Inovação na prática docente: motivações e compromissos

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the factors which induce teachers to use innovative professional practices. Its empirical field was the Elementary School Senator Salgado Filho, SL/RS. It was a qualitative research, and was organized under three streams of study: 1- The historical context of Brazilian education. 2- Innovation, understood as rupture of paradigms. 3- The innovative teachers – background, motivation and commitments in relation to the teaching practice. This work allowed the dialog with researchers who provided theoretical basis, such as Ausubel, Canário, Carbonell, Cardoso, Contreras, Cunha, Elisa Lucarelli, Freire, Josso, Kuhn, Leite, Nóvoa, Pérez Gómez, Rios, Sousa Santos, Tardif. I made use of descriptive texts, document analyses, observations, field diary and repetitive interviews. The subjects of the research were four teachers, who had been identified as innovative by the school’s Supervising Team, the school’s Principal and by me. The innovative teaching practices were evaluated under the categories: a- rupture with traditional ways of teaching; b- shared management; c- re-structuring of the different kinds of knowledge, with elimination or decrease of the dual perspectives d- re-organization of the relation theory/practice; e- organic perspective in the process of conceiving, developing and evaluating the experience; f- mediator between the subjective characteristics from the persons involved and from knowledge; h- protagonism, understood as the student’s participation in the pedagogic decisions, with their personal, original and creative valorization. This study allowed to identify several factors which move the four teachers towards to innovation in their professional practices: relevance of personal values acquired within the family; positive and impacting life experiences during school age period and the conscientious wish to use them as references while teaching; academic training; awareness of the fact that human beings are never finished, being open to permanent learning and to challenges, being characterized by curious, and understanding that continuous learning is a key element in the teaching practice; conscious wish to perform activities that stimulate the students to develop knowledge that is linked local and global realities; commitment to happiness, well-being and the development of trusting relationships with the students; school management that favors autonomy, partnership and freedom of teachers.