Didactization of the concept of the competent reader from curricular guidelines in the “Parameters in Action” program: mobilizing theoretical and experimential knowledge

Abstract

Starting form the concept that didactization analyses the process of mobilizing knowledge in the classroom setting (BRONCKART & GIGER, 1998; GAUTHIER, 1998; PERRENOUD, 2000a; 2000b; 2002; TARDIF, 2002), this research aim to examine didactization of the competent reader concept as suggested by the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de Língua Portuguesa (Brazil's National Curricular Guidelines for Portuguese Language Teaching) (PCN-LP), in order to verify what knowledge, from those guidelines, is mobilized in the didactization of that concept by the educators participating in the Paramêtros em Ação - 1999 (Guidelines in Action - 1999) program, in two teacher-education projects in the State of Paraíba: first, the training of "multiplicadores" (multiplier agents) in the city of Campina Grande, in 2003; second, implementation with primary teachers in the town of Queimadas, in 2004. During the analysis, we observed that while the educators were using the module to instruct learners to become competent readers and writers, they made reference to the PCN-LP reading concept and to experiential knowledge. Mobilization of theoretical knowledge was not achieved textually as proposed by the PCN-LP, whereas experiential knowledge was mobilized to deal with a theoretical impasse, adding to an explanation or substituting it. However, the didactized reader concept comes down to the concept that reading is more than just decoding.