Selection process for the third class of the course
aimed at teacher training takes place on the 4th of July

Graduation course
of teachers has
98,4% approval of students

MANUEL ALVES FILHO

A Unicamp will register on June 19th for the selection process that will define the 400 new students of one of its courses with greater social reach, aimed at training, in Pedagogy, teachers who already work in Early Childhood Education and in the first grades of Education Fundamental of the 19 municipalities that make up the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (RMC). Known by the acronym Proesf, the program, which lasts three years, will receive its third class in 2004. The exam will be held on July 4, a Sunday, at locations yet to be announced. Registration of those approved will take place on July 27th and classes will begin on August 3rd. The registration fee (R$50,00) must be paid at any Banespa branch.

With the entry of the third class, the demand for the Pedagogy course will be practically met among teachers in the RMC municipal education networks, according to the coordinators of Proesf, Sérgio Leite and Elisabete Pereira, professors at the Faculty of Education (FE). The requirement that teachers in Early Childhood and Elementary education have higher education is set out in the Education Guidelines and Bases Law (LDB). Professor Elisabete Pereira highlights that Proesf has been an emblematic example of how public universities can interact with society, in an attempt to find solutions to the latter's problems.

The Pedagogy training program, recalls the specialist, is the result of efforts not only by Unicamp, through FE, but also by the municipal Education departments, which are partners in the endeavor. “The support from city halls has been essential for the smooth running of activities,” she states. The cooperation began in 2001, on the occasion of the launch of the Special Training Program for In-Service Teachers, an initiative that preceded Proesf.

Classes will start on August 3rd

Although it was an immediate response from Unicamp and the Faculty of Education to the need for qualification of teachers who worked in Early Childhood and Elementary education, it was a timid action, as it only offered 45 extra places in the Pedagogy course, in the evening. “On that occasion, the municipal education secretaries applauded the measure, but highlighted that there was a need to expand the offer, given the large number of professionals in municipal networks who only had training in the old Teaching course, at secondary level”, he recalls. the FE teacher.

From that moment on, says professor Sérgio Leite, the idea of ​​creating another course, larger in size, that could receive a more significant contingent of students arose. A working group was then formed, made up of representatives from Unicamp and the municipal Education departments, which within a year prepared the bases for what would become Proesf. As the program would require a robust structure in terms of human resources, the experts chose to work first with the training of so-called Pedagogical Assistants, the APs. To this end, the Education departments appointed teachers from the networks who were already pedagogues or had some other qualification.

During the first semester of 2002, they participated in a full-time specialization course. “As soon as Proesf began its activities, these APs began to work on training their network colleagues, in three different centers - Campinas, Americana and Vinhedo -, under the supervision of professors from the Faculty of Education. These, in turn, also participate in classroom activities, teaching, for example, master classes”, explains professor Elisabete Pereira. The definition of hubs, according to her, makes it easier for students to move around, thus favoring face-to-face activities.

Furthermore, adds professor Sérgio Leite, the Proesf coordinators, the APs and representatives of the Education departments meet frequently to evaluate the actions and their results. This care, he says, allows possible failures to be identified quickly, consequently accelerating measures to remedy them. The methodology used in Proesf, highlight the coordinators, offers a solid theoretical basis to students, based on the experience they already have in the classroom. The work has two axes: cultural activities and everyday research. The first aims to expand cultural background beyond the pedagogical issue and the second allows for a reinterpretation of daily practice in the classroom.

Results – According to the Proesf coordinators – professor Ângela Soligo is the third member of the group – the results and effects provided by the program have been excellent. One of the consequences of the course is the participation of the Faculty of Education in the creation of a continuing education system for the municipal education networks of the 19 cities in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (RMC). Unicamp, through FE, will act as a regional unifying hub, focusing on the continuous improvement of teaching staff in the municipalities. Furthermore, in November, according to professor Sérgio Leite, the University will promote a national seminar to discuss special programs for training in-service teachers.

Additionally, Unicamp experts reveal, students enrolled in the program have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with it. A fact that reflects this situation well are the low dropout rates, which stood at 1,7% and 1,5% in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Proesf's general evaluation, carried out at the end of 2003, indicated that 98,4% of students considered the activities good or very good for their training and 96% expressed approval in relation to the work of the teaching assistants. “Proesf is the result of the social commitment of the Faculty of Education and Unicamp. It represents the completion of one of the struggles that the Faculty undertakes to improve the quality of public education and teacher training”, says professor Elisabete Pereira.

Calendar from Proesf

Registration fee: June 19, from 9am to 16pm, at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing (IMECC), in Barão Geraldo, Campinas. Fee: R$50,00 – payment can be made between the 1st and 19th of June, at any Banespa branch. Test locations: The announcement will be made on June 29th in the press, in the lobby of Unicamp's Basic Cycle II and on the internet (www.convest.unicamp.br). Test date: July 4th, from 13pm. Call for first registration: July 22nd – the list will be published in the press, in the Ciclo Básico II lobby and on the internet (www.convest.unicamp.br). First registration: July 27th, at the Academic Board (DAC), in Barão Geraldo, Campinas, from 9am to 19pm. Registration for students on the waiting list will take place on the same day, from 20pm to 21pm. Source: Faculty of Education (FE) at Unicamp