Possibilities and limits for continued education at school, under the orientation of performatic educational policy

Abstract

This article analyses the didactic strategies of continued education used by a pedagogical coordinator and some teachers from a municipal primary school in Rio de Janeiro.  Based on a dialogue with theoretical references (Ball; Libâneo; Tardif and Freire), we reflect on the limits and opportunities for continued education at school, which is concerned with the social function of education and citizen education  in the context of performatic educational policies. Data was gathered from the observations of meetings, documents analyses and interviews. We conclude that the pedagogical coordinator sought to develop a continued education, with secondary adjustments to the performatic educational policy, because collective work between teachers and families is already conducted around the school project. This allowed the educational coordinator to seek a consensus over the contents and the methods used to motivate students. We identify as limits to the continuing education of teachers the time established for continued education by the municipal education department, and the different perspectives about the role of the school. Another obstacle found is the difficulty in creating partnerships with other institutions and professionals. Without these partnerships, continued education remains restricted to the local reality and knowledge, without the benefits of new and other forms of knowledge from other professionals. One of the alternatives for overcoming these obstacles is to search for a partnership with university research groups.