Características de uma Escola do Campo de Ensino Fundamental do sul do RS, bem sucedida, delineadas à luz da Teoria da Atividade.

Abstract

This research paper aims to present some characteristics of the pedagogical practice performed in the early years of a rural elementary school in the municipality of São Lourenço do Sul/RS. The investigation was carried out through observation of different school days and spaces, focal groups with the teachers, essays written by the students describing the institution, and analysis of the Political Pedagogical Project. The Cultural-Historical Activity Theory supported the study, particularly Engeström’s thoughts; the school analyzed was regarded as an activity system, that is, a space in which "a human activity directed to an object, collective and culturally mediated” takes place (ENGESTRÖM, 1999). An activity system can be analyzed by means of its components: subject, rules, community, division of labor, and mediating artifacts. The object of a school activity system is always the students’ learning. However, it does not always happen satisfactorily and its degree of success varies between different institutions. Content analysis showed that the school rules (implicit or explicit) are organized in three main groups: 1) those relating to management: the school should be run in a democratic and coherent way, emphasizing the participation of the whole school community and the students’ families (including projects that enhance the local reality and culture and preserve the environment). Infrastructure and teachers’ continued education should also receive investment; 2) those relating to teaching practice: the activities developed in the school should be rich and varied and be based on the students’ needs, motivation and reality. Reading should be encouraged and teachers should reflect on their teaching activities; and 3) those relating to the teacher-student relationship: it should be harmonious and welcoming. In a like manner, the analysis showed that the tools used to mediate learning are very rich and varied (poster making, theater plays, artistic experimentations, etc.). The community participating in the system is diversified, including families in an expressive way. There is no rigid or hierarchical division of labor among school stakeholders (teachers, staff, principal and students) when it comes to perform several tasks at school. The study concludes that the scheme proposed by Engeström (2002) to characterize an activity system was useful to understand the success of the studied school.