Formação de professores de História: experiências, olhares e possibilidades (Minas Gerais, anos 80 e 90)

Abstract

This thesis has as its objective an analysis of the educational process through which history teachers are prepared for instruction at the elementary, junior and sênior high school leveis. Undergraduate programs of the eighties and nineties are analyzed together with the effect that these programs have had on teaching practices. Data were collected among students who had studied in universities in the State of Minas Gerais. Three university programs and graduates from these programs as well as professors were selected to participate in this study. The three universities selected were: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC-MG), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG and the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). The role of universities in developing undergraduate programs and how these programs affect the teaching process is analyzed. The research seeks to register and rethink practices and the development of new knowledge in undergraduate education as well as the teaching process applied by professionals in elementary, junior and sênior high schools. Oral history was the methodological procedure adopted by the study as a means of giving voice to subject-participants and understanding the issues and problems faced by them. Reality, as experienced by the professionals interviewed, indicates that the process of preparing history teachers requires ability and information well beyond the established curriculum. Preparation to become a history teacher should involve providing the future professional with an understanding of the conditions which s/he will face in order to produce historical knowledge, to be able to interact with knowledge sources and to transgress preexisting pedagogical practices. In addition teachers should be prepared to interact with textbooks and syllabi that limit debate, knowledge and how we reflect on our experiences.