Alfabetização nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental: desafios e possibilidades na Escola Estadual Professor José Freire

Abstract

This dissertation, developed within the scope of the Professional Master's Program in Management and Evaluation of Public Education (PPGP), linked to the Center for Public Policies and Education Evaluation (CAEd) at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), aimed to understand why students at Escola Estadual Professor José Freire, in Juiz de Fora/MG, reached the end of the Early Years of Elementary School without consolidating basic reading and writing skills. The motivation for this research stems from the researcher’s professional practice and the observation, based on the school's external and internal assessments, that there are significant gaps in students’ acquisition of the writing system by the 5th year. Therefore, the guiding question of this study was: Why do a considerable number of students at Escola Estadual Professor José Freire still fail to consolidate basic reading and writing skills by the end of the Early Years of Elementary School? To answer this question, the general objective was established: to understand the reasons why students reaching the 5th year at Escola Estadual Professor José Freire have not yet consolidated literacy-related skills. The specific objectives of this dissertation were: (1) to describe the difficulties related to reading and writing skills presented by students at the end of the Early Years of Elementary School at Escola Estadual Professor José Freire; (2) to analyze the literacy practices developed in the early years of elementary education at this school; and (3) to propose solutions to minimize the difficulties in reading and writing skills observed in this context. To achieve these objectives, we conducted qualitative research, specifically a case study, analyzing the results of the school's external and internal assessments and official documents. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with school administrators (including the principal, vice-principal, and afternoon shift specialist) and Portuguese language teachers teaching in the 1st and 2nd years (as these form the initial literacy cycle) and in the 5th year, which is the final year of the Early Years of Elementary School. As the theoretical framework, we used studies by Míriam Lemle (2000), Soares (1999, 2003; 2014; 2020), Vygotsky (2007), Mortatti (2000; 2006), Ferreiro and Teberosky (1999), which discuss aspects related to literacy and reading development. The collected data revealed several gaps, such as low family participation, challenges in applying literacy methods, difficulties in integrating literacy and reading comprehension, and the absence of projects encouraging reading. Based on these findings, an action plan was developed with three main strategies: continuous teacher training, the development of reading incentive projects, and strengthening the partnership between the school and families. These initiatives are essential to overcoming the identified challenges and promoting more effective and inclusive teaching.