UFRN is part of the launch of a book about the Dona Militana Popular Course

The book “Exercise of boldness: education at Cursinho Popular Dona Militana” was made available this week on the Editora Cabana website. The publication systematizes the pedagogical experiences developed by Cursinho Popular Dona Militana, a popular education initiative aimed at students in socially vulnerable situations in Natal.
The course has been operating since 2021 at Escola Luiz Soares, in the Dix-Sept Rosado neighborhood, and serves high school students and people who have resumed their studies with a focus on the National High School Exam (Enem). In 2025, the project was approved in the Federal Program for Popular Courses.
The initiative is registered as an extension action of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and is coordinated by professor Margarida Dias, from the History Department, and professor Júlia Almeida, from Basic Education. The team is made up of 11 teachers, including undergraduates and undergraduates from UFRN and IFRN, including former students from the course itself.
The publication brings together records of planning, evaluation and pedagogical practices, documenting an experience that articulates universities, public schools and social movements. In 2024, the course had resources from a parliamentary amendment by state deputy Isolda Dantas and support from the mandate of councilor Brisa Bracchi.
According to professor Margarida Dias, the importance of the book is in recording and organizing this pedagogical experience. "The publication systematizes these experiences. Undergraduate students have contact with training focused on popular courses, which is different from basic education, and at the same time guided by popular education. The book brings together planning, evaluation and practices developed in the classroom, in meetings and in communities", he concluded.