Formação continuada stricto sensu e desenvolvimento profissional de docentes dos anos iniciais da rede municipal de Pelotas

Abstract

This dissertation analyzed the continuing education process for teachers in postgraduate courses, discussing the contributions and potential for professional teacher development, and identifying the challenges and limitations of entry for teachers without a stricto sensu postgraduate degree. It addressed continuing education as a process of professional development and its impact on teaching practice, drawing on the theoretical contributions of António Nóvoa (1992, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2011, 2017, 2022), Dário Fiorentini and Vanessa Crecci (2013), Júlio Emílio Diniz-Pereira (2015), Marli André (2001, 2010), Francisco Imbernón (2011), Carlos Marcelo García (2020), Stephen Ball (2022), Selma Pimenta (2014), among others. The research focused on the following objectives: To identify the challenges and limitations for continuing education at the postgraduate level in Education faced by teachers in the early years of the municipal public education network of Pelotas; To systematize the contributions of postgraduate studies in Education for teachers in the early years of the municipal public education network of Pelotas; To reflect on the contributions and potential of continuing education carried out within the scope of the Postgraduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Pelotas, for teachers in the municipal public network of Pelotas. To achieve these objectives, the principles of qualitative research methodology were adopted, based on the guidelines of Maria Cecília Minayo (2007, 2015), Bernadete Gatti (2012, 2014), Marcos Zanette (2017), and Antonio Gil (2014). Questionnaires and focus groups were used as instruments to seek a general overview of the continuing education process for teachers in the early years of the municipal public school system in Pelotas, especially within the Postgraduate Program in Education. The two groups of participants in the study were: teachers who graduated from the Postgraduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Pelotas, and teachers without a postgraduate degree, both tenured in the municipal public education system of Pelotas. Using thematic analysis, emerging themes were identified, which compiled information, ideas, and reflections from the research participants. This process resulted in the following themes: chronological time for continuing education; professional devaluation and continuing education; the Postgraduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Pelotas as a space for the construction of a teacher-researcher; and personal and professional aspects of teaching. It was stated that teacher professional development is a continuous process and, therefore, based on the results obtained, it was argued that continuing education for teachers of the early years of schooling in the municipal network of Pelotas should be further strengthened within the scope of stricto sensu postgraduate studies, through partnerships between the school and the university, and not only through public-private partnerships that generally align with neoliberal interests. However, it is necessary for the municipal public administration to establish objective working conditions for teachers seeking professional development by undertaking continuing education within the scope of stricto sensu postgraduate studies.