Venezuelan immigration and the context of literacy of Brazilian and Venezuelan children in municipal schools in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil: a look at management considerations

Abstract

We sought to understand how the Municipal Department of Education and Culture (SMEC) and the public schools in Boa Vista/Roraima are responding to the literacy process, considering the influx of Venezuelan children into the schools. This article is the result of ongoing ethnographic research in two municipal schools in Boa Vista/RR. We conducted interviews with the secretary and deputy secretary, the management team of the two schools involved, and the teachers who work in them. We drew up categories of analysis: training, performance, relationships, and challenges. As far as professional training is concerned, all the subjects have training consistent with their area of work, and they highlight the actions that SMEC has been offering. In terms of professional performance, the professionals have been committed to the different actions deliberated by the SMEC. However, there is a need for the family to be present in this process. Immigration intensified the focus on education. The worsening and emergence of some problems was not only due to immigration. The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic/vulnerability of families are important elements in the literacy process and in the relationship between the school, families, and children. The challenges encountered in the literacy process enable and give rise to an understanding of structural problems arising from various social factors, which are then analyzed, and alternatives sought to remedy the problems with the SMEC.