Formar para trans-formar: possibilidades metodológicas para o ensino de crianças com autismo na rede municipal de São Luís/MA

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the pedagogical practices of teachers within the Pedagogical Intervention Project for children and students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (PROJETEA) in the municipal school system of São Luís/MA. Through continuing education sessions, the study sought to develop a Manual of Inclusive Pedagogical Guidelines. The research followed a qualitative approach, grounded in the principles of Trans-Formative Research and supported by both bibliographic and field research. The investigative path articulated these two movements, drawing on authors such as Vygotsky (2007, 2017, 2022), Prestes (2013), Libâneo (2013), Magalhães (2022), Gatti (2016), Pletsch (2012), and Imbernón (2011). Data production was integrated into the formative process experienced by the participating teachers through participant observation, open-ended questionnaires, session recordings, the researcher’s reflective logs, and teaching materials produced during the meetings. Data analysis followed the principles of Discourse Analysis, specifically the framework proposed by Orlandi (2009). The results evidenced that the formative process promoted significant shifts in teaching conceptions regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder and pedagogical practice. It revealed a transition from predominantly biological and behavioral interpretations toward understandings grounded in pedagogical mediation, teaching intentionality, and social interactions as constitutive of human development. The analyzed narratives expressed tensions, contradictions, and resignifications that reaffirm pedagogical practice as a historically, socially, and culturally mediated activity. As a result of the investigation, the Manual of Inclusive Pedagogical Guidelines was developed, conceived not as a prescriptive instrument but as a formative tool that systematizes the reflections, experiences, and propositions that emerged from the collective process.