Teacher education: is it beating its head on a brick wall?

Abstract

Brazilian basic education still lacks qualified teachers. The Brazilian Open University System (UAB) is a branch of a public educational policy designed to address that problem. This quantitative/descriptive paper analyses UAB System statistics ( to June 2015, specifically regarding vacancies, enrolment and the number of students that graduate. It was revealed that 68.3% of all vacancies were allocated to teacher education courses, and within that sphere 67.5% were degree courses for basic education teachers and 32.4%, complementary courses. The enrolment percentage was around 86%, while the proportion of students graduating was around 61%. Analysis of the figures suggests that the UAB sought to achieve its main goal, as a public policy that induces teacher education for Brazilian basic education teaching staff. However, it is conjectured that problems related to the teaching profession itself discourage students from joining and from finalizing their courses, thereby weakening the potential performance of the UAB System. Keywords: Education policy. Teacher education. Brazilian Open University System (UAB). Introduction: A Renewed ProblemAn increasing body of research reveals how unattractive the teaching profession is in Brazil largely due to low prestige, poor pay, the gap between qualification and reality, violence in schools and a multitude of other factors (BARRETTO, 2015; GATTI, 2014). Research has also questioned why high enrolment levels in teaching degree courses persist alongside a shortage of teachers in schools, especially for certain teaching subjects and in certain regions: could it be that there are "too few teachers and too many with teaching degrees?" (PALAZZO; GOMES, 2017). Two refrains have been historically reiterated: devaluation of educators and lack of them. Teacher education: is it beating its head on a brick wall?An intelligent decision was made in 2006 to stimulate the qualification of teachers for basic education by means of the Brazilian Open University System (UAB is the Portuguese acronym) under the administration of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior -Capes). The underlying logic is consistent: distance education is flexible, low cost compared to physical attendance courses, public and free of charge to the students, has a notorious capillarity, can reach out to distant places and allows for the use of high quality teaching materials and staff.Has a program with such a broad outreach as the UAB effectively met those needs? Has the money (correctly) invested been transformed into tangible contributions? This paper sets out to delineate the answers to those questions by analyzing the data from UAB. It touches on an assessment that transcends that ambit, however, and it is worthwhile keeping up the suspense as to whether we are still producing too many graduates with teaching qualifications but not enough teachers. Even the best objectives and strategies and the richest arrays of ta...