Formative processes in the Decentralized Teaching Unit of ETFRN/Mossoró

a history of expectations, adhesions and resistance

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the training processes carried out at the Decentralized Teaching Unit (UNED) of the Federal Technical School of Rio Grande do Norte (ETFRN), in Mossoró, at the beginning of its operation, in 1995. Our investigation is qualitative and the data collection took place, mainly, through open interviews with seven professors and three members of the pedagogical team of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), current name of ETFRN. We selected respondents who were a UNED/ETFRN employee in 1995. In addition to oral sources, we used written documents, such as newspapers from the local press and printed institutional ads from that time. The oral and written sources lead us to conclude that the implementation of UNED was accompanied by many expectations. There were efforts by ETFRN to train its staff (educators and teachers) to work with an innovative curriculum proposal in Professional Education. However, if some teachers engaged in that training, others showed criticism and resistance to the training process and to the theoretical discussions that should guide their practice.