Economia solidária no contexto da indissociabilidade entre ensino, extensão e pesquisa no Núcleo Catalisador de Empreendimentos Solidários do IFPB: demandas formativas e práxis docentes

Abstract

Federal Institutes (Institutos Federais – IFs) are public educational institutions with the potential to provide comprehensive and emancipatory education for the working class. The inseparability of teaching, extension activities, and research constitute the foundation of the Technological Professional Education (Educação Profissional Tecnológica – EPT) project. In such context, extension—which is popular in nature and promotes social technologies—assumes a central role, being considered a mobilizing, articulating, and integrating force among these three dimensions. Teachers, as integral members of society, are essential for the implementation of this integrated practice. Consequently, discussions regarding their professional development are indispensable, as teacher education is also a key arena of debate in the pursuit of emancipatory education. This thesis argues that the practice of inseparability among teaching, extension, and research constitutes a bidirectional process in teacher formation within the IFs, simultaneously enabling the development of professional knowledge and identifying emerging formative needs. Furthermore, extension activities involving participants from the Solidarity Economy (Economia Solidária – ES) contribute by highlighting specific nuances to the present analysis, as this group embodies counter-hegemonic values that resonate with the principles of the EPT project developed here. Accordingly, this study aimed to analyze teachers’ knowledge, the practices of inseparability among teaching, extension, and research, and the formative demands arising from these practices, drawing on experiences in projects linked to the Solidarity Economy conducted by the Núcleo Catalisador de Empreendimentos Solidários (NUCAES) at the Instituto Federal da Paraíba (IFPB), Guarabira Campus, between 2015 and 2022. This research constitutes a qualitative case study grounded in Historical-Dialectical Materialism. Data collection involved document analysis and a roda de conversa (dialogue circle) with two founding professors of NUCAES. Data were analyzed using Textual Discourse Analysis (TDA). The findings highlight that faculty engagement in extension centers such as NUCAES constitutes meaningful work that facilitates changes in both thought and practice. Their political engagement is nurtured and oriented toward the pursuit of freedom and the promotion of individual and collective transformation. Moreover, popular education aligns with their methodological practices, extending beyond the formal educational environment and becoming embedded in the participants’ daily lives. Teacher knowledge is constructed, reconstructed, and re-signified within these spaces of ongoing professional development, while its ethical, political, aesthetic, epistemological, and technical dimensions are continually enriched by such experiences. Nevertheless, contradictions were observed, particularly concerning the extent of institutional commitment to inseparability and the ideological struggle against the individualism that persists within the IFs. Additionally, several formative needs were identified, including the promotion of continuing education initiatives that foster teacher autonomy based on the methodological and political framework of popular education. Such autonomy is directed toward understanding the institutional commitments of the IFs, recognizing the importance of inseparability practices in responding to popular demands, cultivating a critical perspective on the world of work, and comprehending the Solidarity Economy as an alternative model of work organization and buen vivir (well-being).