Pragmatism and the work of professional teaching

Abstract

This paper is the result of a study of the professionalization of teachers, understood as the principal concept of the changes promoted by the reformof the teacher education system in Brazil, since the 1990s. The studysought to identify the epistemologicalcontent of papers about professionalization
of teachers in the journals Qualis Internacional A, from 1996-2005. The research sought to identify the predominant
pedagogical-epistemological orientation of these authors. This paper discusses the theme of professionalization in Brazil, addresses teacher education as an issue of knowledge and presents the results of the analysis undertaken. It concludes that there are two distinct forms of learning what it is to professionalize teachers and to conceive of the work of education in light of its social goals. We infer that the ideological-political theories, whether those of the reformers, or of the authors who pedagogically sustain the educational reforms, emphasize the value and power of theory, given that by the theoretical production, and other means, they establish conditions to disseminate ideas and consensuses.