O processo formativo de cuidadores de idosos: o portfólio como artefato de letramento

The increase in people's life expectancy is a topic already noticed in developed countries and now it is also noticed in Brazil. This is why it has aroused the interest of researchers on the subject of aging. This implies that in the coming decades there will be a significant percentage of elderly people who will need specialized care. The natural aging process promotes changes in the body due to chronic-degenerative diseases that accompany old age. From this context, there is a need to qualify elderly caregivers in order to meet this growing demand. In this thesis, we aim to describe the focus of investigation is the training process for elderly caregivers' activities as literacy events. The training course chosen for this investigation was offered by the School of Health of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (ESUFRN), through the National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment (PRONATEC). In methodological terms, the study is included within the field of Applied Linguistics (MOITA LOPES, 2009; 2016) and follows a qualitative research data approach with an interpretive perspective. (BODGAN; BIKLEN, 1994 and MINAYO, 1999). The corpus consists of portfolios produced by ten trainees and a questionnaire applied to research participants. Regarding the theoretical foundations, the investigation is based on the assumptions of Literacy Studies as a social practice (HEATH, 1983; BARTON, 1993, 1998; STREET, 2006; BARTON; HAMILTON, 2000, KLEIMAN, 1995, 2005); in discussions on Health Literacy (PAZ, 2008; SILVA, 2013; MELO, 2016); Studies alluding to the use of the portfolio (CARVALHO; PORTO, 2005; AMBRÓSIO, 2015). Data analysis point to the relevance of the training process of elderly caregivers, more precisely the elderly caregivers course promoted through the ESUFRN/PRONATEC as well as the production of portfolios as an artifact of literacy - produced by the course participants - in addition to completing a Course Conclusion Work (TCC). They also describe their training path in it, reflect ...