Panorama of Pedagogy in Brazil: Science, Course and Profession

Abstract

After completing eighty-three years of existence in Brazil, Pedagogy stands out among the undergraduate courses with the highest number of students in the country. Despite its contribution over all these decades concerning the training of educators and studies related to education in general, its historical trajectory is marked by intense disputes around its training purposes. Based on the understanding that the definition of the profile of graduates of a higher education course must be traced in dialogue with the epistemological nature of the scientific areas that configure it and the demands of the social and educational field, this article sought to analyze aspects of the course’s historical trajectory at the interface with the production of pedagogical knowledge in the country. From this perspective, it begins with a conceptual discussion about education as a social phenomenon and Pedagogy as a science that has it as an object of study. This study also analyzed the course’s historical trajectory and pedagogical thinking in Brazil and problematizes the (dis)place of Pedagogy in the scenario of Brazilian graduate studies.