Pedagogics of the Land as challenge to educational sciences: Evaluating the partnership between the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) and the Federal University of Espirito Santo in Brazil

This paper presents the results of a study on the university course „Pedagogics of the Land“ (Pedagogia da Terra“). This course has been offered since 1999 by the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in partnership with the National Authority for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and the Landless Workers Movement („Movimento Sem Terra,“ MST). The present study is based on a fundamental question: Can this partnership contribute to valuing the demands of the landless movement in the struggle for a countryside education? The research materials consisted of documents (letters, projects by the students, drafts of agreements, reports, etc.), semi‐structured interviews and focus group discussions, field observations, questionnaires, diaries, photographs and films. The analysis indicates that through the partnership and collaboration between university lecturers, leaders of the Landless Movement and school teachers a major exchange of knowledge took place that presented challenges for all involved persons and institutions. A specific professional ethics of the Landless Workers Movement teachers, whose central elements were collectivity and solidarity, has been very important here.

Keywords: Bachelors/ Masters in Education collaboration collectivity dignity history partnership Pedagogics of the Land („Pedagogia da Terra“) professional ethics qualitative methods school solidarity teacher vs. educator teacher education theory and praxis relation