Brazil:Bauru
From WAET
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Tel Amiel
Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, University of Georgia
|
The state of São Paulo is known as the economic engine that makes the country run. The largest businesses have their offices and businesses in the main streets of the capital city of the state, which is also named Sao Paulo. It is the third largest city in the planet with 15 million inhabitants. While the capital city is known as a concrete jungle due to its incredible number of buildings, the inner part of the state is known for more bucolic living. Regarding the state, smaller towns and cities populate both the eastern seaside and the western inland parts of the state. Most regions of the state have one or two larger cities which function as local commercial and industrial centers.
The city of Bauru is one of these smaller cities. With a population of approximately 315,000, it is small compared to the capital city of São Paulo. But in comparison to other surrounding cities, Bauru is considered quite large. Almost at the geographical center of the state, Bauru's privileged location has helped it become an important commercial. An additional consideration that has contributed to its growth as a commercial center is its distance of over 350 kilometers (220 miles) between Bauru and the city of São Paulo. This distance is considerable as a result of traffic conditions when reaching the capital, and high gasoline costs.
Schools
Bauru has a total of fifty-nine schools serving 1 st through 12th grades. Twenty-six of these are state high schools serving approximately 13,300 students. Fourteen are state schools dedicated to basic education (1st -8th grades), which serve 30,500 students. The remaining eleven are under municipal jurisdiction and serve approximately 5,600 students (INEP, 2003, 2004) .
Computer Laboratories and Training
The state government has also put forth investments to build computer laboratories in schools. Public schools in the state of São Paulo are under the auspices of municipal and state governments. As the wealthiest state in the nation, its public schools received large investments in the development of computing in education. On top of the funds presented by PROINFO, a large number of Regional Educational Technology Centers (Núcleo Regional de Tecnologia Educacional; NRTE) were created, providing support for state and municipal schools. One such NRTE is located in the city of Bauru, supervising the deployment and maintenance of computer laboratories in primary (1st -8th grade) and secondary schools (9th -12th grade). In a 1996 survey of all 79 state public schools in Bauru indicated that 81% (43 schools) did not have a computer laboratory (65% response rate). Over 80% of school teachers indicated a lack of knowledge of computer-based applications such as spreadsheets, word-processing, databases, and the like (N = 939); 59% indicated not knowing anything about educational technologies, while only 1% of respondents had used any type of software tools in the classroom (N = 990) (Amiel, Morgado, Morgado, & Rodrigues, 2005).
Picture of one of the two computer labs available at the "Delegacia de Ensino" (City Educational office) shows a group of a dozen student working on personal computers as part of the UNESP "aluno monitor" (student monitor) project. They are advanced students, learning to program in Macromedia Flash.
When asked to indicate the biggest issues leading to their lack of use of educational technologies, a large portion indicated a lack of time (32.9%) and training (30.4%). While most indicated a lack of computers to be the major problem in 1996 (47.8%) this issue has been improved with the deployment of new computers and laboratories (today 27 state-run schools have computer labs, as opposed to 10 in 1996).
The local Delegacia de Ensino (City Educational Office; DE), where the NRTE is located, organized programs to help promote teacher technology and computing education. Along with UNESP (State University of São Paulo) and private businesses, the DE also organizes "student monitor" projects, where local public school students (usually 8th-11th grade) learn computer maintenance skills and help keep their school's computer lab continuously working. Along with the student monitor project UNESP has developed a "pedagogical monitors," undergraduate education majors who work with local teachers in designing unit plans, web pages, and other resources to encourage the use of computing in education. The use of computing in education is scarce, for reasons that are similar to those in a national scope. Most teachers working with UNESP which I observed had never used a computer for educational purposes in the school, even though computers had been in the schools for 4-5 years. Even within the scope of these educational projects, "technology" always means making use of the computer and software programs, and little attention is paid to new techniques for teaching and learning.
Student case: Christiane
The case of Christiane, an 18 year-old-student, is meant to providea a "glimpse" into public schools in the city of Bauru, and the lives of students who attend them. Christiane is an extroverted, talkative person; indeed, she describes herself open and friendly. She has a light brown skin tone, a slender figure, curly brown hair and brown eyes. She is always dressed fashionably, and exhibits a high level of attention to her appearance and wardrobe.
 Figure 3. Christiane with her friends in school (she is the girl to the right, wearing a pink skirt). |  Figure 4. The picture of her classroom (10th grade), where a large group (25 or so) students pose for a picture in a disordered fashion. There are writing on all the desks, and the wall on the back was recently painted (it had been vandalized with spray paint). |
She considers herself a practicing catholic (though her mother does not practice). When she was young, she was as an “evangelica” (charismatic faith). The church demanded too much of her, which she describes as not allowing her to use lipstick, earring, short skirts, and other clothing. She now frequents roman-catholic church, which I partially attribute to her outside-school education.
She is currently enrolled in 10th grade ( segundo ano, ensino médio ) an urban state school with approximately 1,215 students from 5th -12th grades. The school, named Escola Estadual Professor Francisco Alves Brizola (“Brizola”; State School Professor Francisco Alves Brizola ) is located in a middle-low class neighborhood, about a 20 to 30 minute walk from a university campus (UNESP; State University of São Paulo ) and a state hospital.
 Figure 5. The picture of Christiane and her peers in the school's computer room for an English class. The school has 15 computers which are 4-5 years old. |  Figure 6. Outside of the State School Brizola. The picture shows an artistically spray painted wall (work done by the students) and subsequently spray painted over by vandals. The entrance is a strong blue metal door to the right. |
The roads are paved, and most houses are built out of brick. In talking to teachers and university students at UNESP, most describe the neighborhood as fairly dangerous, and a place where one should be careful late at night. The school has a computer room with Internet access, a science lab, a small library, and a covered play area.
She currently lives with one of her two sisters, her stepfather, and her mother. Her father lives elsewhere, and one of her sisters lives in Belo Horizonte, approximately a 12-hour bus ride northeast, in the state of Minas Gerais. Christiane and her stepfather provide income for her family. Her local sister, who is one year younger, was selected through a lottery to receive a to go to school at Universidade Sagrado Coração (USC; Sacred Heart University), a private catholic institution with 6,000 students in the city of Bauru. As part of their service, the university offers pre-college education for those in need. Her mother does not currently work outside of the home because of back problems.
I asked Christiane to describe a typical day for her. Her mornings are dedicated to helping with household chores like washing dishes and clothes, but she emphasized that she did not know how to cook, something that her mother takes care of. She finishes any of these chores in the afternoon and soon begins to work. Her work is at home is mostly “artesanato” (handcrafts), using a variety of techniques including painting, stitching, and biscuit (also called “cold porcelain”, a malleable plastic-like material that can be made at home, which is molded like clay).
 Figure 7. Inside of the State School Brizola. The picture shows an a small brick building to the right and a larger group of buildings to the left. To the left is the administration building, computer room, and the library. |  Figure 8. Inside of the State School Brizola: a small play area and a restaurant. |
She does not have a steady job, instead receiving orders from local merchants and people that she knows. Her last order took two months to complete: she stitched fifty small towels for a small shop, owned by her sister-in-law. Unlike many other children her age, Christiane learned a variety of skills through a service project sponsored by USC. For six years, she participated in a number of skill-building classes, including learning how to play the flute, computer applications, sewing, stitching, and others.
Later in the day, she takes a shower and heads to school either by bus or by foot. The school serves other nearby neighborhoods, such as the one where Christiane comes from, about a 25 minute walk from the school. When asked to describe her neighborhood, to present a “mental picture” of what it was like, her first response was: “it has no pavement!”, followed by “but it has water and sewage” and “houses are mostly made out of wood”. Within the socioeconomic hierarchy (poor <-> rich) Christiane describes herself emphatically as “poor”, mostly because of the neighborhood she lives in, which she contrasts with the “middle class” environment where her school is located.
Christiane began studying at “Brizola” in 2003. The year before studied studied at another school, Escola Estadual Professora Vera Campagnani (“Vera”; State School Professor Vera Campagnani ), but the school did not offer night courses, so she had to move farther away to “Brizola” to study at night. Her classes begin at 19:10 and end at close to 22:45 when she goes home by bus (10 minute bus ride). She describes making friends in this new school as a difficult process. She generically describes episodes where other students would put her down, by describing the new girl as “the girl from the shanty-town” (“ela é da favela”). It is no wonder that she considers the people from this “middle-class” neighborhood to be different, more “closed” and less “friendly” than at her other school.
She fondly remembers the time she studied at “Vera”, which was closer to home, and as she describes, much more “liberal”. To describe this, she says that at “Brizola” everything is locked up, she feels like a prisoner. Indeed, the part of the school where the classrooms and gym are located are always locked – before, during, and after classes, partially for safety reasons (as another student pointed out –he rather likes the closed door policy and would rather have the gates closed if someone came in to rob the school with a gun). During class breaks, students have to remain inside this locked area, and cannot go outside. When asked to criticize her school (in both positive and negative terms), Christiane was hesitant, and did not offer many concrete examples of either. She did not like that the school administrator mostly communicate by “word of mouth” instead of giving the notes to take home (something that occurred at “Vera”). She mentions that the vice-director is a very nice person, but could not remember the school director's name (“the director does not even go to the classrooms”). An interesting complaint mentioned by Christiane is in regards to spray painting around the school, particularly inside the bathrooms. Because of this problem, she says, the school installed cameras inside the restrooms, information which was corroborated by another student. In regards to the classrooms, Christiane appreciates the fact that they have fans, but did not mention any of other detriments. Since her classroom has no door, and the desks are worn out, I would have expected more substantial complaints, which she did not bother to mention.
 Figure 9. Neighborhood where the school is located: a middle-low class house with unfinished walls and a white metal gate and a fusca (Volkswagen Beatle) in a covered garage. |  Figure 10. Neighborhood where the school is located: a middle class home with a car in a locked garage. |
When not in school, Christiane says her favorite pastime is dancing. Now that she is eighteen, her mother is a bit more flexible in letting her go out at night (Fridays and Saturdays). She likes to dance slower music, sertanejo (country), and forró ( music from the northeastern states), and hates Rap.
In the future Christiane hopes to complete a secretarial course, and go on to a university. Though her favorite subjects are Portuguese and History, she would like to enroll in a public institution and become a Psychology or Education major. When asked what her ideal job would be, she quickly points back to her work: “artesanato!” describing with joy how she decorated a friend's house with balloons. Next year, Christiane will move back to her old school “Vera” where she has a larger number of friends. She continues working with her handcrafts.
References
Amiel, Morgado, E. M., Morgado, M. J. L., Rodrigues, G. (2005, March). Can you help me? Student monitors as catalysts for teacher exploration of computing in public school programs. Full paper presented at the International Conference of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, Phoenix, AZ.
INEP. (2003). Censo escolar . Retrieved September 2, 2004, from http://www.inep.gov.br/basica/censo/
INEP. (2004). DATAESCOLABRASIL . Retrieved September 1, 2004, from http://www.dataescolabrasil.inep.gov.br
About the Authors
| Tel Amiel received an M.A. in Communication Studies and Human Computer Interaction from Virginia Tech and at the time this article was written he was PhD student in Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. He serves on the review board of the Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia (JEMH AACE) and is a program committee member to the World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia, and Telecommunications (AACE). His interests surround the intersection between information and communication technologies, multicultural and democratic education, and the philosophy of technology. He currently works on a cooperative project with the city of Bauru in São Paulo, and Fortaleza, Ceará in Brazil through a FIPSE-CAPES funded grant. Previously Tel has lived in China, Brazil, and Australia |  |
APA Citation
APA Citation: Amiel, T. (2006, December). Brazil:Bauru. In M. Orey, T. Amiel, & J. McClendon (Eds.), The web almanac of educational technologies. Retrieved <insert date>, from http://www.waet.uga.edu/
