Teaching Cytopathology – an Analysis of Self-perception of Teaching Practice and Possibilities for the Insertion of Educational Technologies

Abstract

Cervical cancer is one of the most common in the world, its screening began with the Pap smear and with the cytotechnologist as a fundamental actor. During this period, the pedagogical trend was technical, characterized by scientific neutrality, a more operational educational process, a low teacher/student ratio and appreciation of technique and individuals' skills. In this scenario, the School of Cytotechnicians was created, later incorporated into the National Cancer Institute, which aimed to train technicians to carry out preventive exams. Since few changes have occurred in pedagogical practice to date, it is necessary to evaluate the perception of course teachers regarding the pedagogical trend applied to understand their needs. The analysis took place with course teachers, through an exploratory-descriptive study with a qualitative-quantitative approach of non-directed, open, recorded, coded and transcribed interviews. Most teachers see the teacher as a central actor in the process, believe in the instructional way of passing on content, consider technical-professional experience important and understand the role of the school as a trainer of qualified labor for the job market. It was possible to observe the existence of overlapping of two pedagogical trends, if on the one hand the statements lead to a more traditional approach by pointing out the instructional and mechanized style of learning with a focus on the teacher, on the other, the teaching methodology is reported as different, where the didactic sequence is important in the search for learning, in addition to meeting marketing needs, characteristics of technicality.  

Keywords: Cytology. Cytotechnic Pap Smear Test. Technicality.