Freirean educational principles for a dialogical literary education of literacy teachers

Abstract

In this article, we address the need to rethink the continuing education of teachers in order to improve the development of students as critical and autonomous readers of literature by means of the Dialogue and of the Reading the World. Based on the work of Freire, Machado, and Calvino, we assume that pedagogical action cannot focus only on school activities or on reading activities based solely on decoding tasks. Teachers should be aware of students’ and society’s needs and desires regarding the teaching and learning of literary reading. Then, we state that the teacher education process should help them to understand that literary reading development is desirable in the first years of Elementary School and that this is possible through activities of Dialogical Literary Gathering. Based on a research project, we try to established a relationship between the contributions of the Dialogical Literary Gathering as an educational practice and the Brazilian Education Laws and Proposals (such as Law of Directives and Bases of National Education; National Curricular Base; and Reference Curriculum of Minas Gerais) regarding the teaching and learning of basic skills such as speaking, listening, writing, and reading. This article also presents results of a teacher education program developed in a Brazilian Public Schools according to Freire’s educational ideas and based on the concept of Dialogic Learning. It was found that teachers continuing education is essential to point out to teachers new pedagogic possibilities which can help students to develop their literary reading skills and, consequently, achieving emancipation.