Introduction

The reflections proposed in this article return to aspects discussed in the master's research (^{Lutke, 2021}) developed in the Postgraduate Program in Education at the State University of Western Paraná (Unioeste). Both the aforementioned research and this text take the History Textbook (LD) as an object of study, considering it as an instrument for conveying scientific knowledge, in order to be a theoretical-practical support regarding the role of the school in the emancipation of individual in the process of transforming reality.

The research originated from unsystematic observations throughout the teaching journey in Basic Education, in addition to studies in in-service training. Such considerations led to the realization that LD has limits, but also advantages, which requires an analysis of its multiple dimensions. Regarding History, it was found that, as a science and curricular component, it deserves a deep and systematic debate given its social and human importance. Therefore, it is proposed to analyze the textbook produced and used in the municipality of Itaipulândia, located in the west of Paraná, for teaching History in the early years of Elementary School, given the demands of the contemporary world.

Based on a documentary and bibliographical analysis, the starting point was the following problem: What is the specificity of textbooks for teaching History used in the initial years of Elementary School in the municipal public education network of Itaipulândia (PR)? The general objective of this investigation was to analyze the historical process of elaboration and use of the LD for teaching History in that municipality, between the years 2010 and 2020.

In order to answer the research question, we sought to demonstrate the limits and possibilities of producing a supportive textbook based on a pedagogical theory that aims to teach full human development, namely, Historical-Critical Pedagogy (PHC ).

As a theoretical foundation, works by critics of the current society and defenders of the possibility of another society, which differs from the current one, were used, a society that can be understood and modified through the analysis of the totality. The main theorists used were ^{Alves (2015}), ^{Saviani (2009}; ²⁰¹³) and ^{Bittencourt (2018}).

Other sources of support, provided by historiography, which are linked to the object of investigation and which contributed to the proposed analyzes were: ^{Sapelli (2005}), ^{Silva and Fonseca (2010}), ^{Horn and Germinari (2013}), ^{Paniago (2013}), ^{Caimi (2015}; ²⁰¹⁸), ^{Moretto (2017}) and ^{Silva (2018}), in addition to official documents and data from the Municipal Department of Education (SMED) of ^{Itaipulândia (2013}; ²⁰¹⁸; ²⁰¹⁹).

Based on the assumption that school education reveals itself as a fundamental instrument in the full development of human beings and that the social function of public schools is the transmission of systematized knowledge as a heritage of humanity (^{Saviani, 2013}), it is important to analyze the object of study from a totality perspective. In the dialectical-materialist conception, totality is a concept of great relevance in the set of Marxist thought, consisting of the concrete unity of interacting contradictions. The social totality, in turn, constitutes a structured and historically determined general complex; exists 'in' and 'through' the multiple mediations and transitions by which its specific or complex parts - that is, the 'partial wholes' - are related to each other, in a series of interrelations and reciprocal determinations that constantly vary and change (^{Bottomore, 1988}).

The analysis of the educational reality highlights the need for practices, instruments and a solid theoretical perspective for public education in contemporary times. This context reveals the complexity of educational practice, as it involves the formation of human beings. The educational task is, simultaneously, “[...] the task of a broad and emancipatory social transformation” (^{Mészáros, 2008}, p. 76).

To present the results of this investigation, the article was organized into five main sections: the first, this introduction, contextualizes the theme, the research question, the objective and the theoretical-methodological elements; the second, which highlights the emergence of LD in the context of Basic Education; the third, specifically intended for the LD of the History discipline; the fourth, which includes the analysis of the LD produced and used in Itaipulândia (PR); and the fifth, in which the last considerations of this text are made.

The textbook in the context of public schools

LD, as it is known today, had its genesis in modernity, with Comenius, and gained centrality in the educational relationship. Making a break with artisanal teaching, centered on the classical work used by the feudal preceptor, Comenius conceived a school model more suited to his time. In the Brazilian historical reality, the change to teaching manuals lasted a long time, only coming to fruition in the second half of the 20th century (^{Alves, 2015}).

The school manual began its transformation into textbooks precisely from the 1960s onwards, when the book's characteristics were adapting to the new school reality, with the expansion in the provision of education. Until this period, these materials underwent few changes and remained in the publishing market for decades and, consequently, in the school universe (^{Freitas & Rodrigues, 2008}).

In Brazil, in 1985, the National Textbook Program (PNLD) was officially established, through Decree No. 91,542, of August 19, 1985 (^{Brazil, 1985}). In the second half of 1993, the Ministry of Education (MEC), through the Resolution of the National Education Development Fund (FNDE), raised resources for the acquisition of LDs intended for students in public education networks, thus establishing a regular flow of funds for the acquisition and distribution of LD. Of the programs related to the distribution of teaching materials in Brazil, the PNLD has the longest history.

With Decree No. 9,099, of July 18, 2017 (^{Brazil, 2017}), programs related to the book were unified. The PNLD was renamed the National Book and Teaching Material Program, since, in addition to LDs, the program also distributes literary works. In addition, from 2019 onwards, it began serving non-profit community, confessional or philanthropic institutions, affiliated with the Public Power (^{Brazil, 2019}).

With the approval of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), in its third version, in December 2017 (^{Brasil, 2017}), one of the objectives of the PNLD became to support the implementation of the BNCC. This support is formed in the dialogue that LDs and literary professionals need to have, in line with the assumptions of the document.

The available material on LD policy in Brazil can be summarized in decrees, laws and justifications released by the government to regulate the production and distribution of this product. Such legal provisions have received much criticism from intellectuals, scientists and politicians over time, but it is a fact that the current legislation makes many changes to the PNLD aimed at expanding the program. The aim is to cover all levels of education, as well as guarantee the acquisition of books to expand the library collection of all public Basic Education schools in the country.

In 2019, the biggest reform of the book program since 1995 took place. Currently, the choice of materials is carried out virtually, through the Direct Money at School Program System (PDDE Interativo). Access to the system is granted by the Department of Education, and the operation must be carried out by the director of each school. However, it must be considered that, with the mandatory nature of textbooks in schools, especially following the consolidation of school subjects during the 19th century, school knowledge ended up suffering corporate interference (^{Alves, 2015}). The editorial market can exercise control over productions, whether due to the need for profits, through uncritical methods that, for the most part, are aimed only at technical and professional training, or through the interference of the media, which promote a roundup of the ideological position of educational programs. If, on the one hand, the State invested in the PNLD as a possibility to improve the quality of education, on the other, the publishing market saw a great business opportunity (^{Cassiano, 2013}).

At the end of the 19th century, according to ^{Cassiano (2013}), the need for nationalization of textbooks produced by Brazilians was highlighted. The interest of the republican public education organization that such books were adapted to the Brazilian reality led to an expansion of the national publishing market, making the school a privileged space for circulation and for the public to consume its products (^{Cassiano, 2013}).

Some of the most used primers from the 1930s to the second half of the 20th century stood out due to the number of copies and their permanence in teaching generations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Such materials disseminated teaching methods and practices, in addition to remaining on the market for a long time.

The textbook, also considered a product, is subject to market pressure, and it is necessary to consider its commercial nature to better understand its function as a pedagogical instrument. Thinking about the commercialization of LD in Brazil implies the understanding that this is a cyclical sale, directly related to the school calendar. According to ^{Sapelli (2005}), there are many interests involved in the LD's national policy, creating a concern both in terms of ideological control, which can be exercised by the LD, and with regard to the profit that the program can provide to large publishing groups. For the researcher,

The textbook has not been an instrument for the formation of critical subjects, capable of constructing an expanded view of the social context. On the contrary, they have represented the very denial of elaborated knowledge, thus fulfilling the role of an instrument that contributes to the maintenance of the capitalist status quo. [...] Controlling the content of the textbook has represented controlling the curriculum itself. (^{Sapelli, 2005}, p. 40).

Fulfilling its original function, the LD³ “[...] continues to meet the needs of a universal, public and free school, necessary for the development of the specialized workforce, for the advancement of productive forces and the consequent expansion of capital” (^{Paniago , 2013}, p. 60). In addition to its predominance in classrooms across the country, LD has taken precedence among the teaching resources used by most teachers. Driven by countless adverse situations, most Brazilian teachers turned it into the main (or even the only) instrument that helps their work in the classroom (^{Silva, 2012}).

The fetishization⁴ of textbooks seems to overshadow significant discussions about the determinations that permeate didactic productions for public schools, given their significant economic relevance and ideological and political contours, especially in the Brazilian republican period, such as those indicated by ^{Silva ( 2012}): the role that the book plays or should play in teaching; what it is like and how it could be used; and what are the real training, working and teaching and learning conditions faced by teachers and students in the daily lives of Brazilian schools.

Recognizing the multiple facets of the book and its use in teaching that meets the interests of the majority of the nation are certainly the most effective means of producing knowledge and developing criticality in individuals participating in the educational process. When analyzing the various categories related to textbooks, it is necessary to observe their forms of use, understand the guidelines that support them and recognize their marketing, ideological, curricular, instrumental, fetishistic, disseminating and/or vulgarizing aspects of knowledge, considering their elements historical, social, political and economic, in addition, of course, to the main subjects involved in the process: students and teachers.

Despite the MEC informing that the PNLD has been a success, that the stages occur in a harmonious and coherent way and the fetish process that the LD has undergone, teachers' questions regarding the distribution of this material are still many. The questions permeate problems related to choice, for example, given that there is not enough time for the teacher to participate effectively. Furthermore, this selection is relative, as, currently, the same publisher must serve all teaching levels by area. Another obstacle concerns the distribution of books. Those that arrive at schools are not enough, as they are delivered based on the number of students from the previous year, which in most cases does not match the number of students from the current year. Furthermore, the technical reserve does not meet the requests made by school managers, and the material is not added or delivered.

Added to this list is the dissatisfaction of professionals with the content presented in the books. In the school where the main author of this text works, for example, the books available, in general, do not deepen knowledge, are superficial, fragmented, vulgarized and do not consider the local reality, among other aspects listed and experienced in Brazilian school units .

With regard to the book's programs and the use of this object as a teaching instrument, other problematic aspects are observed: they present and disseminate ideas that do not correspond to the concrete world and/or do not enable the understanding of reality; they spread the dominant ideology, aiming to maintain and reproduce the organization of the capitalist mode of production; propagate prejudices and hegemonic cultural values; broadcast advertising and disseminate brands, products and commercial services that encourage consumerism; underestimate the student's ability to understand relevant and in-depth content; they ignore the historical nature of the production of human life and its determinations; and hide social antagonisms, transmitting a harmonious idea in the construction of the nation.

These criticisms gained weight, according to ^{Silva (2018}), because, with the expansion of public schools, the replacement of teaching based on the classics with the use of textbooks was designed so that knowledge could be transmitted quickly, easily and cheaply by any one. This goes against the aforementioned author's position, which we share, that the educational process has

The challenge of conducting the initial learning of human life through real knowledge, in a dialectical vision of historical and cultural development, providing students with their cultural emancipation, provoking them, according to Saviani, to be critical and participatory citizens in society, having freedom of thought and possibility of choosing their own maintenance of existence, using work as a social principle of human coexistence (^{Silva, 2018}, p. 34).

Following in this direction, the study and research on the process of choosing the LD become necessary to seek answers to the questions underlying this material, which can become an instrument of social transformation, alienation and reproduction of ideology. dominant or commercial interests.

History textbook

In recent decades, discussions about the teaching of History and textbooks for this area of knowledge in Brazil have been intensifying. The results of some academic-scientific research can be seen in the educational reality itself, in state and municipal curricular changes and in the book program itself, but there are still gaps to be filled.

The genesis of the book is a constitutive part of the process of creating the public school, which expanded its development as a teaching instrument. With the expansion of the elementary school, “[...] compendiums, booklets, catechisms, reading books, became part of the schools’ didactic collection, increasing in size and circulating increasingly through the hands of teachers and students” (^{Bittencourt, 1993} , p. 340). The textbook was characterized according to the function assigned to it in each historical period, but, since the school institution was created, people were already thinking about a book for teaching.

Didactic production in the History discipline was initially linked to the institutions that created Official History, that is, that historical elaboration that best suits the dominant groups in society, enshrined and disseminated mainly in school books and the media. One of the main entities was the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute (IHGB), in the state of Rio de Janeiro, based on the authors who were renowned in the productions, belonging to the intellectual body linked to the Pedro II College or the Military School, where the young people from the Brazilian elite (^{Bittencourt, 1993}). The introduction of History teaching in schooling, in the mid-19th century, increased the production of compendia, manuals and textbooks.

At the same time, teachers from Colégio Pedro II produced textbooks for the History area. What differentiated the books produced by intellectuals from Colégio Pedro II from the Comenian proposal was precisely the authorship, since “[...] the fact that it was prepared by the teacher revealed the control exercised by him over the work instrument” (^{Alves, 2015}, p. 29), whereas, in Comenius' proposal, the author was another specialist, not the professor.

In the years following the first half of the 20th century, schools began to have their function reworked, but the essence of educating and instructing through values that corresponded to the social and historical context remained in each era. The subjects taught focused on the formation of civilized man, following standards from European and North American countries. The books intended for students and teachers guided the teaching of the subject and reflected the context in which they were produced, the purposes of teaching and the public served (^{Cardoso, Amorin, & Reis, 2016}).

The primary school at that time focused on teaching the training of working citizens, with the aim of meeting the growth of businesses, factories and industries throughout the country. Unlike secondary education, which aimed at training the elite, primary education was aimed at training the popular class, the working class, who, in turn, completed their studies at this stage of schooling. According to ^{Cardoso et al. (2016}, p. 439),

All subjects at this stage of education had their moralizing and professionalizing values. From the read-write-tell trilogy, through the teaching of science, moral and civics, to the teaching of drawing, manual labor and physical education, the perspective of training for order and progress was perceived, in which the established logical expression was that order was moving harmoniously towards the desired progress. History Teaching has become an instrument for developing nationalist sentiment, which is one of its main objectives, so History teaching materials will reflect such conceptions.

Based on this point of view, it is possible to consider LD as a technology that establishes forms of approach to content, methodologies and ideological issues, in addition to being used in schools to disseminate knowledge and information. In the case of the History subject, the textbook has been the teacher's main material, even with the teaching reservations already listed above. This reality can be seen in the precarious academic training of many teachers, not to mention the terrible working conditions in Brazilian public schools. Therefore, teaching work is often restricted to repeating the ideas contained in these books, reinforcing the student's understanding that this is the only source worthy of trust (^{Horn & Germinari, 2013}).

According to ^{Gatti Júnior (2009}), the History LD was created in a context of expansion of the school network for everyone with different conditions, with low quality predominating for schools aimed at the popular classes. For the author,

In fact, the textbook and the distribution policy implemented by the various governments served to camouflage countless problems in the Brazilian educational system. If a considerable number of the teachers recruited to work in this expanding school were not at the time trained in the disciplinary areas in which they worked, there is nothing better than a book organizing the contents and pedagogical practices of the classes, accompanied, of course, by questions and answers to the questions proposed in the textbook itself (^{Gatti Júnior, 2009}, p. 14).

Although the LD has undergone changes, it remained for a long time as a palliative measure in the school scenario, as part of the solution for teachers, marked by a lack of qualifications and time to prepare their classes. Between the 1970s and 1990s, with the expansion of popular classes' access to school, the book became an indispensable teaching resource, establishing part of the material conditions used in schools. These instruments became the carriers of content and became the organizers of the didactic-pedagogical activities carried out by teachers to facilitate the teaching and learning processes (^{Gatti Júnior, 2009}).

According to ^{Caimi (2018}), over the last 20 years, especially since 1996, when the PNLD was resized and configured into a continuous and systematic evaluation model, with the contribution of budgetary resources, the quality of the LD was boosted, as conceptual errors, anachronisms and simplifications were minimized, stereotypical situations and prejudices were suppressed, the quality of book publishing was improved, with the use of visual resources interspersed with textual ones, among other aspects.

For the author, even with the path of achievements related to LD within the scope of the PNLD, relevant problems still persist, but which can be overcome as evaluation processes become more rigorous and studies and discussions in different areas of academic and school knowledge gain greater visibility (^{Caimi, 2015}).

It is important to highlight that not everything is DL, as “[...] teaching takes place through multiple paths and that the production of teaching materials, in a decentralized way and linked to specific learning realities, must be supported and valued” (^{Silva & Fonseca, 2010}, p. 27). LDs have been adapted to aspects of the PNLD, are produced in the form of collections, aimed at different levels of education and present the student's book and the teacher's book, but the production of books in Brazil is not limited to didactic books. For the History subject, there is a variety of paradidactic texts, due to the lack of definition of the curricular contents proposed for teaching (^{Bittencourt, 2018}).

For History, this is yet another challenge to be overcome, because, by becoming the instrument for conveying historical knowledge, textbooks assume a formative and informative task that must be carefully analyzed. The best textbooks cannot compete with the teacher, given that he, more than any book, is the one who knows which aspects of knowledge speak most closely to his students and which types of exercise or activity suit his class. .

The teacher, through History classes, must lead the student to read the world as if it were a document, as it is in the world that he or she must act as a historical and social subject. Teaching History in the first years of Basic Education is a continuous choice of what and how to teach; “[... is] making the classroom a privileged place for investigation, reflection and knowledge production” (^{Menezes & Silva, 2012}, p. 226).

The challenge of this process is to provide an intellectual instrument to the student so that they understand History as a product of human action, become aware of their condition as a historical subject and, in this way, make the relationships between the present and the past, in a perspective of totality.

Research on didactic production allows for an in-depth look at the characteristics of History textbooks, showing that it is in the process of changing, tending to favor the teacher's freedom in his work, in teaching strategies, in the choice of sources and documents, in reconstruction of presented content and indication of additional research for students. These suggestions reveal changes in the conceptions of teachers and students, showing, even if implicitly, that textbooks should not be the only material used by students (^{Bittencourt, 2018}).

By defining his social commitment as an educator, aware of the complex task of improving the social quality of education, the teacher will help students develop critical thinking and historical thinking, including themselves as subjects in their relationship with the community.

The production and use of History textbooks in the early years of Elementary School in Itaipulândia (PR): limits, challenges and perspectives

With the analysis of the LD produced for the municipal network of Itaipulândia (PR) and its synchronization (or not) with national policies, it is observed that this municipality, a federative entity, is not exempt from public policies at national and state level. In this context, the possibilities of creating pedagogical support material that contemplated or better approached a pedagogical proposal concerned with access to scientific knowledge, with a view to social transformation, were discussed. In this way, the process of building a textbook for the initial years of Elementary School in Itaipulândia (PR) was only possible due to the organization of teachers at the municipal public school and the struggle to build educational policies based on the theoretical perspective of Pedagogy. Historical-Criticism (PHC).

Based on studies on the theoretical foundations, the history of the disciplines and the textbook with an emphasis on the contents, considering its foundations for the organization of these and the planning, the limits of the book and of History as a curricular subject were listed. Based on this systematic analysis of the History textbook distributed by the MEC, it was found that this material has not yet reached the capacity to allow the student, from reading it, to appropriate historical knowledge. The way in which the past is presented in LD narratives for teaching History did not encourage the perception of historical experiences.

In this sense, the History of Itaipulândia (PR) LD was prepared based on the work category and seeks to express universal knowledge, from a perspective of totality. Work with school content in the field of History is organized in a way that leads students and teachers to reflect on memory, research and investigation, documents, historical narrative and orality.

Education professionals who work in public schools in the city of Itaipulândia (PR), when taking PHC as a theoretical perspective, seek to know it, understand its foundations, understand and agree on their conceptions of man, society, education and society. social function of the school, promoting moments of study, analysis and reflection on educational issues in the municipality. For them, this understanding is fundamental for the implementation of both public policies and the Curricular Pedagogical Proposal (PPC) (Itaipulândia, 2018).

The education network of Itaipulândia (PR), based on the regional curriculum coordinated by the Association of Municipalities of Western Paraná (AMOP), implemented in 2007 (^{Association of Municipalities of Western Paraná [Amop], 2007}), has a PPC based on PHC, which considers the school to be the equal promoter of scientific, artistic, philosophical and cultural knowledge constructed historically and collectively by all teachers, since the 1980s, when public schools were called for as a space for transmission and appropriation of scientific, artistic and philosophical knowledge. And it was from that same year onwards that the proposal to produce a textbook that met this theoretical framework became a necessity for educators in Itaipulandi.

According to ^{Saviani (2009}, p. 137), “[...] when preparing the textbook it is necessary not to forget the objective conditions that determine the teacher who will use it. It is known that the textbook depends on the teacher, as it cannot replace him”. This was one of the biggest challenges for the Smed team in Itaipulândia (PR) at that time: “[...] producing a textbook that is a constant stimulus for the teacher’s creative activity and keeps his taste for teaching alive” (^{Saviani , 2009}, p. 137).

The need, therefore, was to look at the book as an indispensable resource for teaching, but which should undergo changes in the way it is used, transforming it into an instrument for valuing teachers. These changes would only be (and have been) possible with a solid general and specific training project.

The option of PPC for the municipal public network, based on PHC and Historical-Dialetic Materialism (MHD) as instruments for understanding and transforming reality, made History possible as a school subject.

Currently, there is a complete collection of pedagogical support textbooks for the municipal public network. The 'Educate and Know Collection' includes the areas of Portuguese Language, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography for the initial years of Elementary School at the public school in Itaipulândia (PR). This fact reflects teachers' concern with teaching that allows access to universal knowledge, as this is not observed in the textbooks made available by the MEC. The network's teachers understand that the choice of method is fundamental in perceiving the contradiction that is only possible based on the category of struggle as a driving force in history (^{Itaipulândia, 2019}).

Teachers from the municipal network of Itaipulândia (PR), upon understanding that the students who attend public schools are, for the most part, children of the working class, coming from less economically favored social classes, express their concern with rescuing a logic organizational structure in which the text prevails over the other components, seeking to reaffirm that: “[...] Educational work is the act of producing, directly and intentionally, in each singular individual, the humanity that is produced historically and collectively by the set of men” (^{Saviani, 2013}, p. 13).

It is important to highlight that the initiative and the collective format for preparing the LD to support municipal public education, made available to students and teachers in the initial years of Elementary School, that is, the first phase of progression of content from the 1st to the 5th year, They have not yet overcome all the criticism and questions. There is still a long way to go; Even though it is not an easy task, it is possible.

From the perspective of ^{Saviani (2009}, p. 132), “[...] the textbook organized from the PHC should serve as a stimulus to teachers and students in order to sharpen their creative capacity, leading them to discover and use of new resources, through multiple and rich suggestions”. In this way, the teacher will be able to perform his role aiming at the main function of the school, which is to teach and promote development. This has been the challenge for educators in the municipal education network of Itaipulândia (PR).

The intention in producing and making the textbook available for the five Curricular Components of all segments of elementary education is in coherence with teaching based on the PHC and, therefore, in the search for overcoming the insufficiencies of the textbook distributed by the MEC, as well as in one of the ways to guarantee access to scientific knowledge to students at municipal public schools (Itaipulândia, 2013).

Through studies begun in 2004, which culminated in changes in the municipality's education and the formation of the material production team in 2010, the identification of the insufficiencies of the LD distributed by the MEC, listed above, is reported. The same occurs with regard to the subject of History, the focus of this debate.

^{Alves (2005}) argues that the contemporary teaching manual, in addition to summarizing a program of informative content, conditions the teaching procedures necessary for its development. It is necessary to collectively accept the challenge of placing education at the center of concern, rescuing and/or reaffirming the social function of the school: the transmission of culturally significant knowledge.

For ^{Saviani (2009}, p. 139), creator of PHC:

[...] a good textbook will be, in short, one that, recognizing itself as one of the various resources that contribute to the success of teaching, is capable of bringing together the greatest number of stimuli that allow teachers and students to streamline the day to day teaching-learning process towards the fundamental objective of education: the promotion of man. This type of book will not emerge spontaneously, however.

The intention that drives the effort in the preparation and materialization of the municipal LD consists of ensuring that all students have access to the knowledge prepared. In this sense, work with school content in the field of History is organized in a way that leads students (and teachers) to reflect on memory, research, investigation, documents, historical narrative and orality.

Believe in the implementation of teaching based on the valorization of historical knowledge, in the commitment to critical teaching, which is concerned with explaining and problematizing the process of production of human existence established in work relationships marked by the contradictions of social relations, which understands man as a concrete and social being, as recommended by regional and local curricular proposals, materialized in the LD, it would be, at the very least, naive. It is understood that the book alone cannot fulfill the social and human function of History, and, therefore, it cannot be turned into a fetish. We are aware of the limits and challenges that arise in the educational context of Itaipulândia (PR), with the understanding that, “[...] if we intend to develop critical thinking and historical thinking, we have to do so supported by scientific bases” (^{Casagrande, Peletti, & Batista, 2016}, p. 115). Hence the importance of solid teacher training.

Evidently, the book would not be the only instrument used by teachers in the classroom, but it manifests itself in the materialization of one of the assumptions of PHC, which is the guarantee, even if minimally, of access to scientific knowledge through the mediation of the teacher.

It corroborates the view of ^{Paniago (2013}, p. 89), who states that,

In a society divided into antagonistic classes, one cannot hope for the reformulation of the didactic manual, nor for the construction of a textbook that overcomes the simplification and vulgarization of socially accumulated knowledge. This possibility would imply a formulation that turns ideologically against the interests of the dominant class and, consequently, in favor of the formation of consciousness for the emancipation of Capital.

Following in this direction, it is understood that the production of pedagogical support textbooks in the public network of Itaipulândia (PR) is configured in a process whose orientation is based on PHC and that educators do not wait for the conditions to be given, but fight for the conditions material and immaterial within the public school.

Given the considerations and concerns of teachers who made it possible to evaluate the use of LD to teach History classes and other Curricular Components, it appears, based on official documents, Smed reports and the experience of the main author of this article in applying the material in the classroom, that this process is continuous and that the use of good books is essential in teaching, as they allow access to knowledge and information, being used for different functions. Also, it is necessary to consider the indispensability of the teacher as a mediator of knowledge, which implies stating that it is not enough to choose good textbooks, access to classic bibliographies, but it is necessary to value the teacher in his working condition and in training.

Evidently, the book would not be the only instrument used by teachers from Itaipulandi in the classroom, but it manifests itself in the materialization of one of the assumptions of PHC, which is the guarantee of transmission of scientific knowledge through the mediation of the teacher. The book is not the only one, but it is characterized as an irreplaceable instrument, a carrier of scientific discourse that is dialectically incorporated, to a certain extent, into the didactic discourse.

^{Saviani (2009}), when discussing the issue of textbooks within the framework of Brazilian school organization, highlights the need and urgency of producing good books, warning that a work that seeks to promote the student as a fundamental objective of education will not emerge spontaneously.

The importance of LD, whether for the area of History or for other Curricular Components, lies in the concretization of school content arising from curricular proposals and historiographical production. When preparing the textbook, ^{Saviani (2009}) asserts that it is necessary to take into account that “[...] the book depends on the teacher, as it cannot replace him. On the other hand, the teacher also depends on the book, as it presents itself as an indispensable resource” (Saviani, 2009, p. 137). It is therefore necessary to be careful not to make the book a crystallizer of the routine.

The History book of Itaipulândia (PR) presents suggestions for reading other works, films and electronic media consultations, in addition to encouraging knowledge visits and complementary research, which indicates that the material is not and should not be the only font used in everyday school life. In this way, the DL for teaching History developed and used in the initial years of Elementary School in Itaipulândia (PR) is considered as a possibility to develop pedagogical work from the perspective of PHC. The material expresses progress towards implementing the pedagogical proposal being implemented in the municipal education network.

Final considerations

When investigating the aspects involving DL for public schools, it is possible to find multiple evidences that express its historical construction, from its Comenian origin, based on the division of labor and the manufacturing model of labor organization, to its use in contemporary school.

As highlighted throughout this article, teaching has always been linked in some way to a school book. Instrument responsible for the formation of generations, the textbook is still the main resource used not only as a didactic-pedagogical tool, but also as a source of personal consultation, since, in many cases, it is the only printed material available in Brazilian homes, marked by social inequality.

The importance of LD, whether for the area of History or for other Curricular Components, lies in the concretization of school content arising from curricular proposals and historiographical production. There is, therefore, an intrinsic relationship between the teacher and the textbook, in which one depends on the other (^{Saviani, 2009}). However, for Saviani (2009), the book cannot become a crystallizer of the school routine.

The pedagogical support LD for the initial years of Elementary Education in the municipality of Itaipulândia (PR) completes, in 2020, 10 years of its preparation and implementation attempts that, historically, have been produced and show the advances and setbacks, the limits and the perspectives, as well as the conditions in which they occur, amid countless contradictions. This process was only possible through the organization of teachers, based on the theoretical perspective institutionalized in the education network, the PHC.

The proposal for producing the LD emerges from the need of the group of teachers from the municipal network after the publication and distribution of the regional curriculum, which underpins the PPC in the municipality in question. With a view to meeting the challenging needs of the moment, the production team, established at the beginning of 2010, inaugurated, in the second half of that same year, the collective elaboration of a material that continues to this day. With studies on the theoretical foundations, the history of the disciplines and the textbook with an emphasis on the contents, considering its foundations for the organization of these and the planning, the limits of the book and of History as a curricular subject were listed. From a systematic analysis of the History Textbook distributed by the MEC, it was found that it still does not allow the student, from their readings, to appropriate historical knowledge, since the way in which the past is presented in the narratives of the LD for teaching History did not instigate the perception of historical experiences.

In this sense, the History of Itaipulândia (PR) textbook was prepared based on the work category, aiming to express universal knowledge, from a perspective of totality. Work with school content in the field of History is organized in a way that leads students (and teachers) to reflect on memory, research and investigation, documents, historical narrative, orality. According to ^{Saviani (2009}), the textbook as a carrier of the educational message is “[...] not only the appropriate instrument, but irreplaceable, since other resources are not suitable for transmitting a body of systematized knowledge” (Saviani, 2009, p. 134).

Questions arising from pedagogical practice, experiences and studies in the professional journey of public Basic Education were mobilized for this debate. When opting for the initial years of Elementary School, we insisted on remaining in the constant process of change recommended by History. Being a teacher at this stage of schooling means developing in students the ability to question, relate, temporalize, conceptualize, respecting the experiences and knowledge collection relevant to the age group to which they belong, prioritizing culturally significant teaching.