O novo contexto da educação especial: uma pesquisa etnográfico-discursiva sobre identidades profissionais e maternas

Abstract

The implementation of Specialized Educational Care (SEC) Centers by the Central government brought about changes in the multidisciplinary team practitioner identities, and reshaped maternal identities. Practitioners from diverse fields that used to provide treatment in isolation had to develop joint work. In this context, professional identities were rebuilt, influenced largely by the literacy practices of the various professional fields present in the centers. In relation to the mothers, they had to face the challenge of having to enroll their children in mainstream schools in order to continue to be entitled to the multidisciplinary team care. This was a source of great anxiety and insecurity, as they do not consider current mainstream schools as appropriate to their children. To research about identities, I adopted in this thesis the Social Theory of Literacy (BARTON and HAMILTON, 1998; BARTON, 2009), which considers literacy as a set of social practices that are directly related to existing values and beliefs in different communities and social groups who are thus closely related to the members’ identities. I also adopted Gee’s (2000 - 2001, 2003) theoretical and methodological proposal on identities in educational contexts. In addition, theoretical and methodological approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CHOULIARAKI; FAIRCLOUGH, 1999; FAIRCLOUGH, 2003) provides support for the study of identities with two categories, namely: Representational Meaning (Discourses) and Identificational Meaning (Styles). Through the reflexive ethnographic research, the data indicated the existence of power asymmetry in the relations among the practitioners originated, mostly, from the predominance of literacies related to the health area over the literacies in the educational area, which ultimately affect in a negative way the educational care. By taking into account the mother’s views and representations around literacy, it was possible to see how these aspects were important in the construction of their maternal identities in relation to their choices regarding the appropriate care to their children.