A survey carried out by the Casagrande Institute with 5 thousand teachers from all over the country found that 61.2% of the consulted teachers believe that public education will deteriorate in Brazil in the next decade. Already 25.6% believe in improvements, while 9.2% say that there will be no significant change in the period. The remaining 4% were unable to answer or did not complete the survey. The teachers responded through the institute’s Whatsapp channel. The president of the institute, Renato Casagrande, said that in a world like today, with so many changes, the percentage of teachers who believe in some change in public education in Brazil is very small. “It is a sign that we are experiencing a crisis of optimism, of identity, of perspectives in Brazilian education today. This saddens us a lot and worries us.” The theme will be debated at the 4th International Congress Um Novo Tempo na Educação, which will be held in Curitiba, from May 31st to June 2nd, with the participation of the greatest scholars and specialists in education in Brazil, psychologists and public agents linked to the area. Qualitative research was even carried out to support the speakers at the congress. “The data will help great educators to be able to carry out an analysis, especially of some topics that worry teachers and even justify this discouragement on the part of our teachers”. Post-pandemic When returning to face-to-face classes, in the post-pandemic of covid-19, teachers expected, at first, to be more optimistic, because they had tried new practices in remote teaching, they had made new experiences, but the school had not changed, Casagrande said. “They went back to the same building, the same physical structure, which clashed a bit with the students and teachers, because they lived a different methodology, with more freedom and more autonomy, and when they returned, they found the old school”, explained. He recalls that there was a lot of talk during the pandemic about new legislation, “but nothing has changed”. Teachers cited in the survey that they had this first impact of going back to school associated with an emotional upheaval. They observed the most anguished students, least interested in the classes. And they confessed that they also came back less excited. “They said that they felt apathy, indiscipline on the part of the students and did not feel motivated or mobilized to deal with this feeling of return”, said Casagrande. Therefore, according to the director, they consider that the school, which was already not good, has deteriorated. Another issue felt by the professors is that the new professors are no longer oriented like the old ones and choose teaching not because of their vocation, but because of an opportunity and because it is a cheaper course. For older teachers, there is no criterion in the selection of teachers by schools. And that contaminates the environment, said Renato Casagrande. “They see new teachers coming in without proper preparation and without, at least, the initial motivation”. For the consulted teachers, the system is contaminated, the school is sadder and unprepared for the new times. Technology The president of Instituto Casagrande believes that schools are not ready for a change and have a lot of difficulty dealing with basic technologies and even more with new technologies, which include artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT (intelligent virtual assistant) . Teachers, also according to Casagrande, believe that there will be a greater distance between higher and lower income students or students from private schools in relation to students from public schools. “It also discourages teachers from having a more optimistic view of the future.” This week, the second part of the research, quantitative, is being carried out, which will measure this apathy shown by Brazilian teachers in the post-covid-19 pandemic and how unprepared teachers feel to deal with new technologies. In the evaluation of the former Minister of Education Cristovam Buarque, the result of the survey reflects the uncertainties about the current challenges and the increasing speed of changes in the educational and pedagogical areas. “In the contacts I have with educators, we are noticing the need to capture changes ahead, according to the evolution of society and the curves that history is taking. To intervene in the future, it is first necessary to understand it”, emphasizes Cristovam Buarque. The former minister is one of the confirmed speakers at the 4th International Congress A New Time in Education. At the end of the congress, a letter will be prepared to be sent to the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana.
Agência Brasil
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