Envelhecimento: o que sabem e dizem os professores(as) dos anos iniciais da rede de ensino da cidade do Recife-PE.

Abstract

Population aging is indeed a global event that is occurring at an accelerated pace and has profound implications in several areas, including education. It is essential that issues related to aging are addressed early in the school environment, not only to educate the younger generations about the issues and challenges that accompany this process, but also to promote collective awareness about the opportunities and contributions of older people in society. Thus, interest arose in investigating the opinions of people involved in education about what they think about aging. This dissertation had the general objective: Understanding, from the perspective of elementary school teachers in the municipal network of Recife, what they understand and say about aging and the repercussions of these concepts in teaching practice. Specifically, the aim was to: Identify what teachers understand about aging, both personally and professionally; Understand how teachers incorporate their conceptions of aging into their pedagogical practice; Unveil the needs felt by teachers to implement the theme of aging in their educational practice. We used the qualitative method to conduct the research, whose instruments used for data collection were a sociodemographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview script, answered by ten teachers, either civil servants or temporary employees, from a school in the Recife Municipal Network, regardless of age, religion and gender. The results were evaluated through the Thematic Content Analysis Technique. The topic of aging still seems distant from their daily practices, even though many of them are close to or already experiencing this phase of life. Although the topic of aging is rarely discussed in the school context, teachers are receptive and willing to adapt their pedagogical practices and discover a new meaning in life by experiencing the aging process. Based on these findings, it is hoped that this research will offer valuable insights into how to better integrate the topic of aging into school curricula and educational practices, preparing future generations for a more positive and informed interaction with the aging population.