Representações sociais sobre as drogas: análise do discurso retórico de professores do Ensino Fundamental II

Abstract

This work intends to reflect on the school's role in drug abuse prevention. This problem has worsened globally in recent decades, especially among teenagers. Aims to identify the social representations about drugs from a group of teachers from a private school,located in aregion considered risky by the intense presence of drug traffic. Schools have been identified as ineffective in dealing with this problem. The schoolsdoes not open debate aboutdrugsbecause it is a taboo. Based on a qualitative approach, this research looking for thepsychosocial aspects that regulate everyday school practices relating to drug use. Semi-structured individual and group interviews were carried out by the rhetoric confrontation technique. This technique is characterized by countering intentionally to research subjects, using the controversies available in the search field. This procedure allowed access not only to the content of the representations, but the cognitive organization of teachers. We used the Argumentative Strategy Model technique -ASM, which reconstructs the speech in its implicit aspects in order to allow an analysis of the dynamics of social representations, thatare used to justify and guide the daily practices. The analysis showed an exaggerated use of assumptions based on the usual relations, indicating little knowledge and little autonomy of teachers to cope and express opinions about drugs, and to propose solutions based on their personal and professional experiences. It is considered that the identification of social representations of teachers can contribute to a better school intervention planning in the prevention of drug use by students, insofar as they are daily contact with the students and are an important reference for these young people.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	Portuguese
Supervisor	Cláudia Rabello de Castro (Supervisor) & OSCAR CONCEIÇÃO DE SOUSA (Supervisor)