Challenges for reader development in Vocational and Technological Education

Abstract

This article analyzes the reading incentive practices developed in the library of the Federal Institute of Bahia, Catu Campus, and their contributions to the formation of readers in Integrated High School (EMI). Based on the perspective of integral human formation in Professional and Technological Education (EPT), the research adopts a qualitative-quantitative approach, characterizing itself as a case study. Data were collected through questionnaires applied to students and library staff and analyzed based on Bardin's Content Analysis. The results show that the practices of mediation and encouragement of reading contribute to the development of critical thinking, reading habits, and intellectual autonomy of students. However, they also reveal structural and cultural limitations that hinder the consolidation of a reading culture. It is concluded that the school library, when articulated with the pedagogical project of EPT, can act as a strategic space for the formation of readers and the omnilateral formation of students.