Professional formation and experiences of some Chemistry Teachers of the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil) about educational inclusion of the deaf

Abstract

Discussions about Education Inclusion over the past 25 years emphasize the importance of having equal access to knowledge for all, without obstacles or segregation. To effect educational inclusion, it is necessary to articulate a joint cooperation with professionals involved in this process, one of them being the teacher. It is important that this professional constantly reflects about the different demands related to his educational action, seeking to articulate methodological strategies that contemplate diversity and favor the construction of new knowledge without distinction. Then, this paper will discuss a qualitative research with an exploratory approach that aimed to investigate the professional formation and experiences related to the deaf educational inclusion of nine professors of the Chemistry Bachelor course of the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil). In this investigation, we sought to know the perceptions about Inclusive Education of these teachers, the possible ways of mediating scientific knowledge in inclusive spaces and the methodological means that they would use to favor the teaching and learning of Chemistry in classrooms with deaf people. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to content analysis proposed by Bardin. As a result, it was found that the training of teachers to work with inclusion in general and of the deaf was less than desirable for the demands brought by the current moment in Brazilian universities, being that they demonstrated very general conceptions and that they were based only on reflections superficial and informal exchanges of experiences with some colleagues. This demonstrates the great challenge that still faces the inclusion process of the deaf and other students, especially in the current context, in which inclusive policies favor the insertion of these group in different educational spaces. As the University is a space for professional development, it is urgent to expand this discussion to the teachers in service, through training promoted by the institution itself, considering that this theme was not part of the trajectory of them. In addition, there is a need for a systematic discussion on inclusive issues in the pre-service Chemistry teachers, not being restricted to the Brazilian Sign Language discipline that is mandatory in the Teacher’s Bachelor Courses. With this, it is verified the need to have adequate qualification that contemplates the integrated work with other specialist professionals. Thus, teachers may be better able to articulate the mediation of knowledge in the face of many inclusion’s demands, being able to promote educational mediation in the Chemistry classroom that in fact manage to contemplate the differences and favor effective access to scientific knowledge.