Da lenda de D. Sebastião aos multiletramentos na Educação Bilíngue de Surdos: proposta de jogo digital na formação de professores do Atendimento Educacional Especializado de Apicum-Açu (MA)

Abstract

Specialized Educational Services for individuals with deafness, within an inclusive perspective, are grounded in bilingual education, considering Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) as the first language and language of instruction, and written Portuguese as a second language. In this context, teachers working in multifunctional resource rooms are responsible for identifying, organizing, and producing didactic-pedagogical resources that address the linguistic and cultural specificities of deaf students, fostering their linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural development. Despite advances in bilingual education, challenges remain regarding teacher training, the scarcity of accessible digital teaching resources, and the limited integration between pedagogical practices, technologies, and students’ sociocultural contexts. Thus, this study aimed to investigate how a digital didactic game, based on the legend of D. Sebastião, can support the professional development of Specialized Educational Services teachers and contribute to expanding multiliteracies practices in the education of deaf students in the municipality of Apicum-Açu, Maranhão, Brazil. This research is characterized as action research, with a qualitative and descriptive-exploratory approach. Methodological procedures included a literature review, curation of digital games for deaf education, interlingual and intermodal translation of the legend into Libras, development of a digital didactic game using educational platforms, implementation of a continuing education program for teachers, and the application of interviews and questionnaires for evaluation purposes. Data were analyzed through content analysis. As an educational product, a bilingual digital game (Libras/Portuguese) was developed, structured around the retelling of the D. Sebastião legend, including a video in Libras, a bilingual glossary, and interactive quiz-based activities. The results indicate that the proposal achieved its objectives by contributing to: (i) strengthening visual pedagogical practices; (ii) developing teachers’ digital and pedagogical competencies; and (iii) incorporating elements of local culture into teaching, thereby fostering multiliteracies practices within the context of Specialized Educational Services. Additionally, increased teacher engagement and an expanded methodological repertoire for working with deaf students were observed. It is concluded that the integration of bilingual education, digital technologies, and local culture constitutes a viable and effective strategy for enhancing pedagogical practices in the education of deaf students, particularly when associated with contextualized teacher training processes.