O psicólogo escolar na assistência estudantil: um estudo de caso no CEFET – MG unidade Araxá

Abstract

The professional performance of the psychologist in the field of Education can be seen in several educational stages of formal learning in Brazil; however, in Higher Education, it is still in the process of strengthening. Over the last decade, it has been seen a growth in the number of reports of practices and studies related to the entry and permanence of the student at this level of education. The Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (Cefet - MG) is part of the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education (FNVSTE), which is composed of institutions historically recognized in the Brazilian high school, nowadays a recognized and centenary institution in the formation of young people and adults. Now, after 108 years of existence and a history of great expansion in the state of Minas Gerais, it has secondary technical-professional courses, graduate, lato sensu and stricto sensu postgraduate courses and counts on the service of Student Assistance (SA). In this context, this research has as general objective to understand and analyze the performance of the school psychologist in the Student Assistance at Cefet – Araxá, in the light of Critical School Psychology. The specific objectives are to understand and formalize the history of the SA and to describe the development of School Psychology in this school. We, therefore, seek to construct a documentary corpus based on existing records that relate the history of SA and the work of the School Psychologist. The research methodology chosen for this case study includes data collection and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a Director, two Social Assistants, a Pedagogue, five Teachers who also held the position of coordinators, a School Psychologist, a mother, three alumni and two groups of students with six in each group, being a graduation group and another with technical education students. After transcribing the interviews, a careful reading and content analysis were performed, and three thematic axes were organized, namely: 1) The constitution of Student Assistance at Cefet-MG Araxá; 2) The Student Assistance according to some important members of the institution and 3) The school psychologist at Cefet - MG Araxá. The creation of Cefet in Araxá had a great impact on the life of the city, and gradually the Student Assistance was created, thanks to the contribution of the different members of the institution. The offering of social minimums to students is fundamental for the students' material permanence; however, it is not enough, because it is necessary that the institution also takes care of the symbolic permanence, which concerns the possibilities of the student to feel belonging to the group and to be inserted in the system of education. The Student Assistance, according to the interviewees, is directly associated and submitted to the care of the student and it is not yet possible to see a greater and more strategic role of the area in order to extend the work to the teachers and technicians. Regarding the psychologist's performance at Cefet Araxá, according to the interviewees, the professional develops the following interventions: preventive action in relation to the team and institutional in relation to families, teachers and students. Finally, we consider that the psychologist's area of performance in the school was conquered, but the process of raising awareness about the real role and possibilities of action of this professional is a major challenge to be sought in the daily routine of the Student Assistance professionals. The role of the school psychologist should be directed towards the awareness of the subjects in the educational process that is emancipatory. Opportunities must be given to the educational members of the institution themselves to participate and voice, as well as to reflect and raise awareness of their practices and functions in this process that is eminently collective, in order to build a promising reality for the institution, for Student Assistance and especially for School Psychology.