Continuing education programs for literacy teachers: concepts and practices

Abstract

The present article analyses the proposals of continuing training for literacy teachers in two counties of Recife Metropolitan Area, in order to understand the language conceptions and training that justify such practices. Our research illuminates huge differences between training practices in the two cities. In Camaragibe, the training program sought to incorporate teachers experiences, recognizing that language education is a comprehensive social practice. In Jaboatão, the training process focused on the use of educational materials developed by the program that included specific instructions for the teachers, reducing participants’ role to that of completing predefined tasks rather than seeking their input in the process.