The use of iconography for teaching the category of Place in 6th-grade Geography textbooks and its relationship with the National Common Curricular Base – BNCC

Abstract

Iconography is conceived as a broad method to be explored by geography for the purpose of understanding and representing space, considering that it provides a sharp analysis of the symbolism present in the visual representations with which we are confronted. Accordingly, this study aimed to highlight how Iconography enables the teaching of Geography — specifically the category of Place in the final years of Elementary School — through the Geography textbook used at the University College of the Federal University of Maranhão. It correlates students’ perception of iconographic elements with the content of the textbook and their lived space, constituting a theoretical-level analytical investigation rather than a practical applied study. The research adopted Dialectical Historical Materialism as its methodological foundation, with a qualitative approach. Bibliographic and documentary data were collected, and the textbook used in the corresponding grade level and school was analyzed in order to determine whether the theme of iconography is present in the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), within the Geography Curriculum Component, and in the classroom application of the subject. The study found that the way images are presented to students does not encourage a critical view of their living environment, which could otherwise foster the perception of place as a space of belonging.