Um olhar para as representações dos/as professores/as sobre a prática docente no contexto atual : construindo a identidade profissional docente

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the social/professional representations of teachers in the final years of elementary school regarding the teaching practice in the context of the pandemic and post-pandemic and its implications for the reconstruction of teaching identity so that it is possible to open spaces for inclusive pedagogies. The starting point is the following problem question: What are the social/professional representations of teachers in the final years of elementary school in public schools in the Baixada Santista/SP region about the teaching practice in the context of the pandemic and post-pandemic and the implications of this for the reconstruction of the teaching identity to achieve an inclusive pedagogies? The investigation is justified by the belief that the pandemic and neoliberal influences may have significantly impacted the teachers' professional identity and practices, particularly within the context of inclusive pedagogies. In this sense, we also consider it necessary to highlight that the research is linked to the Project entitled “The Elementary School Teacher II: Policies, practices and representations” (ABDALLA, 2016-2022), as well as to the current research project called “Policies, practices, representations and professional identities,” which is undertaken within the scope of the Graduate Development Program (PDPG) (ABDALLA, 2022-2025). Additionally, it is integrated to the International Center for Studies in Social Representations and Subjectivity in Education/CIERS-ed, of the Carlos Chagas Foundation/FCC, the UNESCO Chair on Teacher Professionalization. From this perspective, the study draws on Bourdieusian and Moscovian theories, along with research by scholars who examine neoliberal policies and their attacks on public schools, educational policies, and their implications to the reconstruction of the teaching identity and pedagogical practices. It is a qualitative research project structured based: 1st, on a review of the literature in the CAPES theses and dissertations database and in the SciELO database; 2nd, on the application of a questionnaire with open, closed, and evocation questions to 30 teachers, organized into four thematic axes: a) profile of the participants; b) teaching and its practices; c) students; d) teaching identity; 3rd, on interviews, which included, in the 1st phase, the e- mailing of open questions to 15 teachers; and, in the 2nd phase, a narrative interview with 10 teachers; and 4th, on documentary research, in which articles from the A Tribuna/Santos newspaper were selected to aggregate historical content (April 2020 to May 2022), grouping this into topics related to teaching practices and identity in times of crisis. The following techniques were employed in this regard: Free Word Association, document analysis, meta- synthesis approach and content analysis. Two dimensions were prioritized through this analysis: 1st Social/Professional Representations of Teachers about Practices in the Context of the Pandemic and Post- Pandemic, announcing “Teaching practices” as a category of analysis, and developing the following units of meaning: The influence of neoliberal policies; and from the challenges of inclusive pedagogies; and 2nd Professional representations of teachers on the construction of the teaching identity, outlining “Professional identity of teachers” as a category of analysis, and addressing the following units of meaning: Challenges and limits of the profession and of the professional habitus. The results indicate that, with regard to the teaching practices, the social/representational representations of teachers: a) are based on experiences; b) carry tensions due to established practices and innovation; c) include strategies for welcoming, integration and inclusion; d) must be planned based on the student's prior knowledge; e) need to be thought of from the perspective of an unequal society; f) are influenced by neoliberal policies, interfering in student learning and generating school failure, and g) need to develop inclusive pedagogies, which are still locked in the integration model. And as for the teaching identity, social/professional representations: a) involve more subjective transactions, including effective experiences in professional practice and training; b) give meaning to one's own existence and to the constitution/acquisition of social/collective identities, by developing relationships with others and with the different others who participate in their training; c) are marked by conformity and resistance to the impositions of policies and monitoring exercised by the conservatism of some families, and d) were reconstructed from the health crisis and the new way of existing and being before the teaching profession. It is hoped that this exploration of teaching practices and identity in the context of inclusive pedagogies will prompt reflection on the right of everyone to receive a quality, equitable, humane, and emancipatory education.