Acknowledgments in thesis and dissertations in the area of Education: a little bit of me, a little bit of us

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the writing of acknowledgments in thesis and dissertations in education. We selected a sample of texts from five postgraduate programs at public universities, one in each region of Brazil. We read them using an evidential method, starting from the autobiographical and narrative character of this type of writing. We found aspects related to religiosity; affective and family relationships; coexistence with the supervisor, professors, and university employees; bonds of friendship and collegiality; and support from development agencies. We also pointed to recognition of difficulties and persistence in research and writing; thanksgiving as a formality, irony, or protest strategy; the reflection of the journey and; the perception of the formative process itself. We conclude with the political character of the acknowledgment writing, on social commitment to the production of knowledge, as well as the collective and humanizing process of investigative work in education.