AS PREOCUPAÇÕES E ENGAJAMENTO DOS DOCENTES DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL I DE LARANJEIRAS DO SUL (PARANÁ): IMPACTOS DURANTE E APÓS PANDEMIA DE COVID-19

Abstract

The dissertation aimed to investigate how teaching during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic period impacted the concerns and engagement of teachers in Laranjeiras do Sul, Paraná, analyzing the transformations in pedagogical practices and the challenges faced in this context. The research problem was formulated as follows: How did teaching during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic period impact the concerns and engagement of teachers in Laranjeiras do Sul, Paraná? This problem focused on the abrupt adaptation to remote teaching, the precariousness of teaching work, and the effects of this scenario on the return to in-person classes. The main objective was to understand the interrelations between concerns and teacher engagement, identifying patterns and characteristics that impacted the professional experience. The bibliographic review articulated classical and contemporary theories. Fuller and Bown (1975) outlined the dimensions of teachers' concerns – self, task, and task impact –, while Vieira (2022) expanded the analysis to the Brazilian context, highlighting the influence of public policies and social problems. The three-dimensional model of engagement proposed by Schaufeli et al. (2006), composed of vigor, dedication, and absorption, was complemented by Klassen et al. (2013), who explored the cognitive, emotional, social with students, and social with colleagues dimensions. The study adopted a cross-sectional approach, structured in two stages. In the first stage, 64 teachers from the municipal network, both permanent and in charge of classes from 1st to 5th grade, participated in a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Basic Education Teachers' Concerns Scale (EPPEB), proposed by Vieira (2022), and the Teachers' Work Engagement Scale (EETP), adapted by Silva (2020). In the second stage, 14 teachers were selected through cluster analysis – considering the most and least engaged and concerned – and participated in semi-structured interviews to deepen the understanding of the results. The findings of the first stage indicated high levels of cognitive and social engagement with students, but low levels of social engagement with colleagues. The main concerns of teachers were related to the dimensions of task, task impact, public policies and social problems. The results of the second stage showed differences between the groups analyzed. In Group 1, concerns focused on family participation, content reorganization, discipline and classroom control, while excess students per class was a convergent category between the two groups. The category of bureaucratic issues was the only concomitant category in the study. Group 2 presented concerns related to pressure at work and public policies. The results suggest the need to revisit the established theoretical categories. Content recomposition emerged as a possible new dimension of the Task category, proposed by Fuller and Bown (1975), while bureaucratic issues can be interpreted as a new dimension of the Social Problems and/or Public Policies category according to Vieira (2022). It was concluded that the pandemic intensified inequalities and structural weaknesses in the educational system, overloading teachers and accentuating the precariousness of teaching work.