The traps for the teaching profession when a teacher is an “aunt”

Abstract

The present work aims to understand the social representations of teachers who work in early childhood education and elementary education about the profession and the reasons that lead them to call themselves “aunt” or refuse to use the term. This is a bibliographic study in which books, theses, and articles were selected based on themes such as social representations of teaching, teacher identity, teaching appreciation, professionalization of education, gender relations, and teaching. The research was based, therefore, on theoretical contributions developed by authors in the area, such as de Freire (2007), Santos (2010), Rufino (2020), Saviani (2009), Sousa and Magalhães (2021). Among the results obtained, studies have indicated that the social representations of teachers are formed based on the historical context of the profession, the groups and contexts in which they live, in addition to political and economic issues, factors fundamental for the training of individuals and the construction of professional identities. At the end of this work, it is expected that this subject will provoke readers' reflection on the importance of valuing the teaching profession, especially considering gender issues and how they can perceive themselves as workers who play a fundamental role in the development of society.