Social justice in the classroom? Reflections on a proposal for cooperative musical training

Combating inequality in Brazil is an aspiration of (music) educators committed to the collective struggle for social justice. This fight requires both an understanding of its meaning and a contemplation of the means to achieve it in the day-to-day practice of the various educational institutions across the country. This paper aims to examine the possibilities and challenges for social justice in the classroom through an analysis of a proposal for cooperative musical training that involves a K-12 school and an institution of higher education. To this end, we carried out bibliographic research of authors focused on social justice (FRASER, 2002, 2006) and its relationship to educational institutions and practices (LIBANEO, 2020, 2021. LIBANEO; SILVA, 2020), as well as scholars who question the epistemological processes that separate, hierarchize, and subordinate music knowledge (AQUINO, 2021a. QUEIROZ, 2017). We also conducted empirical research grounded on ethnography and action research (ANDRE, 2012. GHEDIN; FRANCO, 2011), in which we analyzed field diaries of the proposal in focus developed between March and December of 2018. The findings demonstrate that the opportunities and challenges of institutions, people, and knowledge in participating in the practice of teaching and the struggle for social justice is grounded on the inseparability between redistribution and recognition, on the relevance of sensitive skills in pedagogical work, and on the fight against musical epistemicide.