Participation of students in Teaching Incentive Programs

[pic 1]Universidade Federal do Amazonas

Faculdade de Letras - Língua e Literatura Inglesa [pic 2]

Disciplina: Produção Escrita II

           Alunos: Mariana David Moura e Lucca Cavalcante

Professora: Tatiana Belmonte dos Santos Rodrigues

Participation of students in Teaching Incentive Programs

For the past years, participation in Teaching Incentive Programs, such as PIBID, has been of utmost importance for the permanence of students in undergraduate programs meant to form teachers, and also for their choice of becoming teachers. According to Bahia, 2013, these programs have the potential to assist universities in aligning with the actual needs of teachers, bridging the gap between university education and the school reality.

Through observation and based on a questionnaire administered to the 4th-period class at the Federal University of Amazonas - UFAM, we obtained the data that guided this research, observing relevant aspects related to the perspective of each undergraduate faculty member. This study aims to evaluate if the Teaching Incentive Programs are a determining factor for feeling more confident and better prepared to choose a career as an English language teacher in Manaus, AM - Brazil. After presenting the collected data, through the administration of a questionnaire using Google Forms, it was possible to visualize the perception of the undergraduates on their level of assurance to perform the role of a teacher.

Ten students contributed by responding to the survey, six females, two males, and two non-binary persons. Most of the interviewees are in an age variety of 18 to 22 years old. They were all in the fourth term.

At first, the students were asked whether or not they would like to become a teacher once they graduated. Analyzing the following pie chart, it was possible to observe that most of the students have already made their choice concerning a career and that they would indeed like to work as education professionals.

[pic 3]

The students were also asked how confident they felt with their teaching skills. Nearly half of them (45.5%) chose the number two on a scale of one to five which means they don’t feel very confident about their skills.

[pic 4]

After that, they were asked if they had already taken part in one of the Teaching Incentive Programs that the scholars from the English Language and Literature undergraduate program at UFAM are offered, such as CEL Trainee, CEL, Super and Residência Pedagógica - CAPES. Studying the pie chart, we are able to see that 54.5% of these scholars have participated in at least one of the programs.

[pic 5]

When asked whether the Teaching Incentive Programs had influenced their confidence levels, all of the respondents who had taken part in one of the programs answered yes, meaning that they believed the programs helped them.

[pic 6]

In this case, it’s possible to establish a correlation between having participated in at least one of the aforementioned programs and a greater confidence level concerning their teaching roles, as can be observed in the chart below.

[pic 7]

As may be noted, the contributors believe that the programs may influence their future careers positively when it comes to their assurance levels. We should highlight that no undergraduate who had been in a PIBID was found to respond to the survey. PIBID is considered the most relevant Teaching Incentive Program from a country-wise point of view.