In a context in which one in five eight-year-old children does not know how to read sentences, as shown by an assessment released in September by the Ministry of Education (MEC), a recently completed Unicamp survey reveals that the role of teachers in the classroom expands even further the gap between those students who fail and those who succeed in the learning process.

The study, conducted with teachers from public elementary schools in Campinas, identified that, in general, these professionals leave aside students who have more 

learning difficulties, while the opposite should occur. The research was based on the teachers' own reports about their perceptions regarding children with school difficulties.

“Through the study, we noticed that teachers position themselves and provide better feedback in the school environment for those children who have less learning difficulties. Children who need it most, such as those with, for example, dyslexia, attention deficit, hyperactivity and other reading and writing difficulties are relegated”, says psychologist Letícia da Silveira Ioshida, author of the work.

The research was developed by her as a master's thesis at the Center for Studies and Research in Rehabilitation “Prof. Dr. Gabriel OS Porto” (Cepre) from the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) at Unicamp. Professor Ivani Rodrigues Silva, from the undergraduate course in Speech Therapy, guided the research. Ivani Rodrigues also works as a postgraduate professor in the Health, Interdisciplinary and Rehabilitation Program at FCM. 

Letícia Ioshida explains that children with difficulties, with whom teachers feel unable to deal, are often referred to specialized services. This happens, for example, with students who receive care at Cepre itself, through a reading and writing internship, carried out with the help of graduates of the Speech Therapy course.

“Teachers understand that the problem is beyond their responsibility and refer students to a specialized service. In fact, through the study, we identified some attitudes of these professionals in order to justify their own attitude of relegating these students. They say: 'ah, he keeps to himself, he doesn't participate because that's how it is...' In other words, the teachers attribute this discouragement of students with difficulty to a personality trait, but at the same time, they do not encourage these students like they do with students who stand out”, he highlights. 

LOOK AND POSITIONING

The author of the research clarifies the importance of the teacher’s “look” and the way he positions students and stands in front of them. Such an attitude in the classroom would be fundamental, according to her, in impacting students' positive or negative attitudes in the learning process. Among the desirable positions, the researcher highlights what she called “culturally sensitive pedagogy”, a term coined by scholar Frederick Erickson.

According to Letícia Ioshida, it is about taking advantage of the experiences that children bring with them and implementing involvement strategies, allowing students to position themselves. It is fundamental in this process to consider the student as a subject with potential, respecting their peculiarities, accepting their suggestions and topics and encouraging them to express themselves. 

“If the professional positions the student as capable, as someone who can learn, this will positively influence this child. The teacher's positioning ranges from looking at the student, speaking in a more affectionate tone of voice, calling them by name, providing verbal reinforcement, to encouraging the argumentative initiative. What cannot happen is that the professional finds the student incapable, does not call him to do activities, among other actions”, he explains.

For Ivani Silva, negative attitudes end up further favoring student failure in the classroom. “The children, sent with difficulties, are failing at school. And the teachers understand that the school should deal more with those who are learning and not with those who do not learn. Therefore, many children in the process of acquiring reading and writing could benefit if they had been better positioned by teachers or school staff.”

PLASTERED SYSTEM

The research advisor considers, however, that it is not a question of blaming the teacher. She states that the conditions of the current education system, both public and private, cause situations like those reported in the research. Classes are overcrowded, pay is low and there is a lack of time and opportunities for training and refresher courses, criticizes Ivani Silva.

“The education system is rigid. Classrooms should be less crowded, teachers should have more opportunity and time to take courses and refresher courses. In order to earn a more decent salary, professionals end up teaching at several schools. Even within the private school there is a current structure: numerous classrooms and teachers who have to take care of everything. Therefore, the school structure needs to be rethought.”

Still according to the teacher, teacher training is very deficient, especially in the aspect of inclusion and working with diversity. “They are trained to deal with a certain portion of the population and that is not what they find in the classroom. Teachers leave their training imagining that they will only find ideal students, but they find real students, disabled, deaf, blind students... It is this diversity that the school needs to rethink”, she adds.

In this sense, highlights Letícia Ioshida, traditionally the school has expectations for an 'ideal' student. “Students who arrive with a learning base and meet expectations serve the school. The other is isolated, marginalized, and ends up failing. This student starts to dislike school, because, from the moment he frustrates these expectations of an 'ideal' student, he stops being considered as a student at the school.”

INTERNS

In addition to investigating teachers' perceptions, the work also evaluated how interns studying the 6th semester of the speech therapy course at Unicamp deal with students with learning difficulties sent to the school clinic that operates at Cepre. 

According to Ivani Silva, who coordinates the internship at the Unit, the results of the research with this group of university students were important to “give feedback regarding the areas of the speech therapy course whose reflection should be intensified.” “They are students in training, they are not professionals yet. One of our hypotheses is that speech therapy students need, at this stage of their training, more experience with this topic. By being closer to the educational area, they can assess this situation more effectively.”

METHODOLOGY

The work highlighted attitudes that help or harm academic performance and self-esteem in the classroom or in the services provided at Cepre, in addition to verifying similarities and differences in the reports of teachers and interns. According to Letícia Ioshida, data collection was carried out in six schools through semi-structured interviews with teachers and interns, recorded through audio recordings. Subsequently, data transcription and analysis were carried out.

“We did a qualitative study. Teachers and interns were interviewed about academic performance, interpersonal relationships, behavior and strategies for working with children. Data processing was carried out through content analysis. The objective of the study was to contribute to education in order to identify postures and interventions that can benefit or harm the child, enabling reflection and planning of work with more effective strategies.”

Dissertation: “Perceptions about children with school difficulties”

Author: Letícia da Silveira Ioshida

counselor: Ivani Rodrigues Silva

Each: Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM)