The concept of continuing professional education in Ladário, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and the totalitarianism of instrumental reason

Abstract

The National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age (PNAIC) is proposed by the Federal Government, along with the states and municipalities in Brazil. It aims at teaching children to read and write due the third year of elementary school. The program is divided into four axes: continuing education; teaching materials; systematic assessment and management; mobilization and social control. In this paper, we focused on continuing education, with the purpose of analyzing the concept teachers from a school in Ladário, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, have, regarding the way the program approaches continuing education. The teachers participate in the PNAIC. The methodology adopted was case study, with semi-structured interviews. The theoretical basis came from the Critical Theory. We concluded that the teachers we interviewed see PNAIC’s continuing education as an aid to complement their pedagogical practices. At no time do they exhibit a critical position towards the determinations. We thus observed, in their speech, the totalization of instrumental reason, as they don’t discuss the guidelines – they just follow them.