Sobre o ser e o não ser um sujeito ecopolítico: um mergulho nas memórias e experiências dos docentes do Instituto Federal de Sergipe

Abstract

The theme of teacher professional identity has motivated several studies in the educational field. Within the perspective of Environmental Education (EE), this thesis aims to understand the influence of teacher professional identity on the work of professors teaching curriculum components related to EE in higher education courses at the Instituto Federal de Sergipe (IFS). The theoretical-methodological framework adopted in this research is qualitative in nature, using the Thematic Oral History methodology. The participants are professors coordinating curriculum components offered in 2021 and 2022, which fall within the field of EE in higher education across all IFS campuses. The results indicate that teacher professional identities are influenced by their educational background, the presence of EE in their training, motivation for teaching, the EE conceptions adopted, and the presence or absence of evidence of a process of constructing ecopolitical subjects. Regarding the EE conceptions adopted, a predominance of the pragmatic macrotrend was identified. The construction of the ecopolitical subject among IFS professors proved to be heterogeneous, revealing different stages and trajectories, including cases where this construction is incipient or absent, highlighting challenges in forming a professional identity aligned with ecopolitics. The analysis of the experiences and professional practices of IFS professors in the EE context revealed a diverse panorama, marked by different pedagogical approaches, intentions, and levels of engagement. Moreover, there are faculty members whose actions reveal a silencing of Environmental Education, with no indication that a process of developing an ecopolitical subject is underway. The defended and confirmed thesis is that the professional practices of professors working within the EE perspective in curriculum components of IFS higher education courses are influenced by their professional identities, shaped by gaps in the construction of the ecopolitical subject.