Practice as a component in curriculum courses of teacher education: reflections shared

Abstract

This study discusses the practice of teaching in teacher preparation programs in Brazil. Public policies for teaching preparation, specifically the Resolutions 1º (2001) and 2º (2002) from the Brazilian National Board of Education are taken into consideration together with an analysis of the daily practice in building teachers’ professional trajectory. A tension-like approach regarding the polarization theory-practice is highlighted to the extent that it may contribute to the creation of a reflexive school through making applied theory as real as possible. Viewed from a different perspective, this study also points to the importance of discussing the ties between the personal and the social, and the individual and collective aspects of the teaching profession, acknowledging that teaching preparation starts before one’s formal academic training. The study also points out that it is necessary to think of a teacher as an action researcher, recognizing that practice cannot be reduced to task execution without considering the application of knowledge and skills in a balanced way towards preparing critical thinkers and socially participative individuals. When analyzing the two Resolutions from the Brazilian National Board of Education, the trend to shorten the length of the teacher preparation programs becomes evident, failing to take into consideration the need for equipping them with solid knowledge on the reading of the world in the 21st. century.