Experiências de democracia nas histórias de vida de professores.

Abstract

This dissertation has as its objective to describe, comprehend and analyse the experiences of democracy in life stories of teachers. We utilize the dialectical perspective, considered a way of explaining the subject, the evolution and men. Therefore, we start from the involvement and development of the different phenomena that are intertwined, seeking out its contradictory relations. The gathering of information, through semi-structured interviews, supported itself in the life stories of teachers, which represented the meaning assignment and the ordering of different experiences and can contribute to a new territory of reflexion, by means of the subjects involved. In theoretical terms, we discuss about work as a social and cultural practice, as condition of human existence and means to transformation. We highlight work adversities, such as precariousness, that significantly influence the construction of democracy spaces in school. Although education is present in all social relationships,we attach the school’s social function and, from there, defend the possibility of building democracy on this space, which makes formal education a political act, which aims to emancipate. Human experience is understood as a pursuit for meaning of that which is experienced. Democracy as we defend as primordial is that which guarantees effective participation, that is not just a restrictive and representative democracy. It is an ontological condition, a voice exercise. In school, there is also a model of bureaucratic and hierarchical management, contrary to the proposition of democratic management implement by law and heavily defended on the last few years. The life stories of teachers interviewed show us that, although they defend democracy in school, they still face structures where dialogue and participation are limited. In their family origins and in the school environment of their basic education, especially middle school, strict hierarchical experiences prevailed, resulting from a historical process and that had great influence from the military dictatorship. Experiences that are more democratic were perceived during high school, university and beyond. However, we noticed that there are many difficulties establishing a democracy in schools that surpass the strict condition of representativeness. We also noticed that, between teachers, a tendency to reproduce what was experienced, adapting to the system, although no one agreed to that. We understand the absence of life experiences in democratizing structures begets difficulties in establishing of democratic relations. We can also point as an obstacle to the democracy, the precariousness of teaching work, that at the same time hampers continued education and contributes to the feeling of hopelessness between teachers.