Teacher Education and Institutional Silence: the challenge of prevention and support in the face of violence against children

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the absence of the theme of Sex Education (SE), with a focus on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse (PSA), in the Teaching Degree courses in Pedagogy in Brazil. From the analysis of curricula, syllabus matrices of five institutions – one per region of the country – significant gaps in initial teacher training are evidenced, especially regarding the preventive approach to child sexual abuse in the school context. The study is organized into three axes: the scenario of sexual violence against children and adolescents, the legal foundations that guide preventive actions and the limits of teacher training. The results point to institutional silencing as a factor that contributes to the perpetuation of violence, reiterating the role of Education as an agent of transformation and of teachers as fundamental actors in the prevention of abuse, as well as in the identification and reception of students who are victims and/or witnesses of abuse.

Keywords
BNCC; Sex Education; Teacher Training; Pedagogy; Sexual Abuse Prevention

RESUMO

Este artigo analisa a ausência da temática da Educação Sexual (ES), com foco na Prevenção ao Abuso Sexual (PAS), nos cursos de Licenciatura em Pedagogia no Brasil. A partir da análise de Projeto Pedagógico de Curso (PPC), matrizes curriculares, ementários de cinco instituições — uma por região do país —, evidenciam-se lacunas significativas na formação docente inicial, especialmente quanto à abordagem preventiva do abuso sexual infantil no contexto escolar. O estudo organiza-se em três eixos: o cenário da violência sexual contra crianças e adolescentes, os fundamentos legais que orientam ações preventivas e os limites da formação docente. Os resultados apontam o silenciamento institucional como fator que contribui para a perpetuação da violência, reiterando o papel da Educação como agente de transformação e dos professores como atores fundamentais na prevenção ao abuso, assim como na identificação e acolhimento de estudantes vítimas e/ou testemunhas de abuso.

Palavras-chave
BNCC; Educação Sexual; Formação Docente; Pedagogia; Prevenção ao Abuso Sexual

Introduction

Children need protection [...] and researchers need courage

(Lima, 2009, p. 15).

Dialogues regarding sexuality frequently reveal an inherent tension surrounding the theme insofar as, although they arouse interest and curiosity, they also generate discomfort and resistance. Among other institutional spaces, this ambivalence manifests itself in schools which, at times, refuse to incorporate sexuality as a pedagogical theme, even though they are environments where expressions related to sexuality circulate intensely manifested through dances, music, and the sharing of intimate images. These manifestations constitute legitimate ways, albeit at times unregulated, through which young people experience and affirm their sexuality.

According to Carmita Abdo (2014), human sexuality is a complex phenomenon involving multiple dimensions — biological, psychological, social, and cultural — that interact to constitute the individual’s sexual experience.

However, the absence of a critical and mediated pedagogical approach in educational institutions contributes to the maintenance of reductionist conceptions, which restrict sexuality to the sexual act itself, disregarding its broad historical, cultural, affective, and relational strands.

In this sense, school omission not only perpetuates stigmas, but also denies the child and adolescent the right to the construction of knowledge that promotes self-care, ethics, and citizenship.

The following excerpt from Egypto (2003, p. 13) elucidates that

[...] sexuality is present in the lives of all of us, from the moment we are born until we die, and Sexuality Education happens constantly, in one way or another. We are always being sexually educated, whether at home, with the posture and opinions of parents and children, or through the media, watching television programs, reading reports in magazines and newspapers, or surfing the internet. [...] We have always been sexually educated, even if it does not seem so. And when we do not talk about sex, we are also educating.

Still according to this author, when the school refuses planned work in Sexuality Education (henceforth SE), it is relegating sexuality to informal treatment, often under the "guidance" of what is conveyed by different media, with interests far removed from the safety of children and adolescents (Egypto, 2003).

Sanderson (2005) clarifies that, contrary to what many believe, providing SE to children and adolescents does not stimulate their sexual life; leaving SE unprovided is what gives voice to the silence that conceals abuse.

When the school community possesses information and knowledge regarding indicative signs of sexual abuse, the motivations of abusers, and the grooming mechanisms involving family members, children, and adolescents, it becomes possible to adopt effective measures for the protection of both potential victims and survivors of abuse.

According to Ribeiro (1996, p. 109), "[children], from the moment they are born, are immersed in a system of social significations. In the interaction with the other, they construct their knowledge and, at the same time, are constructed by meanings produced and accumulated historically." Starting from this perspective, it is possible to consider that, in family contexts marked by emotional instability, disrespectful, aggressive/abusive interactions can significantly influence the processes of knowledge construction and subjective development of children and adolescents.

However, it is important to highlight that these effects do not occur in a linear or deterministic fashion. Factors such as the presence of positive affective bonds, support networks, schools with well-informed and psychosocial support, besides other significant experiences can function as important mediators, contributing to trajectories less marked by the effects of adversity.

The author complements this perspective by stating that "[within] the theme of Human Sexuality, a diversity of voices is present in the child's affective and cognitive structure, and children develop their knowledge, interacting with the meanings in circulation" (Ribeiro, 1996, p. 110). Given this, a fundamental role of the school becomes evident: supporting the construction of this knowledge through Sexuality Education. Based on this understanding, to advance the analysis of prevention of sexual abuse (henceforth PSA), it is first necessary to define what constitutes sexual abuse: any action with a sexual connotation imposed on someone, with or without the use of force, with or without physical contact, always marked by a relationship of power. It is a “complex situation, triggered by a sexual act, not necessarily intercourse, in which a stranger or family member uses another person's body, or threatens to do so, without their conscious consent” (Cromberg, 2001, p. 62). Furthermore, it is essential to reflect on who sexual abusers are and what the social and institutional responsibility is to guarantee the offer of Sexuality Education to children and adolescents.

The sexual abuser is any person, potentially being from the family or not, regardless of age, gender, or religious affiliation, having some religion or none, and independent of social status. That is to say: there are no means to detect them beforehand.

Lima, Costa, and Araújo (2022, p. 2-3) substantiate that the theme of sexual violence

is a subject seldom debated or, when spoken of, is laden with fear and judgment. Thus, for the child or adolescent to feel at ease and confident to report any type of sexual abuse or harassment, it is necessary to establish a relationship based on trust and the most propitious environments for this are within the family and/or school.

Anunciação et al. (2022) emphasize that the articulation between family and school is configured as an undeniable and complex necessity, since the family and school contexts interact and act as the primary socializing agents at the beginning of the child's social life. These environments are fundamental for human development in contemporary Western societies, making a partnership that favors the integral growth of children and adolescents indispensable.

However, statistics show us the high number of cases of intrafamilial abuse, pointing toward an interventionist role of the school in the face of abusive families. According to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook (FBSP, 2025), 76.8% of cases registered in 2024 correspond to the legal classification of rape of a vulnerable person, whose characterization is based on the victim's legal incapacity to consent.

Cromberg (2001, p. 62) argues in favor of the concept of "conscious consent," highlighting that, in situations of sexual abuse, the child is incapable of providing it, given their condition of vulnerability and psychic development still in formation. This incapacity stems from the stage of cognitive, emotional, and social development the child is in, which makes them particularly vulnerable and limits their full understanding of the consequences and implications associated with such situations, especially those of a sexual nature. In these cases, the sexual act is considered a crime regardless of the existence of physical violence or explicit coercion, since the victim does not possess sufficient discernment to manifest valid consent.

In the year 2024, 67,204 records of rape of a vulnerable person were recorded within the national territory. The majority of these cases occurred in the domestic environment, corresponding to 67.9% of the total records. The residence remains, therefore, as the primary space in which this form of violence takes place, considering that in 59.5% of cases the aggressor is a family member of the victim (FBSP, 2025).

We also emphasize the State's responsibility regarding the rights of children and adolescents, according to Article 3 of Law No. 13,257 (Brasil, 2016), which provides for public policies for early childhood:

[the] absolute priority in ensuring the rights of the child, the adolescent, and the youth, under the terms of Article 227 of the Federal Constitution and Article 4 of Law No. 8,069, of July 13, 1990, implies the State's duty to establish policies, plans, programs, and services for early childhood that meet the specificities of this age group, aiming to guarantee their integral development.

Regarding intrafamilial abuse, Leirner (2007) highlights the resistance often presented by families, since admitting that the abuse was committed by someone close implies confronting the dark aspects of the family unit itself and recognizing the existence of serious problems in that supposedly untouched environment. For this reason, 'omitting is easier than reporting' (Leirner, 2007, p. 28).

Alberto (2022, p. 113) revisits the words of physician Sándor Ferenczi (1949), born in Hungary in 1873, to emphasize that “even children from very respectable and sincerely puritanical families are victims of violence or violation, much more frequently than one might suppose.” Complementing this perspective, Sanderson (2005), based on Demause (1976), evidences the global occurrence of child abuse, often justified by religious and cultural factors. In this sense, Ferrari and Vecina (2002, pp. 45-46) detail such aspects, observing that “throughout human history, abuse in childhood and adolescence has always existed. [...] a diversity of treatments offered to children can be observed, according to periods, civilizations, and peoples”. The authors enumerate some practices:

During the time of the Phoenicians, in Tyre and Sidon, Moabites and Ammonites sacrificed children to appease the gods. [...] Every year in Egypt, a young woman was drowned in the Nile so that the river would overflow and fertilize the lands. In Greece, children who could not be robust citizens were ordered to be killed. [...] In Sparta, every newborn was submitted to the judgment of the Assembly of Elders; if they judged the child useful, they respected their life; otherwise, they were sent to Mount Taygetus, thrown into its abysses to serve as food for wild beasts. The slaughter of children in China reached almost to our days. It is highlighted, in particular, that girls, at nightfall, were taken to the city gates to satisfy hungry wolves

(Ferrari; Vecina, 2002, p. 46).

Violence against children has deep historical roots, and several practices today culturally accepted as normal and educational have their origin in past centuries. Before proceeding with the analysis, it becomes essential to contextualize the multiple conceptions of childhood throughout time, since this historical overview contributes to understanding the persistence of certain currently naturalized actions. Studies by Kroll (1977) and Demause (2002) document practices such as the rigorous swaddling of babies, used to immobilize them and allow adults to carry out their daily activities. Furthermore, the use of the so-called foundling wheel (Rizzini; Pilotti, 2011) constituted a frequent mechanism for child abandonment by families. From the 4th to the 13th century, children were seen as carriers of evil; this was satisfactory justification for them to be beaten, abandoned, sold, and kept emotionally distant from their parents.

For this reason, we affirm that intrafamilial sexual abuse is immersed in “structural issues of the society in which we live” (Rangel, 2009, p. 177). We insist: childhood cannot be understood in an a-historical manner.

Each historical moment lived by humanity, which is spatially subdivided into several distinct societies, has cultural, economic, and social specificities, and is governed by moral rules, laws, religious principles, and varied power relations. Thus, we cannot lose sight of the fact that not only was the child seen differently, but the entire context was different in each era of our past. What causes us indignation today was nothing more than a daily fact in other times

(Rangel, 2009, p. 177).

It is necessary to view childhood as a social category; otherwise, we will remain far from effectively progressive social changes. The definition of abuse in children and adolescents is broad and complex, given historical, cultural, and social aspects.

However, although this difficulty is real, Padilha and Gomide (2004) indicate three common points present in the conceptions of abuse: the child's inability to decide on their participation due to a lack of capacity for consent; the adult's use of the child for self-gratification; and the abuse of power exercised by the aggressor.

Sanderson (2005) and Araújo (2020) point out that the intense cultural influence and the lack of agreement on the definition of what is characterized as child abuse hinder statistical sampling, in addition to preventing the decision on which sexual acts are considered abusive. Faleiros (2005, p.109) corroborates this, stating that:

Sexual violence against children and adolescents occurs on a global scale, it has always been present throughout the entire history of humankind, and across all social classes (...). Studies on sexual violence against children and adolescents generally agree that it is a power relationship between unequals,exercised through domination and/or seduction.

Ferrari and Vecina (2002) assert that the concept of children and adolescents as citizens, as subjects of rights, was definitely promulgated in law in Brazilian Society from the 1990s, with the enactment of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (hereinafter ECA):

Historical awareness allows us a clearer view of the current situation of childhood... and especially how much remains to be achieved so that the child effectively becomes a citizen, a subject of rights. [...] The naive view of childhood as something “special,” closer to angels than to humans, fails to highlight its connection to other social categories and prevents a critical examination of its situation, reinforcing its role as an object in domestic life, since it is alienated from the adult world'

(Rangel, 2009, p. 177).

Within this socio-historical scenario, we affirm the role of scientific research as one of producing knowledge — generating insights into a field that, we believe, enables a certain degree of intervention. This intervention seeks to identify pathways and approaches for implementing PSA in Basic Education based on legal texts such as ECA (Brasil, 1990) and the National Common Core Curriculum (hereinafter BNCC) (Brasil, 2018). For this reason, we direct our efforts toward presenting the school setting as a workspace in support of PSA.

However, before proceeding, it is essential to analyze the curriculum structure of teacher education programs, since addressing only the lack of preventive measures in basic education would be insufficient and superficial. It is necessary to recognize that Basic Education professionals must be adequately prepared to deal with students who enter the classroom carrying the impact of experiences related to sexual abuse, whether as victims or as witnesses.

Motivated by this hypothesis, we conducted a brief survey of what is offered in bachelor’s degree programs — specifically in Education — across Brazil’s five regions (both private and public institutions),at the undergraduate level in face-to-face programs, with regard to ES from the PSA perspective.

Based on this scenario and the motivation presented, the text is organized into three parts: the first is dedicated to issues concerning sexual violence, the second to the legal foundations supporting PSA in Basic Education, and the third to Teacher Education.

The Abuse Scenario

The current reality is even more devastating than in previous years regarding the number of reports of rape and rape of a vulnerable person — the latter referring to victims aged 0 to 13 or those unable to consent for any reason, such as disability or illness—according to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook (FBSP, 2025).

Data released in the latest edition of the Yearbook (FBSP, 2025) reveal the highest record in history: 87,545 victims. Nevertheless, this extremely high number is far from the reality if we consider that these are only the reported cases, since an even higher number of cases is not reported: "A study released by researchers from IPEA indicated that only 8.5% of rapes in Brazil are reported to the police and 4.2% through health information systems" (FBSP, 2023, p. 155).

Baptista and Vieira (2022) elucidate that, contrary to what many think, the aggressor is not necessarily that man walking alone near children's parks or squares, but may be a family friend or someone who has gained the trust of the victim's parents.

The high rate of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse highlights the urgency and seriousness with which this theme must be treated within the scope of Basic Education. The construction of specific knowledge and the implementation of regular actions aimed at sexual abuse prevention are fundamental for effective intervention in this context. Consequently, for teachers to perform this role responsibly, in an age-appropriate and scientifically grounded manner, it is essential that Sexuality Education (SE) be incorporated into teacher education, whether through mandatory or elective courses, specializations, or extension programs.

Schools serve as a strategic setting both for identifying and combating sexual crimes and for promoting preventive measures. For this to occur effectively, it is fundamental that all professionals in the school environment — including teachers, coordinators, principals, counselors, inspectors, and support staff — are aligned and prepared. Frequently, the disclosure of abuse situations results from observations or confidences made to members of the school community who, although occupying less visible positions, play an essential role in detecting cases.

In this sense, Vitiello (1997) highlights that Sexuality Education only achieves its objectives when the school is fully involved, which requires the training of all its staff members. Moreover, he emphasizes the importance of family engagement, recommending prior meetings with groups of parents, who, once properly enlightened, tend to positively support initiatives related to Sexuality Education.

Lima, Costa, and Araújo (2022) emphasize that, although schools have great potential to support victims of sexual violence, the school community often lacks the necessary knowledge to perform adequate care and appropriate referrals.

Sexuality Education plays a fundamental role in abuse prevention, as it provides children with instruments to protect themselves, avoiding damage to their physical, psychological, and emotional integrity. In addition, it contributes to the early identification of children at risk or those who are experiencing abuse (Lima, 2009).

Leirner (2007) emphasizes the urgency of teaching performance in offering effective Sexuality Education, alerting that the absence of support and intervention with victims can result in a distorted perception of reality. In this scenario, children and adolescents tend to believe that anyone can reproduce the abusive behavior to which they were subjected, which significantly compromises their emotional development and interpersonal relationships. Such experience can manifest through symptoms such as feelings of guilt, low self-esteem, insomnia, self-harm, affective and sexual difficulties, besides psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Santos (2009) ratifies the urgency in referrals by highlighting that, the earlier abuse survivors receive educational, medical, and psychological support, the greater the chances of overcoming the negative experiences lived in childhood and achieving a healthier and more satisfactory adult life.

The secrecy surrounding abuse leads the victim to a sense of helplessness, consisting of a process of psychological adaptation to transform the abuse into something apparently normal:

The accommodation to abuse and the creation of pseudonormality are the result of the impossible psychological task of integrating the experience. The secrecy and helplessness and the possible unpredictability and threat to life are constantly reinforced in renewed invasions of the child's autonomy and physical and mental integrity. The threats by the person who abuses and the reality-denying structure of the experience prevent the child from being able to call the abuse ‘abuse’. The child is forced to live an apparently normal life in which no abuse seems to exist. The process of accommodation occurs through the internalization of the inherently incongruous experience of the abusive interaction

(Furniss, 1993, p. 35).

A child needs to know that it is not normal for her father to perform oral sex on her every night (Sanderson, 2005; Salter, 2009); a university student needs to know that it is not normal for his professor to harass him in exchange for a high grade point average (Araújo, 2020). And precisely because there is awareness that it is not normal, it needs to be reported without prejudice to the victim.

Azevedo and Guerra (2000, p. 304) present:

[...] a bit of the much that still remains to be done [...] A Policy centered on a conception of domestic violence against children and adolescents as a multifaceted socio-psychological-cultural phenomenon, dependent on the individual-society interaction regarding its production; A Policy that privileges training actions for future professionals; A Policy more concerned with preventing domestic violence against children and adolescents than with acting as an SOS-victim service; An integrated, but decentralized Policy, capable of intervening effectively in the "natural history" of domestic violence against children and adolescents, based on an articulation between the powers of the State and Civil Society; A Policy concerned with its own evaluation, in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, and with the preservation by professionals of the capacity to be indignant with violence against children and adolescents; A Policy aimed at the effective protection of victims and the systematic combat of the impunity of domestic aggressors.

In summary: a Policy committed to the intransigent defense of children's rights to life, security, and freedom, and therefore, to the creation of a new culture of childhood: the citizen-child culture.

In other words: our efforts follow the direction of actions that privilege the training of professionals committed to providing effective protection to victims and systematically combating the impunity of aggressors, based on articulations between the powers of the State and Civil Society, in search of the creation of the "citizen-child culture" (Azevedo; Guerra, 2000, p. 304).

Given this scenario, we affirm the indispensability that all agents involved in school life understand the characteristics of sexual abuse, know how to identify its signs, and are familiar with prevention strategies, promoting a collective and effective action in defense of students who are victims or witnesses of this form of violence.

School contexts in which professionals are attentive and equipped with knowledge can constitute strategic spaces of protection. In this environment, children and adolescents can feel welcomed and guided, which fosters effective listening, the recognition of signs of abuse, and the responsible referral of identified cases.

The performance of school institutions in addressing sexual violence counts on the support of different legal provisions, both in the educational field and in broader legal spheres, as will be discussed below.

The Scenario of Legal Foundations

The confrontation of sexual violence against children and adolescents does not depend solely on the sensitization of educators and curricular reformulation, but also finds support in a set of legal instruments that guide and substantiate protective practices.

Brazilian legislation establishes clear guidelines regarding the shared responsibility among family, school, society, and the State, configuring a normative framework that legitimizes the preventive and interventionist actions of educational institutions in cases of abuse.

This commitment is evidenced as early as the Federal Constitution of 1988, which establishes, in its article 227, the joint duty of these social actors to ensure, with absolute priority, the fundamental rights of children, adolescents, and youth:

[...] to the child, the adolescent, and the youth, with absolute priority, the right to life, health, food, education, leisure, professionalization, culture, dignity, respect, freedom, and family and community life, in addition to keeping them safe from all forms of negligence, discrimination, exploitation, violence, cruelty, and oppression

(Brasil, 1988, art. 227).

It further ensures that the law shall severely punish "the abuse, violence, and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents" (Brasil, 1988, our emphasis).

ECA, the primary normative instrument in Brazil focused on the rights of the child and adolescent, in its articles 130, 240, 241, 244, and 245, details maltreatment — including sexual abuse — imposed by parents or guardians, as well as school accountability (Brasil, 1990).

Law No. 13,431 (Brasil, 2017) standardizes, organizes, and reinforces in its articles 1, 4, 11, and 14 the system for safeguarding the rights of children and adolescents who are victims or witnesses of violence, creating mechanisms to prevent and restrain violence, besides establishing assistance and protection measures. Article 11 provides for specialized testimony in cases of sexual violence, and Article 14 addresses the duties of those responsible for the protection network to ensure the necessary urgency and celerity in health care and evidentiary production, while preserving confidentiality (Brasil, 2017).

More recently, Law No. 14,432 (Brasil, 2022b), in turn, institutes the "Orange May" campaign, aimed at the implementation of related measures to combating the abuse and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

In April 2023, Law No. 14,540 (Brasil, 2023) was signed — and it stems from Provisional Measure No. 1,140 (Brasil, 2022c) — directed at the school environment, with training actions for teachers and pedagogical teams of Basic Education institutions, in addition to providing the dissemination of educational materials focused on confronting sexual crimes.

This Law emerges with a different purpose from any other law regarding the sphere of protection: prevention. While the Penal Code (Brasil, 1940), the Henry Borel Law, Law No. 14,344 (Brasil, 2022a), and several other legal texts are triggered after criminal practice is confirmed, Law No. 14,540 (Brasil, 2023) focuses on prevention, especially in teaching and working environments, in the direction of implementing the Program for the Prevention and Confrontation of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, and other Crimes against Sexual Dignity, providing training to employees through informative materials and regular training sessions. Monitoring is responsibility of the Executive Branch, through the public authority itself, under the terms of Article 8 of the law in question (Brasil, 2023). Regarding the oversight of private entities, especially Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), it will be responsibility of regulatory agencies of the education sector and MEC.

In addition to the aforementioned legal provisions, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) also offers normative support for the insertion of Sexuality Education (SE) in Basic Education through Contemporary cross-cutting themes (TCTs), which can enable the development of SE in an ethical, critical, and informed manner, contributing to the formation of individuals aware of their rights (Brasil, 2018). We will return to this document in the following paragraphs to deepen the analysis of its role in promoting Sexuality Education in schools.

The presence of SE with a focus on Prevention of Sexual Abuse (PSA) in the school environment is legitimized not only by current legislation but also by the concrete need to welcome victims and witnesses of violence. Given that most abuses occur in domestic spaces and they are committed by people close to the victim, schools serve as strategic spaces for both prevention and intervention.

This finding gains even more relevance when confronted with data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook (FBSP, 2025), which reveal the severity of the problem. Although we know that the crime of rape can occur without physical contact—through eroticized speech, exhibitionism, photo and video recording, voyeurism, or the display of pornographic material—normally these acts are not reported, which would undoubtedly increase the statistics.

The mentioned document records 87,545 victims of rape and rape of vulnerable individuals in Brazil. Specifically among cases involving children aged 0 to 13, 45.5% of the aggressors were family members, and 65.7% of the crimes occurred at the victim's residence (FBSP, 2025). Such figures explicit the urgency of integrating PSA into the pedagogical practices of Basic Education, creating opportunities to break cycles of violence and offer victims mechanisms for protection, reporting, and and support. By recognizing the school as a legitimate space for care and formation, its central role in promoting the rights of children and adolescents is reaffirmed through educational actions focused on prevention and qualified listening.

This information is typically not discussed in school institutions (nor in academic environments linked to Teacher Training), increasing the distance from achieving effective forms of action for the safety of children and adolescents.

In the preface of the work Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sexual Offenders (Salter, 2009), a distinction is made between aggressors who resort to force and those who use persuasion, the latter being more frequent and always attentive to identifying vulnerable victims to maintain control. In this context, children and adolescents who possess information do not remain in the same state of vulnerability, as they are capable of recognizing and moving away from possible attempts of abuse. Therefore, it is essential that the school understands its potential as a guarantor of protection, ensuring that knowledge reaches all students.

The school routine enables constant and intentional work on prevention, which is the only truly effective way to remove the student from this vulnerable condition (Azevedo; Guerra, 2000; Salter, 2009; Sanderson, 2005; Souza, 2009).

Furthermore, besides being a legal duty, it is also a moral obligation of society as a whole to ensure that children and adolescents are protected against negligence, discrimination, exploitation, violence, cruelty, and oppression, as observed by Fortes (2015). In this sense, school plays a central role in offering this security, as it favors the creation of bonds and trust during the time students spend there.

The author further emphasizes that guaranteeing the right to education, sensitizing and informing society, and transforming the culture of negligence and indifference constitute effective strategies of primary prevention against crimes related to pedophilia.

Investing in prevention "is also about reducing future costs, creating healthier societies and [...] diminishing the risks of stigmatization to which victims are often subjected" (Alexandre; Agulhas; Nunes, 2022, p. 199), as well as helping to raise awareness and bring about change in society.

The provision of SE needs to be intentional and, to work on this content, it should not be restricted to a specific curricular component; rather, it depends on the teacher's commitment to the theme, "because if sex is biological, sexuality is above all cultural" (Vitiello, 1997, p. 104). Concentrating on the previously cited Education document, we bring the BNCC into the discussion. There are numerous contrary considerations that we make regarding the Base and its process of idealization, construction, and implementation (Lopes, 2022; Souza, 2019). We see "how complex the relations of knowledge and power are between discourses that constitute the conditions of production of public education policies" (Souza; Giorgi; Almeida, 2018, p. 113-114). We could present countless incongruities about this document; however, we will focus on the entries guaranteed by the Base: prevention through knowledge and information.

BNCC is organized from the segments of Early Childhood Education, Elementary School, and High School, all of which are permeated by ten General Competencies, which can be summarized as follows: 1) Knowledge; 2) Scientific, critical, and creative thinking; 3) Cultural repertoire; 4) Communication; 5) Digital culture; 6) Life project; 7) Argumentation; 8) Self-knowledge and self-care; 9) Empathy and cooperation; and 10) Responsibility and citizenship (Brasil, 2018).

In addition to these Ten General Competencies, there are 15 Contemporary Cross-cutting Themes (TCTs) which, although they are not a new educational approach, with adoption of BNCC, they "expanded their scope and they were effectively ensured" (Brasil, 2019b, p. 4).

Understanding school as a "strategic component of protection" (FBSP, 2022, p. 249), it is possible to forge ties based on the legal foundations—Federal Constitution (Brasil, 2025), ECA (Brasil, 1990), The Rights Protection System, established by Law No. 13.431 (Brasil, 2017), Law No. 14.432 (Brasil, 2022b), Law No. 14.540 (Brasil, 2023) and BNCC (Brasil, 2018), through General Competencies and TCTs, in order to bring to the school campus a variety of approaches to responsible, committed, purposeful and appropriate work about PSA for basic education segments.

For example, we can mention the TCTs 1) Rights of the child and adolescent and 2) Family and social life allow work through different fields of experience and learning objectives. In the school environment, PSA can be worked on through workshops, dramatizations, storytelling, and lectures, associated with awareness movements and reporting channels.

Therefore, that is why compliance with Law No. 14,540/2023 (Brasil, 2023) is so important and urgent, given that it stipulates that , in the first two stages of Basic Education, the Program for Prevention and Confrontation of Sexual Harassment, Sexual violence and other crimes against Sexual Dignity must fulfill its objective of providing ongoing training to education professionals.

Leirner (2007, p. 51) states what we already know empirically: “The reality is that those who wish to violate children are always one step ahead of those who want to protect them”. Information is, undoubtedly, the most effective form of abuse prevention. For this reason, we dedicate the next section to analyzing Pedagogy courses, a prerequisite for professionals in Early Childhood and the first years of Elementary School.

The Scenario of Teacher Education and Survey Analysis

Initial teacher education plays a major role in qualifying education and preparing for the challenges faced in the school environment, including the approach to sensitive topics such as Sexuality Education and the prevention of child sexual abuse. Understanding how Teacher Education Programs structure their curricula and pedagogical projects is essential to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in teacher preparation.

To this end, it is necessary to analyze the guidelines and regulations that guide the development of these courses, as well as to evaluate how these orientations are implemented in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In this context, the development of Course Pedagogical Projects (PPC) and Teacher Education Program curricula must follow the guidelines established by the regulatory bodies of Higher Education to ensure the quality of initial teacher education.

Resolution CNE/CP No. 2/2019 (Brasil, 2019a) presents general guidelines that serve as a reference for HEIs, promoting the articulation between theoretical foundations, pedagogical practices, and the contemporary demands of the teaching profession.

The document emphasizes the centrality of a training process that contemplates multiple aspects of human development:

teacher education presupposes the development, by the undergraduate student, of the general competencies provided in the BNCC-Basic Education, as well as the essential learnings to be guaranteed to students regarding the intellectual, physical, cultural, social, and emotional aspects of their training, taking as a perspective the full development of individuals, aiming at Full-time Education

(Brasil, 2019a, art. 2).

In addition to these principles, the Resolution defines general and specific competencies articulated with the guidelines of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), currently in force, consolidating a normative framework that guides the profile of the future teacher and the role of the school in the integral formation of students.

However, despite the clarity of these guidelines, it is crucial to problematize the points involving teacher education, especially concerning the development of professional identity and the capacity to deal with complex and urgent themes, such as the prevention of sexual violence.

As Libâneo (2018) points out, the constitution of teaching identity occurs in a procedural and continuous manner, permeating both initial and continuing education, and being intersected by experiences, life stories, reflections, and practices accumulated throughout the professional trajectory. It is a dynamic process involving the articulation between academic knowledge and the concrete reality of teaching practice.

Teacher education, therefore, must go beyond reductionist approaches, especially regarding Sexuality Education. As Muller (2013) observes, most schools limit themselves to treating the human reproductive system in Science classes, with an emphasis on the anatomical and physiological aspects of reproduction. This approach, while necessary, is insufficient, as it neglects the affective, emotional, and social dimensions of sexuality, failing to respond to the genuine doubts, anxieties, and curiosities of children and adolescents.

In the same vein, Desidério (2010) reinforces the importance of broadening the understanding of sexuality in its multiple dimensions, including the affective one, recognizing it as part of the human experience, linked to pleasure and satisfaction. To this end, the author emphasizes the need for educators to know the characteristic sexual behaviors of each age group and both sexes to favor an integral educational approach to sexual development. Based on the previously presented discussions on the importance of teacher education for the approach to Sexuality Education (SE) in schools, this work proposes an exploratory analysis of Teacher Education Programs in Pedagogy from different HEIs in Brazil. The objective is to verify to what extent these courses address contents related to SE with a focus on child sexual abuse prevention (CSAP) in their Course Pedagogical Projects (PPCs). Such analysis seeks to contribute to the identification of advances, gaps, and possibilities regarding the preparation of future teachers to act in a critical, ethical manner, committed to the integral protection of children and adolescents in the school context.

Table 1
Rape and rape of a vulnerable person: Brazil and Federative Units – 2023-2024

Federative Unit / Region	Registered Cases	Estimated Actual Cases	Estimated Underreporting Cases (Non-Reporting)	Non-Reporting Rate	Rate (Estimated / Registered)
North	10,230	231,100	220,870	95.6%	22.6
Rondônia	1,061	24,000	22,939	95.6%	22.6
Acre	450	10,100	9,650	95.5%	22.4
Amazonas	1,939	43,800	41,861	95.6%	22.6
Roraima	449	10,200	9,751	95.6%	22.7
Pará	4,868	110,300	105,432	95.6%	22.7
Amapá	592	13,400	12,808	95.6%	22.6
Tocantins	871	19,300	18,429	95.5%	22.2
Northeast	13,912	312,200	298,288	95.5%	22.4
Maranhão	1,849	41,600	39,751	95.6%	22.5
Piauí	794	17,900	17,106	95.6%	22.5
Ceará	2,239	50,300	48,061	95.5%	22.5
Rio Grande do Norte	711	16,000	15,289	95.6%	22.5
Paraíba	741	16,600	15,859	95.5%	22.4
Pernambuco	2,367	53,100	50,733	95.5%	22.4
Alagoas	716	16,000	15,284	95.5%	22.3
Sergipe	525	11,800	11,275	95.6%	22.5
Bahia	3,970	88,900	84,930	95.5%	22.4
Southeast	24,082	536,900	512,818	95.5%	22.3
Minas Gerais	5,693	127,100	121,407	95.5%	22.3
Espírito Santo	1,228	27,400	26,172	95.5%	22.3
Rio de Janeiro	5,160	115,000	109,840	95.5%	22.3
São Paulo	12,001	267,400	255,399	95.5%	22.3
South	12,416	282,100	269,684	95.6%	22.7
Paraná	4,960	112,800	107,840	95.6%	22.7
Santa Catarina	3,476	78,900	75,424	95.6%	22.7
Rio Grande do Sul	3,980	90,400	86,420	95.6%	22.7
Midwest	6,564	148,400	141,836	95.6%	22.6
Mato Grosso do Sul	1,460	33,000	31,540	95.6%	22.6
Mato Grosso	1,844	41,700	39,856	95.6%	22.6
Goiás	2,560	57,800	55,240	95.6%	22.6
Distrito Federal	700	15,900	15,200	95.6%	22.7
Total - Brazil	67,204	1,510,700	1,443,496	95.5%	22.5

• Source: Adapted from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook (FBSP, 2025).

For the analysis of sexual violence data in Brazil, a regional breakdown was chosen, selecting one state from each of the five Brazilian macro-regions: Roraima (North), Sergipe (Northeast), Mato Grosso do Sul (Central-West), Espírito Santo (Southeast), and Paraná (South).

The selection of the states and respective HEIs was guided by three basic criteria. The first refers to regional representativeness, aiming to ensure the national scope of the sample and contemplate the country's distinct sociocultural realities. The second criterion considered the statistical prominence of the states in the relative rates of rape and rape of a vulnerable person, according to the most recent data from the Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security (FBSP, 2025), which justifies the relevance of educational analysis in these specific contexts. Finally, the third criterion included institutions of recognized academic excellence that have stricto sensu postgraduate programs in Education, a condition generally associated with higher faculty qualification and the consolidation of pedagogical training at the undergraduate level.

Although not all selected states present the highest absolute numbers of records, their incidence rates per 100,000 inhabitants are significant (FBSP, 2025), revealing the gravity of the phenomenon in proportional terms. For instance, Roraima presents, in 2024, one of the highest rates in the country for rape and rape of a vulnerable person (86.1 per 100,000), while Mato Grosso do Sul records 79.6, positioning itself among the states with the highest proportional incidence. The choice of these cases, therefore, allows for the observation of how sexual violence intensely affects distinct demographic and socioeconomic contexts, favoring a critical and contextualized comparative analysis of the institutional response and teacher education regarding sexual abuse prevention.

In Table 2, the five selected states are organized, highlighting the main indicators of rape and rape of a vulnerable person recorded in 2023 and 2024, including absolute numbers, rates per 100,000 inhabitants, and percentage variation:

Table 2
Rape and rape of a vulnerable person

State	Region	Absolute No. (2024)	Rate (2024)	Absolute No. (2023)	Rate (2023)	Variation (%)
Roraima	North	552	86.1	553	86.5	-0.7
Sergipe	Northeast	885	38.6	872	38.1	1.5
Mato Grosso do Sul	Center-West	1865	79.6	1809	77.3	3.1
Espírito Santo	Southeast	1824	45.6	1736	43.4	5.1
Paraná	South	6595	57.2	6648	58.3	-1.0

• Source: Research data (2025).

In a brief analysis of Table 2, we see that the state with the highest recorded rate was Roraima (86.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), despite showing a slight decrease compared to 2023 (-0.7%). The state of Paraná recorded the highest absolute number of cases (6,595), although its rate decreased from 58.3 to 57.2 (-1.0%). On the other hand, Espírito Santo showed the highest percentage increase in the rate (+5.1%), followed by Mato Grosso do Sul (+3.1%) and Sergipe (+1.5%). These data evidence significant variations between states, both in absolute and proportional terms, reinforcing the need for public policies sensitive to regional specificities.

The following table presents the regional distribution of the universities selected for analysis, identifying the respective states and the HEIs chosen for the investigation of the curricular structure of the Pedagogy Teacher Education Programs:

Table 3
Relationship between Universities and States

REGION	STATE	UNIVERSITY
North	Roraima	State University of Roraima1
Northeast	Sergipe	Federal University of Sergipe2
Center-West	Mato Grosso do Sul	Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul3
Southeast	Espírito Santo	Federal University of Espírito Santo4
South	Paraná	Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná5

• Source: Data extracted from FBSP (2025).

After reading the documents made available by each university, such as the Course Pedagogical Project (PPC), the curricular matrix, and the syllabus list, we examined the entire structure planned for all periods of the undergraduate degree.

The Pedagogy Teacher Education Program at Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), offered in the face-to-face modality, has a curricular matrix that distributes 3,255 hours among mandatory courses and activities over eight academic periods. In addition to this workload, the course also includes elective courses and complementary activities, as established in Resolution No. 25/2008/CONEPE, which approves the Pedagogical Project of the Undergraduate Course in Pedagogy – Teacher Education Program and provides for its academic and structural guidelines.

At Mato Grosso do Sul State University (UNEMAT), as described in the PPC, the Pedagogy Teacher Education Program has class load of 3,500 hours, distributed among theoretical and practical classes, Distance Education activities, elective courses, and extension activities, the latter integrated into the mandatory academic training, in compliance with the National Curricular Guidelines.

At Roraima State University (UERR), the total class load is 3,275 hours, covering different mandatory training components. Among them are the obligatory supervised internship, professional practice, and complementary activities, according to the Pedagogical Project of the Pedagogy Teacher Education Program.

From the reading of the syllabi and the organization of the curricular components of the Pedagogy courses offered by Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Mato Grosso do Sul State University (UEMS), and Roraima State University (UERR), we verified the absence of any direct or indirect mention of the approach to Sexuality Education with an emphasis on sexual abuse prevention. At Espírito Santo Federal University (UFES), Pedagogy Teacher Education Program totals 3,260 mandatory hours, distributed among compulsory and elective courses, components of a pedagogical nature, the Course Conclusion Paper (TCC), complementary activities, and required supervised internship, as established in the PPC.

The elective course "Body, Gender, and Sexuality: Subjectivity Production and Educational Processes," with 60 class hours, presents the syllabus: 1) Body, gender, and sexuality as a disciplinary and control device in/of and with educational, cultural, and political processes; 2) Pedagogies of sexuality/body/gender in the fabrication of the subject that matters for education and work. 3) Biopolitics, governmentality, and education. 4) Necropolitics and Education.

The objectives of the course are listed below.

• To tension the analytical categories: identity, diversity, difference, normal, abnormal as fields of political and educational disputes and their reverberations in the production of bodies and genders that matter.

• To understand pedagogical and educational processes as tools at the service of life and the affirmation of difference.

• To problematize the bodies and genders that resist and create other forms of existing with education and public policies.

• To analyze and develop counter-devices that contribute to the affirmation and production of a fairer and more equal school and educational processes.

Based on the syllabus and the objectives presented, it is possible to affirm that the course in question adopts a critical and theoretical approach to the categories of body, gender, and sexuality, framed within the markers of biopolitics, necropolitics, and cultural pedagogies. This curricular proposal reveals a commitment to the deconstruction of norms and patterns that regulate and hierarchize bodies and identities in school and society, emphasizing the processes of subjectivation and control operated through educational institutions. However, this approach, although relevant and necessary, does not constitute content directly aimed at sexual abuse prevention. The course is oriented by Foucaultian and post-structuralist theoretical frameworks, focusing on the critique of gender normativities, processes of regulation and resistance, and the analysis of power relations in educational spaces. Although these debates contribute to broadening the critical understanding of inequalities and symbolic violence, they are not operationalized in the syllabus as specific pedagogical tools for the identification, confrontation, or prevention of child sexual abuse.

There is an absence of explicit mention of childhood, adolescence, or integral protection. The syllabus does not make direct reference to the child or adolescent as subjects of rights to be protected in school contexts, nor to the legal frameworks (such as ECA, BNCC, or the National Guidelines for Human Rights Education) that deal with the prevention and confrontation of sexual violence. The absence of these legal and pedagogical references points to the non-systematic inclusion of the theme of sexual abuse prevention in the context of teacher education.

There is a disconnection between structural critique and preventive educational practice. Although the objectives include the development of "counter-devices" for a fairer school, there is no indication that these devices are understood or worked on as pedagogical strategies for sexual abuse prevention — for example, through scientific and ethical Sexuality Education, qualified listening of students, or the recognition of signs of violence. Therefore, even though the course contributes critically to the training of teachers attentive to issues of gender, body, and sexuality in their macro-structural and political dimensions, it does not fill the training gap regarding sexual abuse prevention, a theme that requires specific pedagogical approaches, interdisciplinarity, legal knowledge, and the development of protective educational practices.

Furthermore, this finding reinforces the need to include objective, applicable, and systematized content on sexual abuse prevention in initial teacher education.

The analysis of Pedagogy Teacher Education Programs from different institutions reveals that the theme of Sexuality Education, with an emphasis on abuse prevention, is not treated in a systematic or explicit way in initial teacher education.

However, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUC-PR) stands out, as its new curricular matrix — although not yet implemented — includes courses that, even without directly addressing the theme, indicate possible approximations with this perspective. The proposal, approved by Resolution No. 171/2025 – CONSUN, refers to the Pedagogy Teacher Education Program offered at the Curitiba Campus, in an on-site format, scheduled to begin in the first semester of 2026. According to the document, the course will have a total course load of 3,480 hours, distributed among mandatory courses, complementary activities, and a Community Project. Despite the on-site format, some courses will be offered in the distance learning modality.

The analysis of the new curricular matrix allows for the identification of components that suggest possible spaces for the insertion of themes related to Sexuality Education, albeit indirectly. Based on the nomenclature of the courses, it is possible to infer that three components could, to some extent, engage with the investigated perspective: Anthropology and Cyberculture (distance course, offered in the 1st period, 45 hours), Work and Socioemotional Competencies (2nd period, 30 hours), and Human Rights Education (6th period, 60 hours).

In the Anthropology and Cyberculture course, for example, it is possible that forms of dealing with risks associated with internet use are discussed, such as early access to pornography and the exposure of children and adolescents to inadequate content and interactions in social networks and online games, especially in the absence of family supervision.

On the other hand, Work and Socioemotional Competencies may address aspects of emotional education, which would allow connections with the psycho-emotional impacts resulting from experiences of sexual abuse, whether lived directly or witnessed.

On the other hand, Human Rights Education may contemplate contents related to the rights of children and adolescents, based on the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA), the Federal Constitution, and other normative frameworks, favoring the construction of a culture of protection and respect for the physical and emotional integrity of students.

However, the uncertainty regarding the effective presence of these contents stems primarily from the lack of access to the course syllabi, which are not publicly available nor were they provided after a formal request through the university's institutional channels.

Thus, the hypothesis that such curricular components contemplate, even partially, contents aimed at abuse prevention is based exclusively on the reading of the course titles, which prevents any secure assertion about their adherence to the theme. It is entirely possible, therefore, that these courses do not directly address Sexuality Education or preventive strategies against abuse in their programmatic contents.

It is further emphasized that the effective insertion of this theme will depend on the theoretical-methodological approach adopted by each teacher, as well as the conceptual scope developed in the classroom.

The gap evidenced in this analysis—whether by the explicit absence of contents aimed at Sexuality Education with a focus on abuse prevention or by the unavailability of information, as in the case of PUC-PR—highlights the non-systematic and intentional inclusion of this theme in the initial training of future teachers. Such a finding is particularly concerning given the current demands of Basic Education, which require consistent preparation from teachers to act in the promotion of the integral protection of children and adolescents.

This survey allowed for an understanding of one of the central reasons why many Basic Education professionals do not have a sufficient theoretical and training base to deal with students who arrive in classrooms carrying the weight of traumatic experiences related to sexual abuse.

Given this scenario, it is possible to affirm, based on a logical line of analysis, that the states with the highest rates of sexual violence—considering the five Brazilian regions—should intensify their efforts in confronting this type of crime. Prevention, in this context, presents itself as a priority strategy, and the school, due to its capillarity and centrality in the formation of social values, plays a fundamental role in this process.

We know the place schools can occupy in the cultural and historical construction of a people, as well as the immense potential that teachers possess in promoting critical knowledge capable of mobilizing students as transforming agents of reality. However, in order to carry out this action , it is essential that this movement of change starts from the Academy.

When initial and continuing teacher education fails to incorporate such urgent themes as the confrontation of sexual violence, the response time for such contents to reach the classroom in a qualified way is indefinitely postponed, compromising the right to the protection of children and adolescents.

Final Remarks

Throughout this work, a systematic absence in the curricula of Teacher Education Programs regarding the prevention of sexual violence has been evidenced. The lack of courses and consistent approaches to the theme contributes to the naturalization of this violence both within and outside the school environment. By neglecting a critical reflection on the culture of silencing present in educational institutions, teacher education programs ultimately reproduce the logic that sustains the continuity of violence: denial, trivialization, and victim-blaming. This curricular fragility reveals an institutional framework marked by omission, which perpetuates the invisibility of the problem and compromises the preventive capacity of future teachers.

Such a finding reinforces the urgency of rethinking academic spaces not only as places for knowledge production, but also as environments that must ensure safety and respect for all people. In this context, it becomes essential to build a critical awareness regarding the reality and the rights we hold as students, teachers, citizens, children, and parents.

After all, as emphasized, we are not free from sexual abuse, and there are no absolute guarantees of protection; however, knowledge holds great potential for confrontation and prevention.

Given the gaps identified in initial teacher education concerning Sexuality Education, continuing education emerges as an indispensable alternative to address these deficiencies. By providing ongoing opportunities for reflection, professional development, and theoretical and practical enrichment, it enables practicing teachers to develop the skills needed to address, in a critical and responsible manner, issues related to sexuality, the rights of children and adolescents, and the prevention of sexual abuse.

In this perspective, Nóvoa (1992) emphasizes that teaching professionalization demands continuous training processes capable of articulating the requirements of school daily life with ethically grounded pedagogical practices. Libâneo (2018) complements this by stating that continuing education must go beyond technical improvement, contributing to the constitution of a broad humanistic culture, an essential condition for sensitive and committed performance in the face of contemporary social challenges.

The analysis presented in this study, while highlighting weaknesses in initial university teacher education, does not aim to absolve future teachers of responsibility. On the contrary, as Imbernón (2011) argues, although initial training is fundamental, it does not, in and of itself, guarantee full professional development. The central finding is that, even in the face of the alarming increase in cases of child sexual violence, the education programs analyzed explicitly or implicitly neglect this issue in their curricula.

This reaffirms the transformative role of education and the key role teachers play in protecting and ensuring the safety of vulnerable children and adolescents, especially those who experience or witness domestic abuse.

In light of the data analyzed and the theoretical review conducted, this article reaffirms the central role of schools in promoting educational practices that contribute to the integral protection of children and adolescents, especially when it comes to child sexual abuse.

We believe that the methodological originality of this study — by combining data from the Brazilian Yearbook of Public Safety (FBSP, 2025) with an analysis of the curricula of teacher education programs — has revealed significant gaps in teacher training, highlighting the persistence of a historical problem marked by silence and omission on the part of educational institutions. The legal and theoretical framework underpinning the study further reinforces the urgency of implementing public policies and training practices that integrate, in an ethical, critical, and systematic manner, sex education with a focus on abuse prevention.

Recognizing the specific limitations of a study with a restricted methodological scope, it is recommended that future researches expand the analysis to other Teacher Education Programs to compose a more comprehensive overview of initial teacher education in Brazil. It is also suggested that preventive strategies be explored in non-school settings, such as homeschooling, so that the right to protection is guaranteed in all forms of education. In this way, it is expected to contribute to the strengthening of an educational culture committed to human dignity, social justice, and the eradication of all forms of violence against children and adolescents.

Notes

Notes

¹

The course's curricular matrix, as well as the course syllabus list, can be found in the Pedagogical Project of the Pedagogy Teacher Education Program (UERR, 2021).

²

The Curricular Structure of the Pedagogy – Teacher Education Programs can be found in Resolution No. 25/2008/CONEPE (UFS, 2008), which approves the Pedagogical Project of the Undergraduate Course in Pedagogy, Teacher Education Program, and provides for other measures.

³

The syllabus list can be found in the Political Pedagogical Project of the Pedagogy Teacher Education Program (UEMS, 2024).

⁴

The curricular structure can be found in the Curricular Organization (UFES, 2006).

⁵

The course's curricular structure can be found in Resolution No. 141/2023 – CONSUN (PUC-PR, 2023).

Availability of research data

the dataset supporting the results of this study is published in the article itself.

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Correspondence

E-mail: [e-mail]

Correspondence

E-mail: [e-mail]

Editor in charge:

Iris Verena Oliveira

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  07 Sept 2026
• Date of issue
  2026

History

• Received
  25 Oct 2024
• Accepted
  15 Dec 2025