From the continued training of educators to training in inclusive education, the work of the Unicamp Faculty of Education contributes to qualifying teaching in schools
Dealing with the daily life of classrooms and the diversity of students in school networks is a challenge that requires continuous improvement from professionals in the field. At Unicamp's Faculty of Education (FE), several projects contribute to constant training and aligned with the real problems of basic education. Working in continuing education and training in inclusive education are two areas of action that stand out in this sense. Thousands of school professionals are trained every year through extension courses offered by University researchers.
One of FE's areas of action concerns continued training, a process that aims to improve the knowledge required for educators' activities. Through the intersection of the pillars of the public university - teaching, research and extension - knowledge is shared between researchers at the institution and school professionals, enabling an exchange of experiences that is fundamental for improving education.
A large part of continuing education courses take place through university extension, which promotes a direct bridge between the knowledge of the university and society. The FE teacher, Maria Aparecida Guedes Monção, is one of the teachers involved in these courses.
The teacher has a professional history linked to early childhood education and explains the importance of training. “Despite being undervalued socially, teachers need training to cope with the demands that come to them. In common sense, it seems that education is restricted to transmitting content, but it is much more than that. At school, children learn more than areas of knowledge, they learn to relate and deal with diversity. The teacher needs to dialogue with all of this, dealing with singularities in a collective space,” she says.
The last course coordinated by Maria Aparecida, aimed at school managers (directors, vice-directors and pedagogical coordinators), was offered in 2021. The proposal arose from a demand from education managers. A group of professionals from the East Zone of São Paulo sought her out with an interest in deepening their knowledge about intersectorality and democratic management of schools. This is how the course was born, in which 80 professionals from school networks in São Paulo and Campinas participated.
Course students and pedagogical coordinators of early childhood education in the Campinas network, Marina Jardim and Renata Laureano evaluate the training as a moment of learning and exchange. “The course format and the methodology adopted in classes provided an intense exchange between professionals from two different networks. There was a lot of learning, both in terms of the content, treated by different specialists, and the production of knowledge made at the end of the course”, says Renata.
The dialogue between professionals from basic education and higher education, say the students, is fundamental to bringing academia closer to the daily challenges of educational units. “If, on the one hand, the knowledge produced in academia can affect professionals in order to promote reflections and changes in their educational practices, researchers also have everyday elements to promote new research and strategies, and thus contribute to educators in formulating policies. public institutions that guarantee the rights of babies and children to quality and equitable education”, observes Marina.
The course, as the educators highlight, is not a one-way street. Due to this partnership, students from the Faculty of Education were also able to carry out internships in the public school system in São Paulo. “We try to integrate so that students are close to basic education. This also makes us, who are in higher education, pay attention to the demands of school units”, evaluates Maria Aparecida.
The teacher is also coordinator of the Professional Master's Degree in School Education at FE, a postgraduate modality linked to the continuing training of teachers. The master's program develops activities and research related to school practices. Preparation for action in public educational policies in management, planning and evaluation of schools and education systems is also one of the focuses of the course.
“Education has many nuances. Our desire is to cover all the specificities, because when this does not happen there is a huge impact on children. This is our role in public education: production of knowledge that allows us to advance conceptually and also in practice”, highlights the teacher.
Boosting school inclusion
From the perspective of inclusive education, guaranteed by Brazilian legislation, it is necessary to guarantee access, permanence and learning for all children, without discrimination. Normal and regular schools need to be prepared to serve the full diversity of students, eliminating barriers that prevent them from studying.
Currently, around 90% of students with special needs attend regular school. But it was not always so. In 1998, this rate was just 13%. The work of social movements and researchers in the field was of singular importance for this advancement. Among them is the Laboratory of Studies and Research in Teaching and Difference (Leped) at FE at Unicamp.
Leped was founded in 1996 and is dedicated to research and activities that contribute to inclusive education. Founded by professor Maria Teresa Égler Mantoan, the development of research in public policies and training of education professionals mark Leped's role in the history of inclusive education in the country.
“Leped is very concerned with the production of knowledge to improve living conditions. Leped’s fight is for a school for everyone and, in this sense, we have several courses at Extecamp, with a huge impact in Brazil”, observes Maria Teresa. The professor, who was one of those responsible for drafting the 2008 National Inclusive Education Policy (PNEEPI), assesses that there is still a lot to be done in terms of training in inclusive education, and the courses help to fill this gap.
On the Unicamp Extension School (Extecamp) platform, there are currently three cultural dissemination courses aimed at inclusive education: “Understanding school inclusion as a right”, “The difference in schools and inclusion in practice: how to teach mathematics (and other subjects) to all students, without adaptations” and “The difference in schools”. In just one of them, more than three thousand students are enrolled. Courses are also offered in partnership with the Center for Public Policy Studies, in the areas of early childhood education and art education.
Leped is also preparing, together with the Brazilian Federation of Down Syndrome Associations (FBASD), 11 online courses on inclusive education, aimed at specific audiences. The materials will be aimed at teachers, families, guardianship counselors, legal professionals, among other groups. The Laboratory and the Federation also periodically hold joint lectures, publications and events.
Training for various professionals is considered fundamental by the president of FBASD, Antonio Sestaro. He explains that the Federation receives constant reports of discrimination in schools and, when parents look for an organization to seek help, there is a gap in knowledge on the subject.
Antonio is the father of Samuel Sestaro, 31 years old. When your son was of school age in the 1990s, the outlook was very challenging. The president of FBASD considers that Leped's actions continue to be fundamental for advances in inclusive education.
Since the 1990s, when FBASD and Leped were created, there has been a partnership between them. Maria Teresa, Antonio and many other defenders of inclusive education worked together to promote public policies.
After the promulgation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2007, the Brazilian Inclusion Law (LBI), the National Inclusive Education Policy, there were significant advances in this regard. However, says Antonio, legal support needs to be accompanied by training in inclusion.
“There is important legal support, but the law alone is not enough. We need society, schools and managers to understand what we are talking about. That's why Leped's courses are fundamental”, he says, highlighting the vanguard role of professor Maria Teresa in inclusive education in Brazil.
In the fight against setbacks
The partnership between Leped and organizations like FBASD also covers political activism. In 2020, when the federal government issued decree 10.502/2020, against inclusive education, they articulated themselves as “friends of the court” in the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) filed with the STF by the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). The government's measure encourages the creation of specialized schools, violating the provisions of the Federal Constitution, the Education Guidelines and Bases Law and the legislation on inclusion.
With the ADI, the STF suspended the decree and is holding a round of hearings on the matter. There is still no forecast for voting on the action. “We are struggling with the current government's options, because the Executive proposed a decree making inclusion unfeasible, with segregating positions. The strength of Leped, together with other non-governmental education and legal organizations, judicialized all proposals that harm the inclusive movement. We arrived at the STF leading a huge group of institutions focused on defending inclusion and we are waiting for the response for the plenary session, where we hope to win”, says the Leped coordinator.
The president of FBASD criticizes the decree, classifying it as “a totally segregating proposal”. The expectation is that it will be overturned, and that inclusion in regular public schools will be strengthened. He also criticizes the ableist vision of the current Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, by declaring that children with disabilities “disturb” other students in the classroom. Behind this vision, he assesses, are the interests of private specialized schools, which have been losing students with advances in inclusion in regular schools.
Education, says Antonio, is fundamental for people with disabilities and also has an impact on employability. It is in regular schools that training must be carried out, without segregation, he assesses. “We understand that we live in an ableist society, but we can influence this society through education. By having parity in education, education for all and a more plural society, we will have a better country”.
