Professores e contextos de trabalho: traços da ação docente na transição para um novo modelo de gestão

Taking as reference four professional cultures, we tried to understand how teachers work in a department of a public school. We adopted a research methodology centered in a case study, in a naturalistic approach of qualitative nature. Providing a common space for joint reflection in a focus group, we tried to find out what teachers think about their school’s culture and its impact on their work environment. In order to obtain a multi-focused view of the field studied, we interviewed the head of department, group leaders and the school’s direction board. Data triangulation allowed us to confirm information, detect inconsistencies and enhance confidence in the data collected. We realized that the pressure of performativity is not producing visible improvement in the quality of teaching processes and learning outcomes. As individualism and balkanization increase, collaboration and forced collegiality are (re)construed by teachers in schools, in an attempt to fit in the new educational backdrops. This puts forward the need for teachers to engage in spontaneous collaborative environments in order to boost teacher empowerment and reinforce their professional identity.