A pesquisa da própria prática no mestrado profissional

Abstract

Facing the challenge of advising researchers who are professionals acting in schools and other formative spaces, students of the postgraduate program in which we teach, we present a study carried out with the objective of understanding the specificities of the professional master’s course with the elaboration of dissertation and educational product, the different research methodologies involved and, in particular, the methodology of researching one’s own the practice. We take as a practical reference the experience in the Graduate Program in Education and Teaching, Professional Master’s (PROMESTRE/FAE/UFMG), Mathematics Education research line, in which we, the advisors, are graduated in Academic Programs. The masters bring challenges from their practical experiences, hoping to understand them, systematize them, to find solutions and/or to develop innovative and effective educational practices. Research methodologies commonly used in Academic Programs of the educational research field do not always meet these specificities. This situation has taken us to the search of relevant methodologies. First studies led us to situate the research on the professional’s own practice in the context of “Action Research” (THIOLLENT, 2003), exploring the so called “Teaching-Research” (PENTEADO, 2010). “Teaching-research” allows the teacher-researcher to conduct a planned educational activity as a Research Action, developing procedures. Filming of the teacher-researcher’s own practice is adopted, and is preferably carried out by another researcher. In the PROMESTRE Graduate Program, student must present a dissertation as a final product. Based on educational research field’s theories, the dissertation presents a reflection of its own practice, situating the research’s question and an action plan as the expected educational product. In this article, we also discuss the necessary articulation within research, product and training, understanding that these objectives are intrinsically related. We expect this process of becoming a professional master’s to be formative for the teacher-researcher, and, at the same time, returns to the educational community resources to support new practices.