Concepcões e práticas pedagógicas dos professores da Guiné-Bissau na perspectiva da educação inclusiva

Abstract

This study, which falls under the research area of “Scientific Production and Human Resource Development in Education,” had the overall objective of examining the conceptions regarding the teaching-learning process and the pedagogical practices of elementary school teachers in Guinea-Bissau, and determining whether these align with the philosophy of inclusive education. As specific objectives, it sought to analyze the influence of variables such as gender, age group, years of experience, teaching location, initial training, subject area, and prior professional experience with students with disabilities and as a on conceptions of the teaching-learning process and pedagogical practices. The study characterized as a quantitative, descriptive-correlational research and conducted in Guinea-Bissau, specifically with a sample of 87 teachers from different areas of elementary education. Data collection was performed using the Teaching-Learning Conceptions and Practices Questionnaire (TCPQ), which contains 26items with responses based on a five-point Likert scale, generating indicators on four factors and allowing for the identification of teaching-learning conceptions (comprehensive, collaborative, or conventional, systematic), and whether pedagogical practices are inclusive or conservative.The overall results indicate a stronger tendency among Guinean teachers toward conventional, systematic conceptions and conservative teaching practices, although the averages for comprehensive and collaborative conceptions and inclusive teaching practices are also relatively high. The data revealed a highly heterogeneous group of teachers in terms of pedagogical conceptionsandpractices, withsignificantvariationslinkedtoinitialtraining and age, institutional context, field of work, and professional experience, corroborating the literature that views teaching as a situated practice, constructed over the course of one’s professional career and conditioned by individual and organizational factors. It is concluded that the consolidation of inclusive education in the Guinean context depends on contextualized teacher training, the recognition of the value of different fields of practice, and the overcoming of inequalities between the capital and the interior.