DEAF TEACHERS’ LIFE HISTORIES IN DISTRITO FEDERAL: EDUCATION, POLITICS, STRUGGLES AND DREAMS
Life histories; deaf teachers; deaf teacher education; Brazilian Sign Language; inclusion.
The general objective of this study is to present and discuss the life stories of deaf teachers in Distrito Federal. As specific objectives, this study aims to make room for the stories experienced by teachers from Distrito Federal based on the recording and discussion of their experiences and struggles. Considering that being deaf in Brazil is facing a society that establishes single standards and has difficulties in dealing with plurality and diversity. (GLÁDIS PERLIN, 1998, GESSER, 2009, CASTRO JUNIOR, 2015, ALBRES, 2016, QUADROS E STUMPF, 2018; SKLIAR, 2010), this study is guided by the following research question: what do the life stories of deaf teachers in Distrito Federal say? This is a qualitative (FLICK, 2011) and interpretive (MOITA LOPES, 1994) research, with life stories (NÓVOA, 2007), which is grounded on the concept that researchers are part of the research itself, which does not aim at neutrality or objectivity. The research material was generated through interviews, which were conducted in Brazilian Sign Language with video recordings and, later, transcribed into Portuguese. A total of thirteen deaf teachers from Distrito Federal were interviewed. The interviews with the life stories of the participants, after being transcribed, were organized as research material (FLICK, 2011) and critically analyzed based on the establishment of the following categories: life in childhood; arrival in the family; relationships with family members; interpersonal social relations; education and school experience; struggles and conquests; a quest for belonging; the choice of the teaching profession; dreams and future; the relationship with Brazilian Sign Language and Portuguese; politics and society. The stories point to fundamental questions for understanding the deaf person ́s struggle for their rights, showing how society, which denies these rights, relates to deafness from a listener and ableist perspective. The stories also demonstrate important questions about life, struggle, education and development of the deaf person, which makes this research a source material for raising awareness and transforming understanding about Brazilian Sign Language and deaf teachers ́training in Brazil.