Valuation policies towards teachers´ work in Brazil

This paper addresses a relatively unexplored topic in educational research  teachers´ support policies. The data presented herein are part of a larger study concerning initial and continuing teacher education, teaching career, attendance to beginning teachers, and support to the work of teachers in Brazilian states and municipalities. To this end, this text will discuss the policies implemented by five state and ten municipal departments of education intended to value the work of teachers. Data were collected during the visits to the fifteen departments of education, where interviews were conducted with those responsible for implementing the policies, and documents related to those policies were obtained. Three types of initiatives intended to value teachers´ work were identified: socialization of successful teaching practices, awarding for good performance, and support to teachers’ professional development. The analysis indicated that these incentives tend to reward teachers individually, and that there is no sufficient information or research data that could attest to the effects of these measures on the quality of classroom teaching and student learning.

Teachers’ policies; Teaching work; Teachers’ valuation