Teoria da Atividade e Teoria Desenvolvimental: contribuições para o desenvolvimento do pensamento teórico no Ensino Fundamental Anos Iniciais

Abstract

This doctoral thesis in Education results from the academic and scientific research carried out within the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação of the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (PPGE–UNIOESTE–Cascavel/PR), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Maria Lidia Sica Szymanski. It involved the Grupo de Pesquisa Aprendizagem e Ação Docente – GPAAD (UNIOESTE–Cascavel/PR) and the Grupo de Pesquisa GEPEA – Grupo de Estudo e Pesquisa – THC para o ensino e aprendizagem (Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul – Três Lagoas). The research object is the Teoria da Atividade and the Teoria Desenvolvimental, and its main objective is to understand how the concepts of both theories contribute to the pedagogical process as a possibility for the formation of the Atividade de Estudo and the promotion of the development of theoretical thinking among students from the 1st to the 5th grades of Elementary School. The guiding question is: how can the concepts proposed by the Teoria da Atividade and the Teoria Desenvolvimental contribute to the pedagogical process as a possibility for forming the Atividade de Estudo and theoretical thinking in students from the 1st to the 5th grades of Elementary School? The specific objectives are: to identify how the fundamental concepts of both theories contribute to consolidating pedagogical processes in the early years of Elementary Education; to analyze previous research on the Teoria da Atividade and the Teoria Desenvolvimental to support the analysis of this study’s results; and to evaluate whether pedagogical processes based on these theories enable the formation of the Atividade de Estudo and the development of theoretical thinking among students. The bibliographical research focuses on authors such as Lev Semionovitch Vigotski (1896– 1934), Vasily Vasilyevich Davidov (1930–1998), Daniil Borisovich Elkonin (1904– 1984), and Alexei Nikolaevich Leontiev (1903–1979). The field research was conducted in two public schools in a municipality located in the western region of the State of Paraná. A group training process was organized, involving six Portuguese Language teachers from the 1st to the 5th grades of Elementary School. Simultaneously, 96 hours of classroom observation were conducted in both schools (A and B). The analysis of the results was based on the categories Atividade de Estudo, Generalização e Pensamento Teórico, and Formação de Professores, which were present throughout the discussion. The study supports the thesis that the pedagogical process, when grounded in the concepts of the Teoria da Atividade and the Teoria Desenvolvimental, contributes to the formation of the Atividade de Estudo, fostering the development of theoretical thinking among students in the early years of Elementary Education. It concludes that a substantial characteristic of the Atividade de Estudo is that its purpose is not limited to mediating knowledge but lies in enabling significant transformations in the psyche — that is, this activity coincides with the xiv modification of the person themself, making possible changes in their way of acting and thinking.