As mudança curriculares e a memória histórica: a transição do ensino de estudos sociais para a história nos anos iniciais e suas transformações nos livros didáticos

Abstract

This research focuses on the curricular transition from the subject of Social Studies to History teaching in the early years of elementary education and its repercussions on textbooks. The main objective was to analyze this change within the context of educational reforms during the Brazilian military dictatorship and the subsequent democratization process, identifying its implications for content and pedagogical approaches. The author adopted a qualitative and documentary methodology, conducting a critical analysis of educational legislation, official documents such as the National Curriculum Parameters (PCNs), and textbook samples used before and after the transition. The results indicate that the implementation of Social Studies during the military regime was an ideological strategy aimed at limiting critical thinking and promoting values such as obedience, order, and patriotism. This subject concealed historical and social conflicts, distancing students from a deeper understanding of Brazilian reality. With the democratization process, History was gradually reinstated as an autonomous subject, and textbooks began to reflect a more critical, pluralistic approach focused on diversity and citizenship. The author concludes that this curricular transition represents not merely a change in terminology, but a reorientation of pedagogical goals with the potential to form more critical and conscious individuals. She also highlights the importance of investigating how these changes are appropriated in everyday teaching practices and reinforces the role of History teaching in building historical memory, cultural identity, and democracy from the early years of schooling.