A formação de professores e a interculturalidade: ente o rural e o urbano em uma escola no interior do Estado de São Paulo

Abstract

This study addresses continuing teacher education from an intercultural perspective in a municipal urban school that serves students from rural areas in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The research is guided by the following question: what are the formative needs of teachers in a municipal school that serves students from rural areas, from an intercultural perspective? The general objective was to analyze how continuing teacher education can contribute to the promotion of interculturality, identifying the formative needs of teachers in this context. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the discussions on alterity, teaching practice, experience, and professional development. This research adopted a qualitative approach, using as methodological procedures the observation of Collective Pedagogical Work Time (HTPC), the documentary analysis of the municipal education legislation and regulations, the application of questionnaires, and interviews with teachers and the pedagogical coordinator of the school. The results reveal that, although teachers recognize the importance of cultural diversity and develop practices that are sensitive to the lived experiences of students from rural areas, there is no systematized institutional policy of continuing education focused on interculturality. Although the HTPC has the potential to be a formative space, it has not yet been consolidated as a systematic environment for intercultural reflection. Intercultural pedagogical practices occur mainly through individual initiatives, revealing formative gaps related to the articulation between rural and urban knowledge, intercultural teaching strategies, and institutional support for teaching practice. It is concluded that the main formative needs of teachers are related to the expansion of theoretical and practical training on interculturality, the development of methodologies that integrate students’ knowledge into the curriculum, the strengthening of the HTPC as a formative space, and institutional support for pedagogical management. This study contributes to the debate on teacher education in contexts of sociocultural diversity, reinforcing interculturality as an ethical, political, and pedagogical horizon for basic education.