Princípios freireanos na prática educativa de comunidades de tecnologia aberta : inspirações para reorientar a práxis curricular de Cursos Superiores de Computação

Abstract

This investigation aimed to collaborate with the discussion on the Higher Education Curriculum from a critical-liberating perspective, following Freirean principles. It was taken as an object of study the dynamics developed in two open technology communities, located in the Baixada Santista region, Brazil, called “Santos Hacker Clube” and “Py013”, especially regarding the teaching-learning dimension. The central question that drove this investigation was: To what extent can the educational principles present in dynamics developed by open technology communities contribute to the reorientation of the dominant curricular logic in Higher Education Computing courses? In the research, with a qualitative approach, it was possible to triangulate data from a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, analysis of curriculum policy documents and contributions from specialized literature on the topic. As theoretical subsidy to support the analysis of the evidence collected and reflection on its contributions to the reorientation of curricula for Higher Education courses in Computing, the following authors stood out: Paulo Freire, Ana Maria Saul, Michael Apple, Peter McLaren, Petar Jandrić and Amy J. Ko. Furthermore, based on the study of Hacker Culture, which influences the forms of organization of open technology communities, Freirean critical pedagogy and hacker pyramid (P2H) pedagogy, it was possible to synthesize possible contributions that emerge from the dynamics built in open technology communities. Aspects such as democratic leadership, constancy of horizontality in teaching-learning processes, focus on collaboration as a fundamental principle in the construction of knowledge, cultivation of empathy and experience of lovingness as a practice of otherness – especially in the Py013 Community –, which are assumptions also found in critical pedagogies, demonstrate that they favor the formation of more cohesive human groups, the attribution of meanings to the knowledge produced in the collective, the achievement of autonomy and the engagement of subjects in the transformation of reality – especially in the Santos Hacker Clube Community –, which are highly desired dimensions in any educational practice aimed at elevating the human condition, whether formal or non-formal. This research can provide insight into situations in which such principles are experienced, in practice, beyond a reflection on conceptual emphasis. And, even though structural and superstructural aspects, the contextual dimension and the objectives of open technology communities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are quite different, the study highlights the need for a careful look from HEIs to other spaces and practices where Computing is taught and learned, with the intention of promoting curricular innovation, understood, in this study, as the search for new theoretical-methodological designs and pedagogical practices oriented towards the changing of what is established, with the perspective of contributing to the expansion of more dignified living conditions for all, with no exception.