Building Better Schools
Construction of a Multicultural and Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Between the Practice and the Academic Production
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ana Ivenicki, Giseli Pereli De Moura Xavi
This paper analyses data from a research carried out in two parts. The first one refers to the collective effort of building an interdisciplinary and multicultural curriculum for primary education carried out within a partnership between a higher education institution and a local authority in Brazil. This phase was developed by the educational actors of both institutions through workshops, meetings, and on-line conversations. The second phase aimed to glean the extent to which multicultural, interdisciplinary curricula have been discussed within the knowledge production in Brazil. Methodology in this phase was the study of the state of art, as gleaned in articles about curriculum within the proceedings of the annual conferences carried out by the Brazilian National Research and Post-Graduation Association, as well as in the Brazilian Review of Education, both from 2010 to 2015. It shows potentials and challenges when translating multicultural and interdisciplinary approaches into actual collective curriculum construction. Data revealed trends and challenges in both phases of the research. The arguments that informed the study were based on a critical multicultural perspective that stresses the increasing need to raise awareness to inequalities that attain identities of gender, race, sexual orientation, and others, besides social and economic disparities.
Analysis of the Process of Change in Schools: From the Culture of Complaint to the Culture of Transformation
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lucia Lomba Portela, Margarita Pino-Juste
Educational change is a necessity in light of ongoing technological advances. Schools are regularly under pressure to change and improve teaching-learning processes which must be innovative. However, many practices persist. Teachers are the essential figures to initiate changes in schools. The beginning of a new process of change and improvement requires a predisposition to confront and overcome difficulties which appear. The aim of this study is to determine the obstacles that schools face during change. A quantitative methodology is used. The scale of resistance to change (ERC) identifies the experience of teachers. Results of this project indicate multiple variables that impede change including legislative challenges, lack of material, excessive bureaucracy, the total number of students per classroom, and students´ preparation for standardized tests. Teachers also describe how difficulties are easier to manage if all members of the educational community are involved.
