Habilidades de resolução de problemas: desenvolvimento de uma medida e relações com o Método Montessori

Abstract

Problems, from simple to complex ones, are present in people's daily lives. The way each person responds to them is related to several psychological correlates, such as better psychological adjustment. Thus, different areas of Psychology have studied the psychological processes related to problem-solving (PS), emphasizing the interface between PS and educational processes. Even though PS skills are key aspects of the educational process, there are controversies about how to promote them in the school environment. The Montessori Method (MM) is one of the educational strategies that has as one of its purposes to develop these skills in the classroom. Thus, this thesis has conducted studies with different designs - correlational and quasi-experimental - with the objective of analyzing whether the MM promotes general PS skills. Due to the lack of Brazilian instruments that assess this construct, the first chapter presents the construction process of the Problem-Solving Scales (ERP), including the elaboration of items, focus groups (N = 24) and analysis by judges (N = 23), as well as studies (N = 767) to obtain evidence of validity based on internal structure and reliability estimates for ERP. Confirmatory factor analyzes showed that the ERP have two scales (Problem Resolution Skills (PSS) and Problem Orientation (PO)) with satisfactory internal consistency. The ERP were used in a study (Chapter 2) that aimed to compare the PS skills of students (N = 91) of traditional and montessorian schools and, in the latter case, implementation fidelity was considered (Classic Montessori or Supplemented Montessori). Associations were also made between these skills and demographic and educational variables. There were no statistically significant differences between the students of the two types of schools researched. PO was not associated to the demographic and educational variables investigated and when PSS was classified in levels (low, medium and high), a higher score of students with average levels was observed. In order to analyze the effects of a mathematical education process based on MM principles on the development of PS skills, a quasi-experiment (Chapter 3) was conducted with students of fourth and fifth grades of Elementary School (N = 18). After subdividing them into Montessori Group (MG) and Traditional Schooling Group (TSG), they participated in a process of mathematical education. The ERP were applied pre and post-mathematical education. There were gains in both PSS and PO, albeit limited, in 7 the MG. However, MG and TSG did not differ in mathematical performance. It is possible to state that, even though other studies are necessary to obtain more evidence of validity and to estimate its reliability, the ERP have satisfactory psychometric properties. There is also evidence that the MM can contribute to the development of PS skills. However, in the latter case, more empirical evidence is also needed, especially those obtained in classrooms rather than in experiments. Developing the PS skills of the students is fundamental, since they are essential both in the teaching-learning process and in life itself.