Possibilidades do currículo integrado: um olhar para o curso técnico em informática integrado ao ensino médio da Escola Estadual de Ensino Médio Profª Maria Rocha/RS

Abstract

This research, entitled Possibilities of the Integrated Curriculum: A Perspective on the Technical Course in Informatics Integrated with Secondary Education at Professora Maria Rocha State High School (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), was developed within Macroproject 3 – Educational Practices in the Integrated Curriculum, Line 1 – Educational Practices in Professional and Technological Education, of the Professional Master’s Program in Professional and Technological Education (ProfEPT). The study aimed to understand the conceptions of the integrated curriculum emerging from the pedagogical practices of teachers working in the Technical Course in Informatics Integrated with Secondary Education at Professora Maria Rocha State High School, in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in order to promote dialogue, critical reflection, conceptual development, and the strengthening of curriculum integration practices. Specifically, the study examined how teachers’ educational backgrounds and professional experiences shape their conceptions of the integrated curriculum and pedagogical practices in Vocational and Technological Education (VTE); investigated the challenges, possibilities, and constraints associated with curriculum integration; identified pedagogical practices aligned with its principles; analyzed the effects of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) and the New High School reform on integrated secondary education; and developed an educational product to support continuing teacher education, building upon Dialogic Circles as collaborative spaces for reflection and professional learning. The theoretical framework addressed the historical duality of Brazilian education (Saviani, 2007; Frigotto, 2010; Moura, 2010); the integrated curriculum as a strategy for overcoming this duality (Silva, 2023; Lottermann & Silva, 2021; Ciavatta, 2012; Ramos, 2010); the development of integrated secondary education within the Rio Grande do Sul state school system; pedagogical practices for curriculum integration (Bandeira & Ibiapina, 2014; Franco, 2016; Araújo & Frigotto, 2015; Machado, 2010); and teacher education in Professional and Technological Education (Tardif, 2014; Charlot, 2014; Corrêa, 2012; Ferreira, 2018; Machado, 2021; Medeiros, 2022). Methodologically, the research adopted a qualitative action research approach. Data were generated through questionnaires and investigative, self-transformative Dialogic Circles (Heinz, Andrade, & Freitas, 2023), involving teachers from both general and vocational education. The data were analyzed using Discourse Analysis based on Orlandi (2012). The findings revealed that teachers conceive the integrated curriculum primarily in terms of comprehensive human development and the articulation of different fields of knowledge. They also highlighted the importance of collaborative planning and continuing teacher education for strengthening curriculum integration. The main challenges identified included the organization of school time, which limits collective planning and ongoing professional development, as well as the restricted institutional autonomy of the state school system. The study further indicates that the recent implementation of integrated secondary education in Rio Grande do Sul, combined with the requirements imposed by the New High School reform and the expansion of the full-time secondary education model, creates uncertainties regarding the future of this educational provision. Finally, the Dialogic Circles proved to be an effective strategy for collaborative professional learning, promoting dialogue, critical reflection, and collective knowledge construction. The educational product resulting from this research, Coffee & Dialogue: A Proposal for Continuing Teacher Education Inspired by Dialogic Circles, systematizes this formative experience and offers a methodological framework for continuing teacher education.