TEACHING AND LEARNING SPATIAL CONCEPTS:
AN ANALYSIS OF CARTOGRAPHIC LITERACY IN CHILDHOOD
Abstract
This study investigated the teaching and learning processes of school cartography aimed at childhood within the discipline of Geography in two municipal schools in Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 2025. It sought to develop reflections to assist in the improvement of pedagogical practices and learning processes, as well as the promotion of a critical geographical education linked to local contexts. Anchored in a qualitative approach, the study was conducted through bibliographic and documentary research and fieldwork. In the first two phases, institutional documentary and bibliographic collections and online journals were consulted. During the fieldwork, observations of pedagogical practices were carried out, alongside the development of graphic productions with 5th-grade students from Primary Education (Ensino Fundamental I). The qualitative analysis connected the observations with the field data. Results indicate that teaching cartographic concepts and spatial notions, when related to lived space (espaço vivido) and the students' daily routes, strengthens cartographic literacy and proficiency, providing emancipatory learning. The application of active methodologies and the use of digital technologies, when compared to traditional lecture-based teaching, promoted student engagement by integrating the affective relationships of their lived places. Finally, although under-explored, it is understood that school cartography represents an important political and pedagogical stance for understanding space as a social construction, and should be integrated into students' experiences from the early years of schooling.
