Against the learnification of teaching: an analysis of policies for teacher education and the teaching profession in Brazil and Scotland

Abstract

This paper explores the role of educational policies in influencing teachers’ profession and teaching through the analysis of two policies for teacher education and the teaching profession: the Scottish Standard for Full Registration and the Brazilian Common National Base for initial teachers’ formation. A central concern is to reflect about manners for overcoming the culture of performativity in education. The question addressed is: “For what purposes are teachers supposed to teach in Brazil and Scotland?” We focused the analysis on what is written about teaching in those policies, raising questions and comments on the parts where there is an emphasis on learning but in which we understand teaching should be included. Both policies prioritise learning, barely mentioning teaching and almost ignoring studying. Indeed, teaching seems to be submitted to a process of learnification, having as its main objective reaching measurable learning outcomes foreseen in the curriculum. Hence, these policies show no conceptions of teaching that could overcome the culture of performativity in education.