ESTILO DE APRENDER : Introducing Futures Literacy in Brazilian Education
- Lisa Giuliani
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
Introducing Futures Literacy to kids in Brazil
Estilo de Aprender has become a pioneer in Latin America as the first primary school to fully institutionalize Futures Literacy as part of its core curriculum, setting a global benchmark for early-age futures education by nurturing young minds with tools to imagine and co-create better tomorrows.
From Vision to Implementation
Since 2021, the school has embedded Futures Literacy as a permanent and structured subject for children aged 8 to 11. This initiative is led by Aline Alegria, a biologist, educator, and futures teacher, who is also member of Teach the Future Brazil. WIth a unique connection between futures and biology, what is called “Regenerative Anticipation”, Aline designs and facilitates weekly, in-person 45-minute sessions for approximately 200 students, offering them a playful yet profound introduction to futures thinking.
The program follows the core methodologies, tools, and values disseminated by Teach the Future, including the Futures Thinking Playbook, but is carefully adapted for younger audiences. Aline emphasizes that children need a different language to talk about the future—one grounded in emotion, storytelling, embodiment, and curiosity. The result is a curriculum that brings foresight principles to life in ways that are developmentally appropriate, joyful, and transformative.
Guiding Principles
Regenerative Anticipation: Cultivating positive future visions rooted in sustainability and resilience
Nutrition of the Imaginary: Expanding cognitive boundaries through playful creativity
Time Perspective: Encouraging long-term thinking beyond immediate outcomes
Contact with Change and the Unknown: Embracing uncertainty as a learning asset
Reconnection with Nature and Systems Thinking: Understanding interdependencies in a complex world
Transformative Learning Experience
The Futures Literacy sessions captivate students, who view the subject not just as another class but as an adventure in imagination, critical inquiry, and self-discovery. Through future scenario design, storytelling, embodied futures, and prototyping, children build the foundations of agency, systems awareness, and a renewed relationship with the future.
According to Aline Alegria, the program fosters the “hand-heart-mind connection,” allowing children to feel the future, not just think about it. They explore multiple possibilities, ask questions no one has answered yet, and begin to see themselves as future-builders. The curriculum also encourages educators to act as co-explorers rather than content deliverers, shifting the classroom dynamic toward discovery and creativity.
Key Achievements and Impact
Shift in Mindset: Students begin to perceive the future not as something to fear or passively await, but as something they are empowered to shape.
Enhanced Creativity and Critical Thinking: Activities such as “Letters from the Future” and “Designing Future Schools” ignite imagination and ethical reflection.
Emotional and Imaginative Literacy: Futures Literacy has enabled students to articulate complex feelings about the world while expanding their imaginative range and empathy.
Appreciative Narrative: The approach nurtures an appreciative, life-affirming perspective on humanity and the planet—counteracting dominant dystopian narratives.
A Global Model Rooted in Local Innovation
While GEN Koleji in Turkey and St. Peter’s School in Spain are recognized for integrating futures thinking at higher grade levels, Estilo de Aprender represents a pioneering model in early childhood foresight education.
It demonstrates that even young children are capable of deep engagement with complex ideas about time, change, and choice—when these ideas are presented with imagination, care, and joy.
By grounding its program in global foresight principles and adapting them to the realities of childhood, Estilo de Aprender reminds us that building a better future starts with empowering the youngest minds to dream, imagine, and act today.
From Vision to Implementation
Since 2021, the school has included Literacy in Futures as a permanent subject in the curriculum. The creation and implementation of the annual programs are based on the principles of the Playbook and led by an educator, biologist and futurist, member of TTF Brazil, through weekly in-person classes for all groups of students between 8 and 11 years old.
