A formação do professor de geografia: uma discussão sobre as exigências locais e regionais do Norte de Minas

Abstract

This thesis, included in the teacher training studies, presents reflections on the Geography teacher training process. We are aimed at contributing to the improvement of Geography teachers training process. Considering the features of this disciplinary field in the school syllabus, our main objective was analyzing the contributions of the Geography course at Unimontes to teachers training who are going to work in the final grades of secondary and high schools, in this knowledge area. We adopted a qualitative approach due to the interpretative and dialogical aspects of this study. We used the case study and chose, as research tools, the documentary analysis, focal group and semi-structured questionnaire which allowed us to know the participants observations and opinions. According to the content analysis we built a group of categories to explain the reached results. The participants of this study were 28 teachers who graduated at Unimontes in the second semester, 2005; in the first and second semester, 2006 and in the first semester, 2007 and work as Geography teachers in the secondary and high schools in the North of Minas Gerais. The inferences and conclusions produced by them permitted us to understand that the teacher training offered to the participants (teachers of Geography course-Unimontes), despite the limitations mentioned by them, contributes to their personal and professional improvement. The limitations mentioned by the participants point to the need for improving school syllabus so that it offers to the future teachers an organic comprehension of the relation between Geography specific knowledge and pedagogic one. Also, it is important to offer them appropriate means which promote the development of devices that drive them to perceive and develop a teaching sensitive to the different sociogeographical contexts of the professional practice. This movement shows the need for motivating the teachers training who know the experienced place which leads to the contemporary world comprehension. The knowledge products about the North of Minas Gerais produced at Unimontes should be incorporated into the knowledge of secondary school teachers so that they permit their students to build this knowledge, what contributes to consolidate the identity of Norte de Minas and change the reality.