A diversidade na escola: concepções e práticas docentes.

Abstract

This study aimed mainly to investigate the conceptions and practices of diversity expressed by four teachers who teach from the 2nd to 5th grades of elementary school in a municipal public school in Massaranduba-PB. Diversity, as a study topic, is relatively recent in the area of Education. It gained more importance once the diverse subjects (ARROYO, 2014) began to organize themselves into social movements in search of visibility and recognition of their social rights. The understanding of diversity is complex and involves political, social, economic, cultural, educational, among other aspects, being an object of study in diverse national and international contexts (ABRAMOWICZ, RODRIGUES, CRUZ, 2011; ARROYO, 2008, 2014; BARROS, 2016; BRASIL, 2001; CANEN, 2011; GOMES, 2007, 2012; MOEHLECKE, 2009; MOREIRA, CANDAU, 2007; PIERUCCI, 2013; SILVA, 2003). As a theoretical category, the term diversity represents different meanings as it is articulated to the notions of equality, difference, inequality and identity. Through a bibliographical review of studies oriented by the perspectives of interculturalism and critical multiculturalism, we established three conceptions of diversity (syncretic, celebratory and critical) that were used as reference for data analysis, in view of the research objectives. The research sought to answer the following problem question: how do the teachers' conceptions of the initial years of elementary school about diversity influence their pedagogical practice in the classroom? To do so, we conducted a qualitative field research (MINAYO, 1998) through a literature review on the subject, application of semi-open questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observations of pedagogical practices in the classroom. The data was analyzed and interpreted as a basis in the content analysis (BARDIN, 2009). The data showed that 1) diversity is an important theme for teachers because it is a source of multiple knowledge and imposes challenges to the development of new pedagogical practices and curricular perspectives, especially those resulting from legal achievements/demands; 2) the diversity of students was also seen as a motivator of conflicts and bullying, hindering the organization of pedagogical action and causing prejudice to learning, a fact that made the teachers emphasize attitudes of appeasement, respect and tolerance, to the detriment of the discussion of power relations that mark these conflicts; 3) the teachers' conceptual understanding of diversity is generally very superficial, with a focus on the empirical dimension, associated with what is more immediately visible, such as the physical characteristics of the students. It is a subject of a recent study, based on continuous training and pedagogical journeys, since it was not the object of study of the initial training. We conclude that teachers' conceptions and pedagogical practices express, largely, a celebratory conception of diversity characterized by the call for tolerance, respect and peaceful living among the different subjects, distancing itself from a critical conception that shows how the socioeconomic, political, and cultural conditions translate individual and collective differences into power relations, inequalities, invisibility and injustice. The research contributes with new perspectives of a study on the subject in the context of pedagogical practice, giving a voice to teachers who deal with the challenges of understanding and approaching diversity in the classroom everyday. The need to promote a teacher education that enables these professionals to understand and deal with diversity critically is highlighted, taking into account the challenges and possibilities of elementary education in contemporary society.