COMMUNITY LITERACY: PROGRAMS, PROJECTS AND PRINCIPLES

Abstract

Community literacy is established through language practices within a community, considering belonging, local development, and social participation of individuals. Aware of the contribution of out-of-school literacies to the teaching-learning process, especially situated practices in the school-family-community relationship, and the gap in community literacy studies in Brazil, this article aims to analyze the principles governing community literacy projects and programs developed nationally and internationally, to contribute to the development of actions from this perspective. Theoretically, it is based on the sociocultural approach to literacy studies, with central concepts of literacy projects and community literacy. Methodologically, this research is classified as qualitative and exploratory, developed from a bibliographic review of 19 dissertations and theses from digital repositories. The analysis of this corpus reveals certain terminologies, language practices, agencies, and predominant scientific methods, highlighting the following principles in community literacy studies: (i) problem-solving and (ii) engagement of agents and agencies. As a result, the centrality of situated issues as a motivating effect for project implementation is observed, as well as the varied presence of external spaces and subjects committed to the community for the execution of these actions collaboratively. This article aims to contribute to the development of community literacy proposals by describing the state of the art in the area, its relationship with literacy project principles, and directions for the successful implementation of community literacy actions.