Brazilian Public Schools Research Articles

Livros didáticos sob a ótica do funcionalismo linguístico: o caso do ensino das orações adverbiais

Este trabalho tem como objetivo central verificar como é tratado o ensino de língua portuguesa nos livros didáticos do ensino médio de escolas públicas brasileiras, em particular, o ensino das orações adverbiais na relação com o funcionalismo linguístico e os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN). Foram analisadas duas coleções de livros didáticos destinadas ao ensino de português (CEREJA; MAGALHÃES, 2010; AMARAL et al., 2010). Para tanto, seguiu-se a linha de investigação teórica do funcionalismo britânico (HALLIDAY et al., 1974; HALLIDAY; HASAN, 1989; HALLIDAY, 2004), bem como premissas compartilhadas entre as vertentes do funcionalismo linguístico. Utilizaram-se ainda os PCN (2000) para o ensino de Língua Portuguesa. O percurso analítico possibilitou verificar que algumas premissas do funcionalismo linguístico, que também estão contidas nos PCN, fazem parte da organização dessas coleções de livros didáticos.

What do Brazilian School Children Know about Birds in Their Country?

<p style="text-align:justify">Children have a basic knowledge of birds that they observe during their everyday life either in their garden, other gardens, round the house, walking in the local area or in the yard on school gardens. A total of 515 children, aged 3 to 16 (249 girls and 266 boys) enrolled in southern Brazilian public preschools, primary school and secondary schools, were invited to participate in this exploratory study. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 206 pupils asking to name which birds they knew, where they had seen these birds, which ones live around home, which they had seen further away. Additionally, they were asked which birds they knew from a list and the source of this knowledge where they had learned about the birds. They were asked to draw on a sheet of paper a representation of what the word “bird” meant to them. Results show the importance of everyday observations rather than beyond formal education in the children knowledge. Children from the earliest years notice birds in their everyday lives, and build a bank of knowledge, gradually acquiring an understanding of adaptation to a variety of habitats. Children notice birds in their lives to differing extent and sources according to the culture in which they are immersed. Experiences of seeing or finding out about birds are encapsulated for many children in the form of narratives and contribute to their mental models of birds and their habitats on which they will drew in formal science later (Biology and Environmental Education). Educational implications are discussed.</p>

Parental supervision and alcohol use among Brazilian adolescents: Analysis of data from the National School-based Health Survey 2015

Objective To evaluate the relationship between parental supervision and sociodemographic factors and alcohol use by Brazilian adolescents. Methods This is a cross-sectional study with data from National School-based Health Survey (PeNSE) 2015, which included 16,608 adolescents aged 13 to 17 students from Brazilian public and private schools. Variables related to alcohol use, sociodemographic factors and parental supervision were evaluated. In order to analyze the relation between sociodemographic variables and parental supervision with use of alcohol among adolescents, we use Prevalence Ratios stratified by sex. Results We observed that 61.4% of adolescents had taste alcohol, 27.2% had a drunken episode in their lifetime, 9.3% have had problems with alcohol and 29.3% reported alcohol use in last 30 days. The lack of parental supervision was associated with increased use of alcohol. The proportion of alcohol use was also higher for girls and also among those who were older than 16 years, worked, did not live with one or both parents and lived in the South, regardless of sex. Conclusion Our results showed early experimentation with alcohol and the occurrence of problems due to the use of this substance among adolescents. In addition, the lack of children monitoring by parents and guardians, shows risk of alcohol use in this age.

Technologies and Teacher’s Motivational Style: A Research Study in Brazilian Public Schools

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is increasingly a part of discussions on educational innovation and teaching practices. Research from the last decade points out the difficulty of integrating technologies in education and highlights the variety of elements favouring/preventing change in teaching and learning methods. In this article, we defend that the methodology adopted by teachers, their approach with regard to students in the classroom and what literature calls educational professionals’ «motivational style» (Decy & Ryan, 1985 and 2000; Reeve, Bolt, & Cai, 1999; Guimaraes & Boruchovitch, 2004; Pischetola, 2016) are the elements that most lead to a significant role for ICT in teaching practices. The discussion relies on self-determination theory and the assumption of the existence of more autonomy-supportive or more controlling teacher’s motivating styles. Based on this premise, we present here a qualitative study undertaken between 2014 and 2016 at eight municipal primary schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As a whole, we undertook 64 semi-structured interviews with teachers from the selected schools. The obtained results have allowed us to demonstrate a relationship between teachers’ motivational style with the use of technology and the creation (or otherwise) of a dialogue-based and democratic space in the classroom.

Post-critique in contemporary ELT praxis

Abstract This article investigates the importance of critical thinking in English language teaching. It begins with an examination of the notion of praxis and its relevance for current critical literacy research and teacher education programmes. One such programme was a distance-learning course offered to English teachers from Brazilian public schools from November 2016 to November 2017. An analysis of excerpts from posts on Moodle forums and online chats from this course was made in order to ascertain whether participants acknowledge the importance of critical literacy and are able to identify any hindrances to its implementation in the classroom. This article concludes by advocating a post-critical (HOY, 2005) approach to the development of English teachers’ critical praxis, based on the concepts of self-reflexivity and ethics.

Expectativas dos professores e mismatch racial na escola pública brasileira

RESUMO O artigo examina em que medida as similaridades ou discrepâncias raciais entre professores e alunos nas turmas das escolas públicas brasileiras influenciam as expectativas docentes. Adicionalmente, são analisadas a ocorrência de diferenciais de gênero nas expectativas e a interseccionalidade com as diferenças raciais. Os dados utilizados são da Prova Brasil 2013 (BRASIL, 2015). A principal conclusão é que a similaridade racial entre professores e turmas de alunos negros está associada a maiores expectativas docentes, especialmente quanto à conclusão do ensino fundamental e entrada na universidade. Além disso, o fato de as turmas serem lecionadas por professoras também está vinculado a maiores expectativas. Contudo, as expectativas são explicadas em grande medida pelo aprendizado dos estudantes em matemática e pelo ambiente pedagógico em sala de aula.

Food environment, social deprivation and obesity among students from Brazilian public schools.

To investigate the relationship between social deprivation and the food environment. Furthermore, to evaluate if the food environment is associated with the prevalence of obesity among students in Brazilian public schools. Cross-sectional. For the classification of obesity, weight and height were measured, and the cut-off point of BMI-for-age Z-score >+2 was adopted. Social deprivation level was determined from the Health Vulnerability Index (HVI). To assess the food environment, the density of food establishments in urban residential areas was calculated. Associations between the food environment and the presence of obesity were estimated by binary logistic regression through a generalized estimating equations model. Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Children and adolescents (n 661) aged 7-14 years. The lowest social deprivation level showed a higher density of all types of establishments that sold predominantly unhealthy foods. An inverse association was found between the density of supermarkets and hypermarkets and the presence of obesity (OR=0·58; 95 % CI 0·36, 0·93). For the other categories of food retailers, no significant differences were found. The findings reinforce the need for public policies that promote equality in the food environments of the city. Also, further investigations into the influence of the presence of supermarkets on the nutritional status of children and adolescents are required.

Por um conselho escolar efetivamente democrático: uma proposta concreta

The present article deals with a theoretical reflection based on interpretative bibliographical research along the lines of Gil (2002). The objective is to formulate a concrete proposal for structuring and materializing an effectively democratic School Council within the framework of democratic public school management. In order to formulate such a proposal, it relies on official regulations that support the compulsory democratic management and the School Board in the Brazilian public school and works with the perspective of defending the importance of the participation of the school community in the decision making processes of school management. It also conceives the Council as a representative collegiate body that enhances citizenship within the framework of democratic management. The article uses especially the following references: Paro (2004); Luck (2009); Cury (2007); Dourado (2007) and Libâneo (2001).

Converting the Schoolyard Into a Learning Space: A Strategy for Public Education

Technology and globalization have shaped the generation of students in the 21st century. However, actions to configure school space remain stuck in 20th century standards. This article describes a study that contributes with strategies of innovative pedagogies by exploring the use of available spaces in Brazilian public schools. The study involved teaching and learning school curricular subjects in the schoolyard through physical interventions that were designed using playground equipment. Despite the absence of spatial boundaries, usually made by walls in seminar rooms, the interventions polarized the distribution of students in the courtyard with no loss of pedagogical control. An implicit hierarchy was established in the relationship between teacher and students, since the teacher’s position did not differ spatially from the student’s position, offering freedom for interaction.

Limites e possibilidades do direito à educação pública: contribuições freireanas ao Ensino Musical

O presente artigo se insere nas discusses acerca do retorno do Ensino Musical educao bsica brasileira, em decorrncia da Lei n 11.769 sancionada em Agosto de 2008 pelo ento presidente Luiz Incio Lula da Silva. Tendo como foco o universo sociocultural da Escola Pblica o texto busca argumentar, que os objetivos poltico-pedaggicos a serem delineados pela Formao Musical, devem ser constitudos a partir de uma compreenso mais ampla sobre o processo de construo social da escola pblica brasileira, da apreenso de suas determinaes histrico-sociais e das insuficincias marcantes em sua expanso, bem como de suas aberturas a usos e apropriaes voltadas a uma formao efetivamente democrtica e emancipadora. Para tais objetivos, recorre-se, dentre outros, ao pensamento educacional de Paulo Freire.

Estudo correlacional entre funções executivas e desempenho escolar

As Funções Executivas se referem a um conjunto de processos cognitivos e metacognitivos que exercem controle e regulam o comportamento frente às exigências e demandas do meio. O estudo das Funções Executivas tem sido organizado em habilidades que direcionam o comportamento como as habilidades de planejamento. O planejamento consiste na capacidade de estabelecer a melhor forma de alcançar um objetivo proposto, levando em consideração o percurso e a utilização de instrumentos essenciais para a conquista de uma meta. O estudo objetivou verificar a relação entre o processo de planejamento e o desempenho acadêmico de estudantes do Ensino Fundamental I. Os participantes foram 142 alunos de escolas públicas do Sul de Minas Gerais, com idades entre oito e nove anos, de ambos os sexos sendo 79 meninos (55,6%). O instrumento utilizado foi Teste da Torre de Londres (SEABRA et al., 2012). A avaliação do desempenho escolar considerou os conceitos dados pelos professores aos alunos nas oito disciplinas de um bimestre letivo. Para a análise dos dados foi ponderada a correlação de Pearson e para as discussões o levantamento da literatura da área. Os principais resultados indicam que houve correlação positiva e significativa entre a habilidade cognitiva de planejamento e os desempenhos nas disciplinas de Matemática, Artes e Literatura. Considerando que o desenvolvimento das Funções Executivas pode se relacionar com aprendizagem de conteúdos escolares sugere-se que intervenções intencionais sejam realizadas nas escolas para o desenvolvimento das habilidades cognitivas e melhor aproveitamento escolar dos estudantes.

The impact of internet access at home and/or school on students' academic performance in urban areas in Brazil

Using the propensity scores matching methodology, the paper assesses the impact of internet access at school and/or at home on standardised Portuguese and Mathematics tests of 9th graders in urban public schools in Brazil for years 2007 and 2009. The results suggest that internet access at home considerably improves Portuguese and mathematics test scores for both years. While internet access at school does not improve the academic performance of students in 2007, it has a positive effect in 2009, although of smaller magnitude when compared to the effect of internet at home. The sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of the results. The results along with previous research suggest that the efforts to increase internet access at schools can result in much higher magnitude of improvement of students' academic performance if they are combined with policy initiatives to increase home internet access and incorporate internet-based educational tools at schools.

Parental supervision and alcohol use among Brazilian adolescents: analysis of data from National School-based Health Survey 2015.

To evaluate the relation between parental supervision and sociodemographic factors and alcohol use by Brazilian adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study with data from National School-based Health Survey (PeNSE) 2015, which included 16,608 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years, students from Brazilian public and private schools. Variables related to alcohol use, sociodemographic factors and parental supervision were evaluated. In order to analyze the relation between sociodemographic variables, parental supervision and use of alcohol among adolescents, prevalence ratios stratified by sex were used. It was observed that 61.4% of the adolescents had tried alcohol, 27.2% had a drunken episode in their lifetime, 9.3% have had problems with alcohol and 29.3% reported alcohol use in last 30 days. The lack of parental supervision was associated with increased use of alcohol. The proportion of alcohol use was higher for girls, and also among those who were older than 16 years, worked, did not live with one or both parents, and lived in the South, regardless of sex. The results showed early alcohol experimentation and occurrence of problems due to its use among Brazilian adolescents. In addition, the lack of monitoring by parents and guardians shows a risk of alcohol use in this age.

Análise de discurso multimodal sistêmico-funcional de livros didáticos de inglês do ensino médio da educação pública

O livro didático de língua inglesa é uma realidade recente no sistema brasileiro de educação pública. Embora os alunos tenham garantido o direito constitucional de aprender pelo menos uma língua estrangeira na educação básica, o Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD) passou a distribuir livros de inglês bem recentemente. Como esse material pedagógico é de fundamental importância para o ensino e aprendizagem da língua estrangeria no contexto educacional público, torna-se relevante investigá-lo sob o viés de pesquisas recentes em linguística aplicada. Neste artigo analisamos aspectos multimodais das duas coleções de inglês mais adotadas nas escolas públicas de ensino médio, High Up e Way to go, aprovadas pelo PNLD-2015. Adotamos uma perspectiva multimodal sistêmico-funcional para compreender as relações entre as verbiagens e as imagens nestes instrumentos de significação multifacetados e complexos (BUNZEN, 2008). Com base em elementos do arcabouço de Painter, Martin e Unsworth (2013), analisamos o corpus a partir de três perspectivas: a integração multimodal, o enquadramento e o foco para entender como os espaços visuais são compostos. Acreditamos que estudos como o relatado neste texto podem ajudar professores de inglês a compreender os aspectos multimodais presentes nos livros com os quais trabalham para que possam aperfeiçoar suas práticas pedagógicas. Palavras-Chave: Análise de Discurso Multimodal Sistêmico-Funcional; Livros Didáticos de Língua Inglesa; Educação Pública.

Young high school students and technologies: an experience of collaborative production of digital didactic materials

The paper presents results of research and teaching project focused on the production of digital didactic materials, developed with high school students of a Brazilian public school. The project included investigative activities carried out by the students themselves, guided by teachers from two different school disciplines, in order to solve real problems. The motivation was the organization of a collection of documents linked to an industry for the processing of the erva mate, as a didactic material to be used in school by other people to study the industrialization processes in the state of Paraná, at the beginning of the 20th century. The article addresses issues on information and communication technologies and their use in school; problematizes their insertion into school practices only to support traditional ways to teaching and learning based on teachers oral presentation; and proposes the organization of didactic activities with an emphasis on research and with an interdisciplinary character. In this proposition, students not only use digital didactic materials prepared by teachers or other agents, but contribute to produce didactic materials that will be used by other subjects. The analysis of the results was organized into three categories: 1. New forms of relationship with knowledge based on research; 2. technologies and differentiated modes of learning; 3. Training for professional world.

Tecnologias digitais e ensino: o ensino de informática auxiliando no processo de ensino/aprendizagem

A informática tem apresentado um processo evolutivo crescente desde seu surgimento até o presente momento. A escola pública brasileira recebeu vários incentivos e formas de implantação de cursos de informática nos últimos anos. No entanto, detectou-se a falta de conhecimento e treinamento para professores para ensinar e lidar com as questões dessa ordem nas escolas e muitos laboratórios de informática permanecem sem uso. Diante do quadro, optou-se pelo oferecimento de um curso de informática e foi muito bem aceito. O curso foi ministrado em uma escola pública, aos sábados, durante quatro meses por um aluno do curso de Geografia da UFGD. O resultado foi positivo. O acesso ao conhecimento da informática é dever do estado, todavia na sua falta, ações de voluntariado continuam sempre bem-vindas.

Redação na escola: o que os professores dizem e silenciam sobre essa prática

The concern with writing at elementary school instigated us to carry out a large study to investigate elementary school teachers’ discourse about their students related to composition writing, that is, how teachers imagine their students’ writing processes. Our corpus is selected from an ample field of discourse. Discursive sequences of reference were selected from cut-outs from written statements by approximately thirty elementary school teachers from Brazilian public schools. This investigation adopts the perspective of French Discourse Analysis, the Socio-Historical Theory of Literacy, Freud and Lacan’s Psychoanalysis and in the Science of Education. Our results show that: a) teachers focus more on what they imagine to be students’ flaws and gaps of knowledge, and less on students’ cumulated knowledge; b) teachers do not see themselves as professionals capable of dealing with what they presume to be students’ difficulties related to writing; c) some students’ oral discourse is not acknowledged nor valued by teachers; d) teachers imagine some students to be at level zero of literacy as they start their schooling. We believe there can be a teachers’ subscription into a discursive formation which allowed them to imagine their students as subjects who start school with some literacy background. With that in mind, teachers might develop a teaching practice considering discursive memory, students’ memories and their meanings, leading them to identify with their original meanings. We see it as urgent that narrative discourse is incorporated to teaching practices and contents in elementary schools. Among other possibilities, the narrative discourse allows students to express their subjectivity. That is a fundamental condition to make sense of their own discourse, from the perspective of historicized-interpreter, and to become authors of their own speech. We believe that pre-service courses for teachers have an important role in offering writing experience for those learning to teach. We advocate the mastering of knowledge related to writing encourages differentiation among students, assuring them greater participation in social practices.

Planejamento em escolas públicas brasileiras na perspectiva de uma gestão escolar interdependente

This work proposes an analysis of the organizational planning adopted by brazilian public schools, in the face of an interdependent school management construct based on the Contingency Theory's assumptions, intending to offer subsidies to managers and researchers in the area of Administration and School Management. For this purpose, the Direct Money in School Program (PDDE Interativo), a planning tool developed and made available by the Brazilian government in support of management in the public education network, is used as reference. It is considered that the adoption of Interactive PDDE has not provided school management efficiency gains in relation to long-term organizational goals. The guiding question for the study was: How is the methodology of the Interactive PDDE characterized by a school management perspective based on the Contingency Theory? A Case Study Method was used to qualitatively address the object of study. As results, it was identified that (1) the administrative methodologies can be taken as technological variables that influence the organizational structure and, therefore, as contingent factors of the school organization; (2) that the critical points lie in the axis of the organizational environment analysis; (3) and that the drivers for the adjustment of the Interactive PDDE will involve the articulation of the diagnostic dimensions, establishment of objectives and evaluation procedures.

Medical Professionalism: the Effects of Sociodemographic Diversity and Curricular Organization on the Attitudinal Performance of Medical Students

ABSTRACT Introduction: Socioeconomic and demographic diversity in the educational environment and the development of professional attitudes enhance the quality of health care delivery. Despite the importance of diversity for equity and accessibility to health care, its repercussions for students’ attitudinal learning have not been adequately evaluated. Purpose: Evaluate the influence of academic sociodemographic diversity and curricular organization in the development of professional attitudes in different phases of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Method: In 2012, the attitudinal performance of 310 socioeconomically diverse medical students was evaluated by the administration of a five-point professional attitudes scale. The participants were at different points in their education at a Brazilian public school of medicine in Brasília, Federal District. The scale comprised 6 factors: communication, ethics, professional excellence, self-assessment, beliefs, social determinants; and a general factor called medical professionalism and was validated for the purpose of this research. The reliability coefficients (aCronbach) ranged from 0.65 to 0.87, according to different scale dimensions. Student diversity was analyzed according to differences in gender, age, religious affiliation, system of student selection and socioeconomic background. Results: The authors observed a decline in the mean attitude scores during the clinical phase compared to the preclinical phase of the curriculum. Female students displayed more positive attitudes than male students, and the students who declared a religious affiliation recorded higher attitude scores compared to those who declared themselves atheist, agnostic or non-religious. There was no correlation between family income or the system of student selection and the students’ attitude scores. The students who had attended public schools expressed a greater interest in working in the public health system compared to the other students. Age and marital status had no relevant effect on attitude scores. Conclusions: The attitude scores of medical students declined as the curriculum progressed. Female students had more positive attitudes than male students. Religious affiliation appeared to positively influence the observed attitude scores.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES AND INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITY: BRAZILIAN TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES

O estudo teve como objetivo analisar o conceito de inclusão dos professores de Educação Física e determinar os aspectos positivos e negativos em suas aulas. Foram realizadas entrevistas com 18 professores de Educação Física que trabalham em escolas públicas brasileiras. Os dados coletados foram analisados utilizando-se o método de análise de conteúdo, em busca de temas emergentes. Os resultados mostraram que a inclusão é compreendida pelos professores como participação e aprendizagem para todas as crianças e não apenas para aqueles com deficiência. Os esportes coletivos foram relatados como o principal desafio para a inclusão de alunos com deficiência. Programas de formação inicial e de capacitação continuada para os professores precisam propor práticas pedagógicas eficazes para promover a inclusão, levando a reestruturação da formação de professores de Educação Física.