Mulheres na Ciência. De bruxas a cientistas. Uma análise da presença feminina na docência no IFPR

Abstract

The central objective of this thesis is to investigate the professional practice of female teachers in Professional and Technological Education, specifically within the scope of the Federal Institute of Paraná (IFPR). The research seeks to analyze the discourses that constitute women as producers and disseminators of scientific knowledge, situated within a society structured by class and gender relations. The research question guiding this study was: To what extent do gender relations influence the professional choices of female teachers? The investigation aimed to understand how professional education has historically been consolidated as a predominantly male space, especially in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In this sense, the thesis proposes to discuss the historical processes of women’s insertion into teaching in Professional and Technological Education, with a focus on the IFPR, challenging the ableist, fragmented, and segregationist conception that has historically marked education directed at working class populations. Inspired by the trajectory that goes from the so-called “witches” persecuted throughout history to the women who produce science today, the research problematizes the continuities and ruptures that have shaped this process. The theoretical framework is anchored in the contributions of Michelle Perrot (2019), Heleieth Saffioti (2013), Jane Soares de Almeida (1998/2004), Andréa Lisly Gonçalves (2006), Silvia Federici (2017), Guacira Lopes Louro (1986), and Gerda Lerner (2020), authors who offer support for understanding gender relations, power dynamics, and the historical processes of female marginalization in science and education. Methodologically, this is a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study that combined documentary and bibliographic analysis with field research. For the empirical stage, a questionnaire was administered to female teachers in order to collect data on their academic and professional trajectories, their perceptions of teaching practice, and their experiences within the institutional environment. The results showed that although women are present in all areas and courses offered, equality is limited to their presence and does not extend to working conditions, professional recognition, or access to positions of greater decision-making power. In management positions, women are mostly concentrated in lower-level compensated roles, while men predominantly occupy the highest hierarchical positions. Another relevant finding concerns experiences of moral harassment, prejudice, and sexist jokes: 77% of the teachers reported having experienced or witnessed such situations within the institution. The testimonies also revealed tensions arising from gender relations, involving, for example, balancing career, motherhood, and family, the challenges of choosing historically male dominated careers, and the resistance faced when taking on leadership positions. In summary, the research confirms the thesis that female teachers at IFPR are present in all scientific areas, although they still face structural and symbolic inequalities compared to men. For most of the respondents, teaching practice is configured as a form of doing science, regardless of their specific field of knowledge, reinforcing their identity as women scientists.