Transformações identitárias: um estudo sobre as experiências de professoras de inglês em um projeto de educação continuada

Abstract

This study presents a research about the experiences of eight English teachers who are participants of a continuing education project (Projeto de Educação Continuada para Professores de Língua Inglesa: PECPLI) held at Universidade Federal de Viçosa, in Minas Gerais. The objective of this research is to document and describe the nature of the experiences of the participants in this project, investigating how these experiences relate to their previous learning and teaching English experiences, in order to understand how the participation leads to changes in the teachers identities and lives. As for the theoretical framework, the study was conducted based on students experiences (MICCOLI, 1997 and 2007a) and counted on the contributions of many researchers in the areas of (a) training of reflective teachers (BARCELOS & COELHO, 2010; CELANI, 2001, DUTRA & OLIVEIRA, 2006; GIMENEZ, 2006, MATEUS, 2002); (b) transformative learning (CRANTON, 1994; BELENKY & STANTON, 2000; DALOZ, 2000; TAYLOR, E. W., 2000; TAYLOR, K., 2000; COHEN & PIPER, 2000; MEZIROW, 2000); c) learning and teaching experiences (MICCOLI, 2001a, 2001b, 2004, 2006, 2007b , 2007c, 2007d, 2007e and 2010) and d) teachers and students identities (HALL, 2003; MOITA LOPES, 2003a and 2003b; PIERCE, 1995; SILVA, 2000). In this case study, a quantitative and qualitative methodology was adopted to analyze and present the results. The data were collected through video recordings, interviews and field notes, in a context of participant observation. The results show that the recurrent friendly interactions, meaningful learning, reflection about the teaching practice and a willingness to change lead to the following changes: their identities of teachers who feel self-confident in the classroom, their conceptions about teaching and the role of the teacher, teaching practices that become more directed to the interests of students and, finally, their personal lives, with greater pleasure at work and overcoming of depression. As a contribution to the field of Applied Linguistics, this study has implications for the continuing education of language teachers, as a space for supportive and reliable relationships, where participants can talk about themselves to share victories and conflicts; where they can learn and exchange knowledge, in a way that they feel valued and owners of different forms of knowledge which they can share.