From abyssal thinking to the ecology of knowledge in school: reflections on an experience of collaboration

Abstract

In this work, I share some reflections about my experience of collaboration with an English teacher in the state education system in Goiânia city, Goiás state, Brazil. The research aimed to investigate the issues and challenges that permeate the collaboration between researchers and teachers. To substantiate the discussion, I seek support in theories that explore: aspects and challenges of regular public education in Brazil; the conditions of teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English, in public schools; policies of foreign language teacher education; the relationship between collaborative research / reflection and teacher education; and, finally, the disparity between universities and schools in the production of pedagogical knowledge. This is a collaborative and emancipatory study as it encourages the collaborative production of knowledge between a researcher and a teacher. Through a questionnaire, three reflection sessions and a field diary, two main aspects were selected for analysis: the initial barriers to collaboration between the participants; and the reflections that participants produced in and through collaborative action. The analysis of these aspects showed that collaborative research can reduce the abyssal lines that separate researchers, as articulators of the theory, and teachers in their practice, making room for an ecology of knowledge in school.