A disciplina de Libras na formação inicial: percepções de estudantes do curso de Biologia do IFPI - Campus São João do Piauí

Abstract

The Brazilian Sign Language is legally recognized and regulated as a means of communication and expression originating from communities of deaf people in Brazil. From this perspective, the subject of Libras in teacher training courses at higher education institutions is compulsory. The aim of this article is to analyse the perceptions of Biological Sciences undergraduate students at IFPI - Campus São João do Piauí in relation to the subject of Libras as a curricular component in initial teacher training, considering the challenges and perspectives for the inclusion of Deaf students in Science/Biology teaching. To this end, a qualitative-quantitative descriptive study was carried out, using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of ten questions as the data collection instrument. The study involved 50 students on the Biological Sciences degree course at IFPI - Campus São João do Piauí who were studying the fourth, sixth and eighth modules in 2023 and who had had contact with the subject of Libras at some point during the course. The results of this research show that there are many challenges highlighted by Biological Sciences undergraduates for teaching in Libras, such as the workload, professional qualification, communicative practices that lead to fluency, among others. Thus, it is concluded that it is necessary to rethink the workload, as well as curricular adaptation, aiming at transversality and interdisciplinarity in the subject of Libras throughout the initial teacher training course, in order to have a linguistic and sociocultural deepening of Libras, corroborating the professional development of the teacher and the significant construction of student learning