Cátedras UNESCO : ação dos coordenadores para educação e sustentabilidade

Abstract

This thesis, titled UNESCO Chairs: Coordinators' Actions for Education and Sustainability, begins by problematizing UNESCO Chairs within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It aims to understand the experiences of UNITWIN UNESCO Chair coordinators-specifically regarding the gap between the current state and the desired state envisioned in the 2030 Agenda concerning education and sustainability. The general objective was to explore coordinators' experiences through their discourse, identifying the knowledge and theoretical-methodological assumptions underlying the coordination of UNESCO Chairs in HEIs. The study sought to contribute to and strengthen education and sustainability initiatives, as well as to disseminate teacher education practices that foster alternatives for sustainability within a changing context. The study outlines the origins and concepts of UNESCO Chairs, situating them within national and international frameworks and the UN/UNESCO UNITWIN network. In this context, it was observed that in 2023, several universities in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul moved to join the UNITWIN UNESCO Chairs network. This trend sparked an interest in researching the context of these Chairs to better understand the expanded role of the professor acting as a UNESCO Chair coordinator in universities. Regarding the methodology, the data analysis employed a qualitative, descriptive approach based on the Discursive Textual Analysis (DTA) method developed by Moraes (2003) and Moraes and Galliazzi (2007). The process involved describing and interpreting the discourse of eleven research participants and analyzing information about the Chairs hosted on the respective university websites. Among the study's findings, two categories stand out-the "action of creation" and the "action of education"-which present the contributions, challenges, tensions, and obstacles evident in the participants' narratives regarding the implementation and establishment of a UNESCO Chair, as well as the competencies required to serve as a UNESCO Chair coordinator at a Higher Education Institution. The thesis was developed within the Graduate Program in Education at the University of Caxias do Sul (RS). The study involved collaborators from Spain (Madrid), Portugal (Lisbon), and Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) in the generation of empirical data, supported by the Institutional Program for Sandwich Doctorates Abroad (PDSE) - 2023/2024 (Public Notice No. 30/2023). [resumo fornecido pelo autor]