Professoras de uma escola inclusiva - uma análise da relação entre a concepção de pessoa e a postura tolerante

Abstract

The present research aims at investigating the relationship between the concept of person and the construction of a tolerant attitude, based on the conceptions of four teachers from a public elementary school, known as inclusive, in Santa Maria/RS, during 2003. The research line is practices in school and the methodological approach used was the qualitative one, presented as a case study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations of pedagogical practices. The analysis of the data consisted of a systematization of three general categories. After that, these categories were subdivided into units. The categories and their respective units are: 1. Choice for the Teaching Profession: lack of another option, profession or vocation; 2. Concept of person: feelings and intelligence; 3. Tolerance and Inclusive Education: respect facing the difference, limit and life experience. The review of literature consists of three chapters. In the first one the structural aspects of philosophical anthropology are introduced, focusing on the etymological and historical origin of the concept of person. The second chapter deals with general notions regarding tolerance. In the third chapter some historical aspects of Special Education are analyzed, as well as the challenges and possibilities to inclusive schooling today. The concluding remarks point out to a relation between the factors that motivated the choice for the Teaching Profession and the construction of a teacher s tolerant attitude in relation to the personal difference of each student.