História de vida pessoal e profissional de uma professora do campo

Abstract

This thesis investigates a teacher of the first years of Elementary School, who works in a countryside school in the city of Alegre in Espírito Santo, in order to understand how life history enables the understanding of personal and professional trajectory of the countryside school teacher and, in this action, restore what it is like to be a countryside teacher. It aims at making and systematizing in a contextualized way the Alegre’s countryside teachers’ trajectory based on visual narratives (photography) and oral ones coming from conversations/dialogues between professors (researcher and researched) and on written documents analysis. It uses, as foundation, the life history methodology and the theorists Moita (2007), Goodson (2007), Fontoura (2007), Nóvoa (2007), Santos (2004) and Bosi (1994). It concludes that the nearness developed among the researcher and the researched was indispensable to establish the trust and complicity link for the development of the Life History methodology. It highlights that being a countryside teacher in the researched perspective means to have one’s own family life intermediated by her professional life, which is noticeable on the moments when professional choice was and is supported by the family, as the basis for her decision of starting studying again and accomplishing formations throughout her professional trajectory. On the other hand, professional history is based on her own life, on her own experience and on the theoretical knowledge that comes from her formation, supporting her actions and perceptions on how to be a teacher. However, being a teacher is also related to public policies of teachers’ formation and action, whose, depending on government changes, countryside actions may be encouraged, while in other situations, they may be extinct or abandoned.