Tecnologias versus saúde mental: o enfoque CTS como subsídio para a ação docente

Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to identify: How a Continuing Education Course with a STS focus on Technologies and Adolescent Mental Health can contribute to the pedagogical practice of teachers? The methodological approach was classified as applied with a qualitative approach, supported by the assumptions of action research. The sample consisted of one thousand twenty-five (1025) students and fifty-six (56) teachers from the state educational system in the city of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, as well as eighteen (18) clinical psychologists who work with adolescents. It was used data collection instruments such as questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, photos, audio and field diary records, which were treated based on Bardin's (2016) content analysis. The research was developed in three parts. In the first part, it was explored real demands brought by students and teachers who took part in the research. The second part was dedicated to construction and implementation of Continuing Education (CE) for teachers, named “Technologies x Mental Health”. The third part consisted on reflecting and evaluating the CE. This model has guided to the reflection on the issue of the influence of technology on mental health through the Science Technology and Society (STS) approach in CE for teachers, preparing them to identify the difficulties faced by students, as well as acting to prevent them and also help those students properly. This study has begun by the need of demystifying the view of technology, promoting Scientific and Technological Literacy (STL) through the CTS approach, aiming at reflexive practice to raise awareness about the positive and negative aspects of its resources, especially for the mental health of adolescents. By discussing and reflecting using the CTS approach brought by adolescents during the practice developed at schools by teachers who took part in the research, the results have identified some important issues, such as aggressivity, cyberbullying, the need of being accepted at social media, difficulty in paying attention and getting focused, social isolation, sleeping problems, game addiction and technology dependence. According to those teachers, such situations demand deep reflection and need of special work, since several problems appear at school and cause consequences on the students’ performance. Those actions are important to take back the social function of school. The need of reflecting about those topics prompts new studies which aim at STL, the use of technology and mental health of adolescents.