Formação e atuação dos instrutores da Unidade de Atenção ao Idoso (UAI) e do Centro de Referência de Assistência Social (CRAS) de Uberaba/MG: um estudo a partir de narrativas

Abstract

This study focuses on investigating the training and performance of instructors working at the Unidade de Atenção ao Idoso (UAI) and at the Centro de Referência de Assistência Social (CRAS), both in Uberaba, Minas Gerais (MG), and these education spaces are not formal. These spaces serve an audience that lives in a situation of social vulnerability and often the role of the instructor is fundamental for the process of social inclusion of these people. However, for this to be carried out, it is necessary to know the specificities and needs of this public so that relevant methods can be used to adequately serve them. From this, the following question arises: how is the training and performance of instructors working at UAI and CRAS? To do so, we base ourselves on Social Pedagogy, its characteristics and concepts. Data analysis was carried out based on three thematic axes, namely: (i) Instructors' formal education: similarities with teacher training; (ii) Motivation and emotional aspects: aspirations and challenges of professional practice and (iii) Social Educator: the specificities of the profession. The analytical process was based on narratives constructed from a semi-structured interview with four craft instructors working at UAI and CRAS. It was possible to observe, as the main result, that one of the highlights in the performance of the instructors is the affective bond that is created in the educator-student relationship and how important this bond is for the process of inclusion of these people in a situation of social vulnerability. In addition, another relevant factor built from the analysis of the narratives is that training, not necessarily punctual, carried out at a higher level, is welcome to the instructor profession, since the public in a situation of social vulnerability, whether due to the needs of socioeconomic nature, or even age, has particularities that need to be attended to by a well-informed practice and that can be better supported by means of Social Pedagogy.