Observando práticas, tecendo conceitos : um estudo sobre as culturas de EJA em Caxias do Sul (1998-2012)

Abstract

This dissertation, "Observing practices, weaving concepts: a study of the cultures of further education in Caxias do Sul (1998 - 2012)", is the result of a study based on the following research question: what kinds of cultures of further education were constructed in the municipal schools in Caxias do Sul in the period 1998-2012 through an observation of the practices produced through the interaction with the principles of Freire's “generator theme” that were present in the planning and in the narratives of further education teachers? The narrative that was produced aimed to identify the cultures of further education in the municipal schools of Caxias do Sul by interweaving documental sources with the narratives of teachers about their practices, organised from a dialogic methodology using Freire's “generator theme”. In this study, history and culture were understood as elements of everyday life and were based on the concepts of Cultural History, using contributions from Pesavento (2005), Burke (1992), Vidal (2005), Certeau (2012) and Chartier (1990 ) among others. The methodological procedures for the research and the construction of the historical narrative involved documental analysis combined with oral history. A detective approach was adopted in order to explore the material culture within the schools; more specifically the thematic networks that were constructed and organised in the dialogic process inspired by Paulo Freire's works. In addition, particular attention was paid to listening to and reading the narratives of the focus of this dissertation, i.e. the teachers. In this respect, the analysis was guided by an interview with a female teacher, who whilst being an interviewee, also echoed narratives that permeated the analysed documents, and which almost constituted a mouthpiece for other voices. The empirical data and their respective analyses are organised into two aspects: they are firstly presented in thematic networks, taking one of them as an example in order to understand the relationships established therein. Subsequently, the analysis based on the “generated themes” that were raised are presented and there is an attempt to understand some of the impact of the proposals that were implemented during this period through the words of the female teacher that was interviewed. In this part of the study many of the issues identified in the documental analysis combine with the narratives to better illustrate this trajectory. Two categories of analysis emerge: "study as a premise for practice" and "the conflicts and contradictions that exist between theory and practice". From these categories, some results regarding practices and how the research "cultures of further education" are delineated.