A Educação online na formação continuada de professores de educação infantil em uma perspectiva crítica em contexto de colaboração

Abstract

The present research aims to investigate which possibilities an online Education, in line with a critical perspective in a collaborative context, provide for the permanent education of Early Childhood Education teachers. In order to achieve this objective, the “Teaching in Early Childhood Education” extension course was developed and implemented with public and private professors of this area. In this implication, the research had those objectives: 1) explaining the specific characteristics and advantages of the online education and of the collaborative critical perspective; 2) understanding in what extent the developed course supports the assumptions of an online Education and a collaborative critical perspective, and which elements show such aspects, and; 3) searching for signs in the dialogue and performance of researchers which indicate the specific characteristics of the assumptions of online Education and collaborative critical perspective. Thirteen teacher students and six teachers were the subjects of the research. Data of three online forums and six attendance meetings was applied in the research. The theoretical fundamentals articulated the studies related to online Education, preparation of early childhood education teachers, and teaching of collaborative critical perspective professors. The understanding of the online Education and its assumptions was assisted by Santos, Silva, Bruno, Santaella, Levy, Torres e Siqueira, Palloff e Pratt, Castells, Gomes, Valente, and Borba. The history of early childhood education in Brazil was clarified by Vasconcellos, Aquino, Oliveira, Silva, Kramer, Kuhlmann e Kishimoto Farias, Reis, and Lobo. The development of early childhood education teachers in Brazil was explained by Novoa, Saviani, Giroux, Schon, and Silva. The preparation of teachers in a collaborative critical perspective was elucidated by Vygostski, Bakhtin, Liberalli, Magalhães, Schapper, and Silva. The lens which conducted this research were revealed by Marx, Engels, Konder, Freitas, Magalhães, Aguiar e Ozella, Freire e Silva, and Schapper. At the end of the analysis and interpretation of the data, several factors can be evaluated: 1) the presence of a knowledge collective construction, and a collaborative learning in the intertwining of ideas, experiences, thoughts, doubts and questions; 2) the interactivity in the reciprocal influence of actions and dialogue of the course participants and trainers; 3) the leaders‟ concern about seeking to mediate in order to stimulate reflective and collaborative process between course participants; 4) the connectivity of themes, information and experience; 5) the hybridity in the integration of physical and virtual spaces, resources, strategies and ideas; 6) the existence of conflicts and negotiations of senses and meanings throughout describing, informing, confronting and reconstructing teaching practices from scientific concepts appropriation; 7) the limitations and difficulties faced during the course, by some course participants and trainers. Therefore, it was perceived that both course participants as trainers and researchers require virtual spaces which enhance communication and continuing education. Furthermore, the reflection of the possibility of applying a continuing education of teachers through online education in a collaborative critical perspective and also the implications and limitations of such proposal were reiterated and confirmed.