Entre o PPC e as vozes das/os discentes: a temática da diversidade no curso de Educação Física da UFCAT

Abstract

The theme of diversity has been a recurrent agenda in debates and actions in numerous fields of society, companies, public politics, and education research. Although Brazilian society has changed a lot in the last century, we realize that it still has been structured around colonial and hegemonic principles that persist in privileging certain parts of society, excluding groups that do not recognize themselves in the face of imposed standards. In the Brazilian educational scenario, even with legislation directing towards a more democratic and plural education, as observed in the 1988 Constitution, LDB 9394/96, and DCN/CP no 2/2019, it is possible to see a model of school that reproduces not only these standards but also inequalities that, consequently, produce and foment different types of prejudice. Immersed in this context is Physical Education, which, affected by these hegemonic social and cultural influences, has not been so far able to break with exclusionary pedagogical practices within the school environment. This fact makes us consider that perhaps this issue is directly related to the training proposals in higher education for the respective area. According to the aforementioned, in this dissertation, the theme of diversity in the formative process of the degree in Physical Education at the Federal University of Catalão is problematized, seeking to understand how, from the perspective of students, the discourses of diversity have been contemplated in this course, to promote training in which teachers and trainee teachers feel ready to deal with it in the context of professional practice. Anchored in the foundations of critical theory and based on the assumption that difference is intrinsic to the human condition, present in each and any society, academic education for diversity is crucial for realization in a real democratic and plural education. The research data were constructed through a literature review, analysis of the Pedagogical Project of the UFCAT Physical Education Course, and semi-structured interviews executed with four (04) entrant students in 2018. Submitted to content analysis, referenced in cultural and gender studies, the data show that the degree in Physical Education in Brazil until the final years of the 20th century has met the wishes of the State and, with that, reproduced aspects of the capitalist system. A fact that contributes to the development of pedagogical practices out of step with educational legislation, and with the real demands of contemporary society, which is increasingly plural. Concerning the UFCAT Physical Education course, the PPC brings, at its core, a relevant concern to train teachers professionally and pedagogically to deal with diversity. Pretension is evidenced mainly through the objectives and principles which guide the curriculum proposal, as well as the axis of Cultural Diversity and Difference that transversals the curricular matrix. On the other hand, the interviewees' voices show us that during their formative process, there are few moments of questioning, discussion, and theoretical-practical reflection on this theme. In addition, when they occur, they are through teachers who bring into their life and professional experiences a certain interest in the theme of diversity, or, in other cases, through initiatives emerging from the students themselves.