The initial and continuing education: Conceptual differences that legitimize a space for permanent education for life

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of continuing education based on Canário (2013), Cavaco (2002. 2013), Nóvoa (1992, 1988) and Freire (1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003), reflecting on the consequences of ideological discourses that reinforce investments in a model of continuing education which is set apart from a permanent practice of life. This reflection allows to demystify the understanding of continuing education as training and repair, implicit in many government actions, which shift investments from basic training to continuing education, a policy that expedites and weakens the initial training, since teachers with poor training are more easily trainable with educational packages and instructional materials. In this paper, we argue that a continuing education which is not reparative/supplementary, but elective, would require three essential aspects: (1) initial training that would enable teachers to draw paths for their careers; (2) autonomy to decide when, where and how they will continue to be formed; (3) material conditions to attend courses, conduct research and make intervention proposals.