Resumo:
This dissertation presents high school teachers’ understanding of playfulness and its relationship with didactic mediation in their pedagogical practices. Based on a phenomenological qualitative approach, the research sought to understand how these elements manifest themselves in everyday school life, contributing to the debate on didactics and teacher training focused on playful practices. Through the methodological creation of the ludo-comprehensive experience carried out as a research device, teachers were invited to share their knowledge and reflections on playfulness and didactic mediation in their pedagogical practices. The instruments used were an initial questionnaire with four teachers, a comprehensive play experience recorded on audio and video involving 21 teachers — 5 from the Humanities area, 8 from the Languages area of the secondary school curriculum, 6 from the Natural Sciences area and 1 from the Mathematics area — and, at the end, an individual interview with four questions. The research aims to help improve teaching practices in secondary schools by proposing playfulness as a way of enhancing teaching work, enriching projects and making the learning environment more meaningful and motivating. The research highlighted the importance of playfulness in secondary education, emphasizing the importance of creative and welcoming environments at school. It also pointed to the need to overcome teacher isolation and to recognize the integrality of school life. The results indicate that playfulness is seen as a subjective, individual and collective experience, essential for teaching and didactic mediation, especially in the integration of syllabus content. By recognizing play as a structuring element of pedagogical practice, the research confirms its role in the integral and critical formation of students, stimulating imagination and promoting autonomy.
