Formação inicial e continuada de professores de matemática em Timor-Leste: limites e desafios

Abstract

At the moment, the urgency about searching for professional qualification by Mathematics teachers and other education professionals is outstanding. Thus, it is common that such professionals attend to extension courses, lectures, seminars and other exposure moments on issues related to interest areas which become necessary to achieve the proper qualifications and guide professional practice. Currently, teaching practice in elementary schools requires qualification and proper training in order to prepare teachers and other education professionals to work with students and also with everyday social problems. So, this study aims to analyze basic education Mathematics teachers’ initial and continuing training, as well as limits and challenges faced in public elementary schools located in Maliana sub-district, Bobonaro district of East Timor. We support theoretically on authors such as Mercado (1999), Nóvoa (1999), Sutherland (2009), Tardif (2011), Freire (2011), Reis (2011), D'Ambrosio (2012), Fiorentini & Lorenzato (2012), Nacarato & Paiva (2013), Chiari & Carvalho (2013), among others. This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, which had as subjects ten Mathematics teachers, a director and two school coordinators, using strategies such as participant observation, open questionnaires, structured interviews and short course. Such strategies were evaluated as our data collection tool, which occurred over a three-month period, from December 2013 to February 2014, according to established schedule for research. After collecting data, analysis and discussion have been examined. Results showed, at first, the limits resulting from school situation in East Timor, as well as changes arising in schools, difficulties and obstacles faced by teachers in their everyday work with students, such as the use of methods and teaching materials limitation. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into consideration challenges that educators face and overcome even in adverse conditions. Among them, the most important emphasized factor is the interviewed teachers’ reality: some of them teach a discipline for which they have no training for. We also note that four teachers were trained in Mathematics, two did so in Indonesian language and other two in Portuguese. However, according to the new Ministry of Education Law, all should teach Mathematics in Portuguese. For us, researchers and educators from East Timor, this is the biggest challenge faced right now.