-
social representations; indigenous teachers; intercultural degree.
Study on the social representations (SR) of “being a teacher” within the scope of the Indigenous Intercultural Degree (Liebi) in Human Sciences at the State University of Maranhão (Uema) with students/interlocutors of the Canela and Guajajara ethnic groups. It identified the elements that constitute the SR hierarchically; the functions they perform in the process of constituting the SR and verified how they impact the praxis of those teachers. It used as a reference the Theory of Social Representations: Moscovici (1978, 2001, 2012) and Jodelet (1984/1986, 2001, 2014); and the Theory of the Central Nucleus based on theorists Abric (1998), Flament (1989), Sá (1996a, 1996b, 1998). It carried out bibliographic research on the theories and training of indigenous teachers; and the documentary in the legal contributions that reference the schooling and training of indigenous teachers. It highlighted that the previous experience of the non-indigenous teacher trainer made it possible for the insertion of the researcher in the locus of investigation and guided , through participant observation, the production of ethnographic records; the application of data production instruments – the Free Word Association Technique (Talp) and semi-structured interviews; and directed the comprehensive reading of the information in light of strategies proposed by Bardin (2020). It concluded that the group's social thinking about BEING A TEACHER is rooted and consolidated in “TEACHING” and indicates that those interlocutors have a positive image of the profession and recognize its importance for their communities. It highlighted that that representation is anchored in the conception of indigenous education centered on particular forms of production and transmission of knowledge. The other constituents refer to the more individualized aspects of the RS, ratify the positive image they have of the profession and guide the praxis of those teachers. Finally, he highlighted the importance of higher education institutions that already offer those degrees creating specific access policies in postgraduate courses at the master's and doctoral level for graduates of those degrees, so that they can continue the training process and assume, also in higher education, the dialogue and mediation between knowledge in courses aimed at their communities.