Teaching Practice Determinants: A State Public School Teacher Reports

  Teaching practice Determinants: a state public school teacher reports  

Authors: Tamiris Divina Clemente Urata1; Hélder Eterno da Silveira2 – Universidade Federal de Uberlândia.

Electronics address: [e-mail]; 2 [e-mail].

Abstract

This paper presents results of investigations into the practice of a chemistry teacher at a public school state Araguari-MG in order to be certain what are the factors that influence and affect repeatedly their teaching practice and interfere with the teaching-learning process of chemistry. For this purpose, we use as a tool for data collection in this investigation and the descriptive memorial semi-structured autobiographical character, through which we aim to meet the conceptions of the teacher since its initial formation to its constitution as a professional education. After collecting data, analyzing the factors which affect the teachers practice  as the infrastructure of the institution, the chemical content, resources and materials, the selection processes for entry into higher education and the profession devaluation , the influence of teaching practice.

Key words: Chemistry teacher, practice didactic-pedagogic, conditions.

Resumen

Este documento presenta los resultados de las investigaciones sobre la práctica de un profesor de química en un estado de la escuela pública Araguari-MG con el fin de determinar cuáles son los factores que influyen y afectan a su práctica docente y en repetidas ocasiones interfieren con el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje química. Se utilizó como instrumento de recolección de datos en esta investigación, el carácter autobiográfico de memoria descriptiva y semi-estructurados, a través del cual nos proponemos identificar los conceptos de la formación del profesorado desde su inicial para su constitución como una formación profesional. Después de la recogida de datos, se analizaron los factores que afectan la práctica de los profesores como la infraestructura de la institución, el contenido químico, recursos y materiales, los procesos de selección para el ingreso a la educación superior y la devaluación de la profesión, y la influencia de la práctica docente.

Palabras clave: profesor de química, didáctico-pedagógicos, condiciones.

Introduction

The chemistry teaching in Brazil there are times has appeared flawed and inconsistent, since many of the students who finish high school don’t remember what they’ve  studied in their course. As discussed by Trevisan and Martins (2006) "In the area of chemistry, historically, many students experience difficulties in learning. In most cases, don’t realize the significance or validity of what they study" (p.2).

Based on this fact, it is clear that the chemistry teaching hasn’t fulfilled its social function, in accordance with article 22 of the Guidelines and Bases Law from National Education (LDB) 9394/96 which  is to form citizens capable of thinking and acting critically in their society, analyzing and understanding the world through chemistry language, acting thus thoughtfully and critically to the changes caused in the modern world. According Chassot (1990) "Chemistry is also a language. Thus the chemistry teaching should be a facilitator of reading the world. Chemistry is taught, then, to allow citizens to interact better with   the world "(p. 30).

However, for some time, the chemical presented in high school has appeared unrelated to the daily students’ lives, with the only purpose of entry students in higher education institutions. This didactic pedagogical practice favors only a minority of society, since few students who complete primary education go to a University.

In this sense, teaching practice is fundamental importance for the process of teaching and learning  the subject occurs in a significant way, then, is the teacher who has the job of demystifying the chemistry to the students and present it in its many forms in our everyday lives. In accordance with Chassot (1993)

It is necessary  in a continue way, to do  the demystification of chemistry, which appears linked to all stages of life, and finding alternatives to a wider dissemination of this and its social importance in today's world. (Chassot, 1993, p. 50)

For the teacher can demystify this science and establish the necessary chemistry relations in our daily lives  we must be aware of the practice importance  for the students training  as citizens and build an initial and continuing training that enables critical thinking and actions their teaching practice. As they point out the curriculum guidelines for high school:

The need for the teacher to think independently, to organize their knowledge and be able to conduct their work has much to do with the training he needs and the pedagogical stance to adopt, since it is the principal agent of his own making teaching (BRAZIL, 2006, p. 46).

  In this sense, according to Develay and Astolfi (1995) "The teacher profession is first and foremost a decision making profession in a complex systems where many interacting variables of which the teacher is a part" (p. 122).

However, sometimes the awareness and skills of education professionals established in their initial training on the job doesn’t materialize in the classroom by factors external to the teacher, but somehow, there is their influence in practice. These influences in teaching can be a limiting factor of the social function chemistry teaching, reducing it to an education with a focus on transmission and storage of content, in terms Trevisan and Martins (2006) argue that the practices of the chemistry teachers "mostly prioritize the reproduction of knowledge, copying, storing, accentuating the dichotomy between theory and practice this teaching" (p. 2).

Thus in order to verify what are the factors that influence and constraint the teaching practice, we investigated the conceptions of a Chemistry teacher at a public school in state from Araguari- MG- through semi-structured interview and descriptive, by which we noted as her actions are in the classroom, as well as factors that discourage a practice concerned with students' meaningful learning.

The teacher interviewed has been teaching for eighteen years, however, only seven acts as a degree in chemistry and at the end of her   graduation she was approved in the tender for effective teachers of state schools and has since worked in the public schools reference^[1] of the city Araguari-MG. To preserve the identity of the research subject, the fictitious name attribute is  Cleide, the teacher  who participated in this research.