results reveal the predominance of an urban-centered approach, in which urban space is addressed recurrently and privileged, while rural space appears in a fragmented and simplified manner or is almost exclusively associated with agribusiness. A recurring disparity is also observed between the prescribed objects of knowledge and their effective development in the contents, as well as the predominance of visual representations and examples focused on large urban centers. Such a configuration tends to reinforce dichotomous and stereotyped views of the relationship between countryside and city, limiting a critical understanding of contemporary socio-spatial dynamics. Thus, it is concluded that the analyzed materials lack greater conceptual and methodological depth, particularly with regard to a relational approach between urban and rural spaces. It is suggested that specific improvements be considered, along with the development of didactic practices that value lived space, territorial diversity, and the problematization of power relations that structure the territory, thereby strengthening the role of School Geography in the education of critical, aware, and participatory subjects.