O envelhecer para educadoras idosas (aposentadas): trajetórias e sentido da vida

Abstract

Old age is presented as a singular existential context, which justifies the expression used by Norbert Elias, "the loneliness of the dying", seen for many older people. The characterization of this feeling would give the biological fragility, emotional and psychological elderly. Thus, the elderly live with the passage of time and the inexorable finitude of our existence, acquiring a more sensitive time perception over the years. On the other hand, it would be possible, given that human finitude frame and increased fragility stay happy and find existential meaning, or a reason to be happy in the sense Frankl (1984). Such questioning led to performing a qualitative study, based on life stories, aimed to analyse the perception of the meaning of life in old age of older teachers (retired) residents in cities in the interior of Bahia, over 60 years. Data collected through qualitative research through open narrative interviews. The understanding in greater depth provided by qualitative interview can provide valuable contextual information to help explain specific findings (Bauer, 2003). Thus triggering the following questions asked. What is stale you? As is to be retired. Tell me about happy moments of your life. Talk about hard times faced and how you overcame them. In line with the life story approach (Oliveira, 2008), it faithfully recorded, audio, speech of subjects, transcribed verbatim. Study participants are six ladies who were educators and are now retired, living in cities in the interior of Bahia, belonging to the middle class and Catholicism practitioners aged between 60 and 92 years. Each participant interviewed at his own residence. Transcripts generated themes discussed based on the approach to cultural psychology semiotic base Zittoun (2004) Sense of Viktor Frankl Life (1984). They were particularly relevant to the interpretation of the data. The analysis of the developmental pathways from the retirement and widowhood event, taken as break and transition points. The experience of values in which human beings find meaning in their actions as creator: are the creation of value; when delivery to the experience of something that gets in the world: it is the experience of values; and when you choose to affirmative attitudes of suffering: it is the attitude values. These analyses allowed the identification of material and symbolic resources used by the participants to face old age, retirement and widowhood. The conclusions clearly the presence of living the values proposed by Frankl as the identification of meaning of life and existential integrity.