Homens no curso de pedagogia: as razões do improvável

Abstract

This MA thesis, entitled Men in the Pedagogy undergraduate course: improbable reasons, aims to investigate the impacts of gender in choosing both the course and the teaching profession. According to Alves and Soares (2001), and Vianna (2001), among others, gender involves socially defined expectancies. These models, constructed by society, seem to influence people at the moment of their professional choice. Several studies in this area of investigation, for instance, show that undergraduate courses in the Humanities are often chosen by women, whereas technological courses are most frequently chosen by men. Bearing this in mind, some questions are posed: To what extent gender related expectancies are truly defining at the moment of choosing undergraduate courses and professional careers? What can be done in order for people to get rid of these determinations and search for alternative paths? Moreover: What kind of men are these who are present in Pedagogy courses? What are their ages? What are their professional projects? Would they have social as well as educational low ranks as usually found among undergraduate students of Pedagogy? Which factors have influenced them to choose an undergraduate course typically chosen by women, contrary to the wider social expectancies? In order to answer these questions, questionnaires were designed and distributed, interviews were profoundly conducted, and a focal group was constituted by male undergraduate students of the Pedagogy course of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The data were analyzed focusing on the students social trajectory, their expectancies in relation to the course, their social and cultural heritage and their whole schooling processes until reaching the moment of taking the decision for the Pedagogy course. Among other things, this study has shown that a previous contact with the academic field of Education influenced considerably the students choices for the Pedagogy course.