Navegando em tempos de pandemia: resiliência e sentido na vida de professores dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental

Abstract

This research aims to analyze teacher resilience in the pandemic period experienced between 2020 and 2022. To this end, it is assumed that teacher resilience is a dynamic process, which results from challenges and sources of support, personal and contextual, for the construction of coping and overcoming strategies in the face of challenging and adverse circumstances imposed by life. In effect, an empirical study was designed with an exploratory approach of a qualitative nature, using the sociodemographic questionnaire and the semistructured interview as collection devices. The sample was made up of ten teachers, from the initial years of elementary school, from five schools (public and private), in the municipality of Santo Amaro (BA). The interviews were explored through thematic analysis. The results show that the teaching profession, in essence, is marked by challenges and setbacks and that, with the pandemic, these issues have become more complex. The concept of resilience was perceived by most teachers as an attribute characterized by three essential elements: challenges, overcoming and motivation. It was found that the teachers faced multiple challenges in different contexts (personal and contextual), among which the following stood out: lack of knowledge, skills and technical support necessary for Emergency Remote Teaching (ERE); anxiety; lack of structure, commitment and student participation. On the other hand, the teachers had personal and contextual sources of support (personal system, micro-mesosystem, macrosystem and exosystem) to face adversities, among which the following stand out: self-education; creativity, affectivity; spirituality; the help of family and colleagues (teachers, coordinators and manager) and the support of some of the students' parents. Furthermore, the teachers faced the challenges, sought meaning for their pain, and managed to learn some lessons in the face of suffering. This research allows us to understand and discuss the sources of support, overcoming strategies and motivational factors that strengthen teachers in times of change and adversity.