Comunicação e interação social de indígenas surdos Guarani-Kaiowá com a sociedade não indígena: uma investigação sobre o papel da libras

Abstract

This study is characterized as participatory action research within an ethnographic context, comprising the following stages: needs assessment and diagnosis with the family and school community, planning of the action/intervention at the school, and evaluation of the results. The research was conducted in a municipal school in the city of Amambai, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, which serves Indigenous students, although it is not formally classified as an Indigenous school, but rather as a school intended for Indigenous students. The participants in the study were an Indigenous child, her mother, and the teachers working at the school. The main objective was to identify the family’s needs regarding communication with the child and, based on the findings, to promote family engagement in acquiring communication strategies, such as Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), grounded in the family signs used in daily communication since the birth of the deaf Indigenous child. For the theoretical framework, scientific articles and key works in the field were analyzed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, allowing the identification of the main challenges faced by the family in the educational process, especially due to communication barriers imposed by deafness. The mother expressed interest in learning a form of communication with her daughter that could expand beyond pointing to objects and people. In response to this need, a pedagogical project for teaching sign language was developed, involving both mother and daughter through weekly meetings. The classes were planned and conducted with the participation of both, who collaborated in the creation of specific teaching materials for the study, in a trilingual format encompassing the Indigenous language, Sign Language, and Portuguese. Based on an interview conducted with the family after the implementation of the project, it was found that the strategy significantly contributed to strengthening communicative interactions within the family environment, promoting the construction of intercultural dialogue. The results indicated that active family participation was a determining factor in the teaching-learning process of the deaf child, highlighting that the consolidation of inclusive educational practices depends directly on the recognition and appreciation of the deaf individual’s mother tongue. It is concluded that pedagogical interventions integrating family, school, and sign language can foster not only the child’s linguistic development but also the strengthening of affective and identity bonds within the family context. This study contributes to the field of inclusive education by presenting a concrete experience of language development in an intercultural context, offering support for the development of public policies aimed at assisting families of deaf Indigenous children.