Práticas de leitura, escrita e letramento na penitenciária feminina em Cuiabá - MT : a visão da professora e suas alunas

Abstract

This research addresses the practices of Reading, Writing and Literacy in a class of First Segment in Ana Maria do Couto Women’s Penitentiary in Cuiabá. This issue is of paramount importance for both the educational context of people deprived of their freedom and the society in general, taking in consideration that to think about education, in this sphere, involves issues of public safety, social reintegration and both prison and Brazilian educational realities. The choice of the theme seeks to answer the following central question: what pedagogical conceptions and practices for teaching reading, writing and literacy, guide the teaching work in an EJA (Youths and Adults Education) class of 1st Segment in Ana Maria do Couto Women’s Penitentiary, in Cuiabá -MT? This is a qualitative study where participants are fourteen students and, also, the teacher of this class. The methodological paths taken for the accomplishment of this research included moments of observations in the classroom, records in a field notebook with site descriptions and interviews recorded on the conceptions and actions of those involved in the educational process. The data analysis enabled the identification of the fact that the abandonment of school by some of the students was triggered by economic and family factors, because the parents had unfavorable financial conditions and, also, the belief that their daughters should not study. Early pregnancy, involvement with friends or illicit drugs also constituted factors for the abandonment and culmination in prison. In the other hand, the return to school in a prison environment, for some students, represents the possibility to occupying idle time, learning new things, make up for lost time or distract the mind, however, the foreign students seek the school environment to learn a second language. It was also found that the pedagogical practice, although emphasizing photocopied or textbook texts textbooks or photocopied texts, presented, at times, verbal and nonverbal texts. The First Segment classroom configured itself as a space consisting of Brazilians and Bolivians, which along with the teacher sought school education and the development of reading, writing and the expansion of literacies, trying to open paths that can possibly lead to social reintegration. Despite the respectful and affectionate relationship of the teacher to the students, it became clear how difficult it is to exercise education as a practice of freedom in a universe of rigidity and established standards as the prison is.