Indagação Interdisciplinar no Pátio da Escola (IIPE): aproximações e distinções entre sua proposta e a educação popular freiriana
Abstract
The Interdisciplinary Inquiry in the School's Yard (IIPE) is a
didactic-pedagogical proposal that intends to regard environmental
issues at a local environment, the schoolyard. By its means, educators
and students elaborate questions (inquiry) about the natural, social,
and cultural environment and answer them by observing (action) and
reflecting (reflexion). These are the three steps of the methodology
used, called the inquiry cycle. For this research, we reflect on its
principles and practices in the light of freirian popular education. For
this, we analyze three documents elaborated by IIPE proponents and the
following books by Paulo Freire: Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Pedagogy of
Hope, Pedagogy of Autonomy and Learning to Question. In the quest for
approximations and differences between IIPE and freirian pedagogy we
found many compatibilities and few distinctions. Both approaches value
the people's personal experience and reflection (students and teachers)
as the educational process par excellence, as well as propose an active
posture towards the world. We also investigate the potentialities and
limitations of IIPE in the current school situation. Our objectives, in
two schools in the city of São Carlos, SP, were: to promote the
formation of teachers in the didactic-pedagogical proposal of IIPE; to
elaborate and experience IIPE activities with educators and students in
the current school situation; to reflect on the experience of these
activities from our role as educators; to reflect on the potential and
limits of IIPE for education in general and for environmental education.
From pedagogical interventions, through the training of teachers and the
accomplishment of activities with students, this study was based on
action research. The teachers who attended the training became
co-authors of this part of the research, by reflecting on the lived
experiences. Several factors enabled the development of IIPE activities
in schools and this research. The most relevant ones were the solicitude
and commitment of the educators and the adequacy of the IIPE activities
to the school curriculum. However, we identified crucial obstacles: the
lack of time for joint work among educators to develop interdisciplinary
activities and the limitations arising from the organization of school
time; the tiredness of educators; the choice of themes according to the
sequence of contents of the curriculum; the unwillingness for activities
on the part of students; the higher than ordinary effort of students and
educators; and the students self-confidence. For the viability of IIPE,
we propose some changes. For schools we suggest: maximum limit of 50% of
the educators' working time for interaction with students; reduction of
the working day; valorization of the educators; less students per
classroom; flexibility in the division of time (class duration, topics
and contents in the curriculum); and promotion of activities in which
students participate actively. For IIPE activities, we propose simpler
and shorter activities, gradually increasing its complexity, and
implementing the proposal for continuing education in IIPE in
partnerships between schools and universities.