Hermes e bonecas russas: um estudo colaborativo para compreender a relação teoria-prática na formação docente

Abstract

This dissertation aims at demonstrating how collaborative-action between university and English language teachers in a continuing education program can produce local and contextual changes in the micro-setting of the language classroom when these changes are desired by teachers and the school. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between theory and practice was analyzed based on the ideas of Paulo Freire, that is, into a perspective of teachers empowerment. This research has also claimed that teacher education must be taken not only as an everlasting and complex process but also as a personal and inter-personal activity. The data were collected in two phases, with the participation of three English teachers from Brazilian public schools, through classroom observation, semi-structured interviews, biographies, journals and collaborative sessions with the researcher. The study showed the relevance of social interaction and collaborative work to bring about the desired changes. Thus, the role of collaborative tension in the implementation of transformating-actions was highlighted. Therefore, the results of this study have shown that teachers taking part in this research built the bridge between theory and practice and were thus able to produce heuristics (Kumaradivelu 2003) in a way that they could diminish the problems identified in their classroom routine, despite the major existing constraints. Although the significant changes that took place in the language classrooms observed occurred in a non-linear process and not in the same way or pace for all teachers in the research, they were also observed after the teachers stopped meeting the research collaborative network. This may mean a lot if we take into consideration the present conditions of the teaching of English in Brazil, especially in public schools.