Desenvolvimento de Tecnologia Comportamental para Ensinar Habilidades Sociais Educativas a Professores Universitários no Contexto da Inclusão de Pessoas com Deficiência

Abstract

Continuing education for university professors is crucial, considering the insufficiency of initial training to address interpersonal demands in the context of inclusion of people with disabilities. A highly developed repertoire of Educational Social Skills (ESS) has been associated with inclusive and welcoming educational environments. Considering the limitations of in-person training, computerized training has gained prominence due to its effectiveness in teaching various skills. Therefore, an Interactive Computer Training (ICT) program focused on ESS and the inclusion of university students with disabilities was developed, applied, and evaluated. The thesis comprises four independent, yet interconnected, studies. The first study is a systematic review of ICT, which identified its effectiveness for teaching skills at different levels of complexity. However, in complex tasks, proficiency is enhanced and, in some cases, achieved when in-person components are added. The second study presents analyses of interviews with university students with disabilities. The students' perceptions centered on the impact of their interpersonal relationships with professors. Healthy relationships expand the students' support network and favor course retention, whereas conflicting relationships hinder the academic journey. The accounts obtained in the second study supported the development of the ICT scripts, the validation of which by specialists and students with disabilities is reported in the third study. Results indicate the relevance of the content, coherence with the proposed theoretical framework, and representativeness of people with disabilities. However, evaluations suggested the need for more examples of situations related to each ESS and a language revision. The ICT was applied to a group of university professors, using the Educational Social Skills Inventory for Professors (IHSE-Prof) as a pre and post-measure, as reported in the fourth study. The results indicate more significant changes in the socioemotional support dimension, which is consistent with the proposal to intervene at the attitudinal level. The use of self-report measures is a limitation in the generalization of results, although logistical issues precluded the use of observational measures. The ICT appears to be a viable alternative to complement the continuing education of university professors, and further research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness through observational measures of faculty interpersonal performance and the perception of students with disabilities, in order to strengthen the evidence regarding the applicability of this behavioral technology in the context of university professors' social skills.