Teaching for beginning professors of Agricultural Sciences at Community Universities in Western SC

Abstract

The beginning of the teaching career shows singularities and in their professional insertions, the teacher experiences the initial enthusiasm, overcoming challenges and identifying (or not) with teaching. In this article, we analyze the entrance into the teaching career of professors in the Agricultural Science Area who work in community universities in the west of Santa Catarina State. We used a kind of qualitative approach methodology, with an empiric character. Our collaborators were seven teachers, in the beginning of their careers. We used an interview to collect information. The data were analyzed based on theoretical contributions from the field of teaching, such as Cunha (2006, 2010) and Tardiff (2002). The career entrance is multifaceted with regard to teacher identity, about positive and/or challenging aspects of this professional insertion. The lack of specific pedagogical training has been the biggest challenge faced by teachers, while collaboration among colleagues was one of the positive aspects. The professional identity confronts being a bachelor and being a teacher. Their teaching practices intertwine positive and challenging aspects. The professors’ entrance in the Agricultural Sciences’s area in community universities in the West of Santa Catarina denotes a mix among the personal, professional and institutional dimensions, the training processes strengthen the constitution of identity and provide opportunities for the consolidation of the teaching career.