DECOLONIZING THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF BLACK-AFRICAN IDENTITY

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of curriculum decolonization in Cabo Verde and its implications for the construction of Black-African identity, focusing on the Strategic Education Plan (2017–2021) and the Basic Law of the Educational System (Decree-Legislative no. 2/2010). Grounded in critical curriculum theory (SILVA, 2005; APPLE, 2006) and in cultural studies on identity (HALL, 2006; SILVA, 2014), and articulated with the Afrocentric perspective proposed by ASANTE (2009), the study conceives curriculum as a site of symbolic, political, and epistemological dispute. A qualitative approach was adopted, based on documentary analysis guided by categories related to cultural identity, language, curricular epistemology, and power relations. The findings reveal that, although official documents acknowledge the importance of cultural and linguistic valorization, Black-African identity remains predominantly declaratory and does not constitute a structuring axis of curricular policy. Eurocentric matrices and an instrumental rationality aligned with international competitiveness indicators persist, creating tensions with the discourse of cultural emancipation. At the linguistic level, the Cape Verdean language emerges as a strategic element for the reafricanization of consciousness, yet its effective curricular institutionalization remains limited. The study concludes that curriculum decolonization in Cabo Verde operates more as a political statement than as a substantive epistemological transformation. It argues for a paradigmatic reorientation capable of repositioning African subjects as epistemic agents and of effectively incorporating local knowledge, practices, and historical references, thereby consolidating curriculum as an instrument of emancipation and identity strengthening.