This ethnographic study investigates how a state school in Brazil’s highly regulated educational system co-constructs its unique perspective and practices. It examines how the school navigates systemic constraints while fostering its singular educational identity, informed by Castro’s Amerindian perspectivism and the method of controlled equivocation.
The research employs ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews, audiovisual materials and document analysis. Purposeful sampling was used to capture diverse viewpoints from teachers, educationalists and community partners, ensuring a holistic exploration of their perspectives. The study translates events, practices and interactions without imposing external frameworks. It explores the role of award-winning projects, such as The Black River Invites, as key actants in the school’s ontological network.
The study highlights how the school’s singular educational practices and relationships emerge and persist within the constraints of institutional regulations. It demonstrates how engaging diverse perspectives—ranging from teachers and educationalists to rivers, projects and local community stakeholders— illuminate the coexistence of differentiation and systemic constraints. Additionally, it offers practical recommendations for educators, policymakers and community members, emphasizing the importance of integrating local cultural and environmental factors into project-based initiatives.
While conducted within a specific educational context over nine months, this research may have limited transferability to other settings and periods. Future investigations could explore how similar non-representational methodologies inform qualitative research across cultural and institutional contexts. Longitudinal studies could further illuminate how these unique practices develop and adapt over time.
This research contributes to qualitative methodologies by advancing non-representational methodologies, challenging metalinguistic frameworks, balancing singularity with systemic constructs and applying Amerindian perspectivism and controlled equivocation to explore the coexistence of diverse ontologies and perspectives in performing practices.
