School subjects, interdisciplinarity and race relations

Nowadays, the importance of discussions on racial issues in different social spheres is becoming increasingly evident, especially in education. This is based on Law No. 10.639/03, which makes it compulsory to include 'Afro-Brazilian History and Culture' in the official curriculum of schools. This law comes as a complement to the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law (Law No. 9.394/96) and emphasises the importance of history and traditions of black origin and the study of race relations for the human development of Brazilian children and young people. The aim of this book is to enable teachers to develop a view of racial issues within the subjects they teach at school and the possible connections with other school knowledge, with reference to valuing and stimulating teacher protagonism and autonomy in the construction of school knowledge and practices in the most appropriate way for the school contexts in which they are inserted.