Análisis del discurso de libros de texto de Ciencias Sociales utilizados en Cataluña

Abstract

Dada la posible influencia del discurso educativo en la formación de la identidad de los adolescentes, este trabajo parte del Análisis Crítico del Discurso para describir la ideología que se esconde entre las líneas de diferentes manuales de Ciencias Sociales de ESO publicados en la década del 2000This study is based on the theory that human beings’ cognition varies depending on the discourse to which they are exposed. This implies that any type of mental construction is neither innate nor objective. Therefore, since identity is part of cognition, the relationship between social groups also depends on discourse./nOver the last decade, the world has experienced many social changes. Globalization, technological progress and the rise of immigration increased the contact between people of different cultures. Today, in most western societies, cultural and linguistic diversity are undeniable. In order to guarantee everybody’s rights, the educative discourse could be a starting point to convey values of respect to people./nThis study aimed to analyze the ideology of textbooks published in Spain over the 2000’s decade, in order to know to which discourse children have been exposed. The analysis was carried out by following the Critical Discourse Analysis. The corpus consisted of four social science textbooks published by Grupo Promotor/Santillana that were used in the second and third year of the Compulsory Secondary Education in Catalonia. The results showed the presence of racist and xenophobic ideology against non-western groups, and a systematic reproduction of discourse in favor of western societies. Nonetheless, the analysis also showed that there has been a remarkable improvement in the latest versions, in which some stereotypes are dismantled.