Abstract

CARITA, Ana. Professores do 3.º Ciclo e Ensino Secundário: A sua representação do aluno. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 1997, vol.15, n.4, pp.541-562. ISSN 0870-8231.

This article reports on a study of high school teachers´ representations of their pupils, considering teachers in early and middle phases of their careers. This research was made in the framework of the Theory of Social Representation, and it was conducted by the analysis of the teachers´ speech during semi-structured interviews. Various speech contexts were studied (discussing the students in general, a good student, a bad student, an ideal student), and different speech analysis approaches were used (themes, categories, evaluation and structural). The analysis reveals a high degree of stability and internal coherence in the representations under study, strongly based on the academic dedication of the student and on the relationship with the teacher. The power of these dimensions on the teachers´ representations is confirmed by previous research and supports the views that the studens´ images are highly influenced by the more traditional aspects of pedagogy. Negative evaluations of students have a strong impact - possibily even on the teachers´ attitude towards the studens, even though positive evaluations were slightly more prevalent. This last result, and also the strong dominance of the more instructional aspects of the teachers´ experience, raise the question whether the pedagogical relationship is a good context for the personal and social development of the students.

Keywords : Students´ representation by teachers; high school; academic dedication; teacher-student relationships; negative attitudes.

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