Avaliação de implementação da política de formação continuada de professores no contexto escolar da rede municipal de ensino de Fortaleza: o olhar dos coordenadores pedagógicos

Abstract

Continuing teacher education has become one of the main strategies for improving teaching practice and enhancing the quality of basic education in Brazil. In this context, the pedagogical coordinator plays a central role as a mediator of formative processes and an articulator of pedagogical actions within schools. Contextual training, carried out in the school environment itself, emerges as an approach that values teachers’ knowledge, peer dialogue, and reflection on practice, bringing theory and reality closer together. In the municipal school system of Fortaleza, this perspective stands out through public policies aimed at valuing and promoting teachers’ professional development, in which the pedagogical coordinator acts as a key player in implementing and monitoring formative actions. Given this scenario, the present research evaluates the implementation of the teacher continuing education policy in the municipality of Fortaleza (Imbernón, 2011), which takes place within the school context and is characterized by its execution inside the educational institutions by the pedagogical coordinator. The study is based on the active listening of the actors involved in this process, which constitutes the general objective of this research. The study was guided by the following research question: How does the pedagogical coordinator act in contextual training, considering the daily implementation of this formative policy within Fortaleza’s municipal school system? This question guided the entire theoretical and methodological trajectory of the investigation, allowing for reflections on the coordinator’s role as both a trainer and an essential agent in the implementation of public education policies within the school context. To this end, data analysis was grounded in the evaluative dimensions of the policy implementation process, focusing on actors, contexts, perceptions, governance, and processes (Oliveira; Oliveira; Coelho, 2022) related to the Contextual Training Program. The research was supported by a review of legislation, official documents, and academic works by authors who discuss the topic of continuing teacher education—particularly within the school context—under a discursive and democratic perspective, drawing on Gatti (2008, 2018), Imbernón (2009, 2010, 2011), Tardif (2008, 2014, 2021), Libâneo (2004, 2013, 2015), Nóvoa (1999, 2022), among others. The methodology adopted in this research is based on the theoretical assumptions of public policy implementation studies, supported by the works of Lea Rodrigues (2008) and Oliveira(2016, 2019, 2022), and it employs methods of data collection and analysis commonly used in social research, primarily through interviews. This qualitative approach allowed for deeper analysis and interpretation of the data, emphasizing the understanding of meanings and experiences expressed by the participants. The study is characterized as qualitative and exploratory, employing bibliographical, documentary, and field research procedures. The fieldwork was conducted in eight public schools in Fortaleza’s municipal network, where semi-structured interviews were carried out with the pedagogical coordinators of the selected institutions. The research enabled a deeper understanding of the pedagogical coordinator’s role in implementing the public policy of contextual training, highlighting its relevance to the consolidation of a culture of continuing education in Fortaleza’s public schools. The study confirmed that the pedagogical coordinator is a key actor in implementing continuing education policies, performing leadership, mediation, and pedagogical guidance functions that go beyond technical dimensions and are expressed through formative, collaborative, and reflective practices. The results revealed that, despite structural limitations and excessive workloads, coordinators demonstrate strong commitment to improving teaching practices, constantly striving to create conditions for dialogue, collective study, and the sharing of knowledge. From a public policy perspective, the study showed that significant challenges remain regarding the institutionalization and monitoring of training activities in schools. The daily work of pedagogical coordinators is heavily impacted by the lack of time, inadequate working conditions, and insufficient recognition of the formative dimension of their role. These findings highlight the importance of implementing continuing education policies in a contextualized and sustainable way, recognizing and valuing the professionals who bring them to life within the school environment.