Deconstructing prejudice in schools: the role of dialogical practices

Abstract

There seems to be a consensus among educators that dialogue is essential for pedagogical practice. However, the reality of classrooms tends to be different. For Cultural Psychology, monologism and heteronomy need to be replaced by dialogical practices. In this article, this topic is analyzed based on that theoretical perspective and the principles of dialogical psychology, illustrating our analysis with research data referring to an activity developed in a public school with the intended purpose of deconstructing prejudices. Despite the teachers’ established objectives (the discussion of a short film) and even though they sought to value a dialogical attitude as a pedagogical practice, a monological practice was conducted. We discuss in theoretical terms why this tends to occur, hoping to contribute with educators by orienting them to listen, discuss, and reflect with students about topics such as the deconstruction of prejudices.