Literacies in a Non-Formal Educational Context: A Fusion of Forces

Abstract

This article analyzes literacy practices of teenagers promoted by a social organization in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a non-formal educational context. Our theoretical-methodological framework is grounded on Literacy Studies and the Bakhtinian approach. Beyond regularities, we deal with the meanings attributed to these literacy actions, revealed in actors’ interactions and positions within these experiences. The analytical corpus comprises field notes, transcriptions of video recordings of literacy events, and discourses of four teenagers and a social educator collected in conversation circles and semi-structured interviews. The results suggest the concomitant occurrence of traces of school form and culture together with collaborative experiences involving the mobilization of multimodal genres, permeated by orality, affection, and body. Thus, the participants could express and recognize themselves, leading to greater autonomy and reassurance in literacies held in other social spheres.