A Abordagem Netnográfica Como Possibilidade Metodológica Decolonial De Pesquisa Em Ambientes Virtuais De Ensino/Aprendizagem

With the advancement of discussions about decoloniality around the world, it is important and essential that this kind of discussion and related practices are also present in different academic and educational contexts, transcending the walls of universities and basic education schools. Currently, we have achieved different modes and means of teaching/learning, such as distance learning and online education, which, despite some limitations, can also enable access to knowledge for people from different social contexts. In this context, various educational social movements have sought, through different approaches, to provide more inclusive and accessible education for marginalized classes. Developing decolonial academic research, especially in the area of humanities and education, should be an exercise in epistemic disobedience that seeks to consider the diverse forms and means of knowledge construction, breaking with the coloniality of power, being, and knowing, which for a long time dictated – and still dictates – which knowledge should be considered (dominant cultures) and which should be discarded (subaltern cultures). In this article, we seek to analyze to what extent the ethnographic approach adapted to the virtual environment (netnography) can be used in educational research as a decolonial methodological possibility. To this end, we consider and analyze the characteristics and contributions of netnographic research methods, taking into account the multiple subjectivities of a research carried out within an online English course. We conclude that, through netnography, it is possible to approach the researched context in order to understand the nuances and subjectivities involved in the teaching and learning of the language from a decolonial perspective. In this way, theory aligns with the practice and social commitment of the researcher.