As competências em informação dos professores na licenciatura em geografia da Universidade do Estado da Bahia: práxis organizacional e inovação na docência do ensino superior

Abstract

This research investigated the information competences of teachers in the Geography Degree Programme at Bahia State University, focusing on the contribution of these competences to the initial training of students in this area of knowledge, taking into account the new information paradigm provided by information and communication technologies, which require new pedagogical-didactic practices that encourage and value student autonomy in face-to-face and distance learning environments, enhance lifelong learning and their active individual and collective participation, and expand the possibilities for building knowledge. The research stems from teaching experience, which led to the formulation of the triggering question: ‘What are the main contributions of teachers’ information competences to initial teacher training that enable innovation in the Geography Degree Programme at Bahia State University? and the hypotheses: the pedagogy that teachers use to develop their teaching activities defines their demand for information and their level of information competences; the organisational culture of the Geography Degree College has a decisive influence on the way information is perceived, received, interpreted and used in teaching activities. To answer the question and confirm the hypotheses, Morin's complexity theory and its concepts were adopted as the central systematic approach. We opted for a qualitative, descriptive, explanatory, analytical-systemic and applied methodology, which used bibliographical and documentary research. It included a semi-structured interview with the teachers, content analysis of the minutes of the Geography Degree Collegiate meetings and information from direct observation of meetings and reading the publications of the same group, carrying out multiple triangulation of all the data collected, which was advantageous because it allowed us to interpret, confirm and get closer to the universe analysed. Complexity Theory conceives the organisational praxis of the collegiate referred to as a dynamic of organisation, disorganisation and permanent reorganisation in the production of-itself, in a retroactive and recursive process. In this sense, the research concludes that the levels of information skills of the collegiate professors are basic, as they do not generate knowledge; the professors find it difficult to identify their information needs. This indicator is associated with the organisational culture that presides over the relationship between the State University of Bahia, its departments and course collegiate bodies; individualism prevails in working with information within the collegiate body, with the circulation and use of information being precarious, the difficulty of dealing collectively with problems that affect the whole collegiate body, the dispersion of teaching and research activities, etc, and recognise the importance of the collegiate body making use of individual teaching potential, but find it difficult to implement this retroactive and recursive process of the production-of-itself; there are difficulties in innovation arising from an organisational praxis focused on responding to the bureaucratic demands of the university, with little time dedicated to reflecting on the collegiate body's own practice. Finally, we propose an Information Competence Model for the Geography Degree programme at the Federal University of Bahia to help acquire specific information competences. The model should be implemented in training courses, since the teachers are interested because they recognise that this training improves their organisational praxis and the teaching and learning of the Geography degree teachers and students.