Republican and democratic education: potentialities and challenges for initial teacher education

Abstract

This study thematizes aspects of the initial education (IE) that aim to assure republican and democratic principles evidenced in laws and directives of Brazilian society. It aims to reflect on the notions that basic school teachers have about secularism and, consequently, it is intended to give visibility to this formative perspective as a possibility to ensure republican and democratic principles. It has as its references authors who study the Republican School (RS); in the National Constitution of 1988; in the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education, Law nº. 9.394/1996; in the National Curriculum Guidelines for Basic Education. It is inspired by a task developed in the discipline of Brazilian Education. In it, academics interview public school teachers from different disciplines about their understanding of RS and their possible implications in their classes and in the activities developed in their schools. From this dialogue, the theme in included in the classes of that discipline and is thematized in the light of the principles of RS. As results, we found: a lack of knowledge of the theme by the majority of teachers, especially those with longer working time, and an (almost) absence of the theme in continuing education courses. From our perception, we argue in favor of the presence of this theme in IE courses, understanding that the specificity of school education in democratic societies needs to be guided by the principles of RE