Sharing, studying, seeing more broadly: Teachers' narratives about continuing education

Abstract

The present article is based on a study which aimed to examine the meanings and discuss the contributions of continuing education to the pedagogical practice of early childhood education. Relying on (auto)biographical theoretical-methodological approaches, it primarily sought to record teacher narratives, making way for memories that weave stories of teacher education processes, of knowledge and practices, from our meetings with teachers working at the municipal education system of the city of Itaboraí, RJ, Brazil. The biographical material that shapes our study's main data was generated through narrative interviews that included the following aspects of teaching: fundamentals of early childhood education, contents, goals, the knowledge necessary for teaching, factors related to learning them, as well as those related to child learning, the teacher's role. Focusing our analysis on the theory-practice relationship existing in these teachers' education trajectory, our results point to conceptual and formal questions related to continuing education approaches: continuing education is viewed as a place to think and reflect, to share knowledge and experiences; it cannot be just about passing on methodologies, but a space-time of study; theory and practice articulate together when daily life and bibliographical sources are put into dialogue. Among the contents listed, it is worth highlighting those related to planning and routine organization in early childhood education, which should continuously be part of studies, according to the narratives. These are powerful recommendations for thinking about and informing public policy for teacher education.