A formação do professor alfabetizador em Niterói: propostas e fundamentos

Abstract

Teacher training, especially in recent years, has been the focus of several questions in terms of its effectiveness in meeting the demands of contemporary society. The initial training models adopted, especially those resulting from policies and curricular proposals for teacher training, are shown to be fragile. In view of the gaps in initial training, it is sought through continuing training to offer the teacher opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for a more solid pedagogical performance. Continuing education actions allow knowledge expansion about the new aspects that compose the relationships of school teaching and learning. They also allow the appreciation of knowledge from experience and exchange between peers (NÓVOA, 1992; 2017; TARDIF, 1998; GATTI, 2008). When it comes to the continuing education of literacy teachers, specifically in the Brazilian context, its essentiality is accentuated against the proficiency indices in reading and writing, which are still considered unsatisfactory (ESTEBAN, 2012; ANA, 2014). As an alternative, specific public policies are proposed both at the national level (PROFA, Pró-Letramento and PNAIC) and at the municipal level (SANTOS, 2017; PNE, 2014; CANUTO, 2020). Given this scenario, this research investigates the continuing education initiatives operated by the Municipal Education Network of Niterói/RJ. It seeks to identify significant historical aspects about the trends in the continuing education of literacy teachers, focusing on the Niterói Municipal Education Plans (2008/2016) and the perceptions of literacy teachers about the continuing education offered by the Network. As methodological referral, a qualitative approach to the research was adopted (MINAYO, 2001) inspired by the foundations of documentary research (GIL, 2008). For the production of data, a questionnaire with open questions was used, intended for literacy teachers who were willing to answer it, when carrying out the research. The questionnaire was organized based on the following categories: age group, length of service, reasons for choosing to work in literacy classes, working in the same school or in several schools, functions performed, form of joining the Network, perception of being literacy teacher, participation in continuing education and articulation of the Municipal Education Plan with training courses. The data and results indicate that the continuing education carried out by the Network suffers direct interference from the municipal management. Its proposition, organization and operation depend on the pedagogical teams that are in charge of the Network at a given political moment. The search for partnerships/external advisors and the use of "financial incentives" as a strategy to encourage participation in training can be observed as a structuring characteristic of the Network's continuing education actions. Although efforts to promote continuous training of education professionals are identified in the Network, the Municipal Plans are still reticent about specific continuous training for literacy teacher.