Primary and early childhood education teachers education in Higher Education in Brazil: quality in balance between the ideal and the possible, favoured and disadvantaged teachers

Abstract

Higher education of primary and early years teachers has been subject to many policy reversals and debates in the last three decades, mainly after the National Education Guidelines and Framework Law (LDBEN Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional) was implemented in 1996. This law established that all teachers should be educated at higher education level. Thus, the aim of the current study is to analyse changes in, and discussions about, the higher education of teachers since the enactment of this law, reflecting on the question of quality in the balance, since not all teachers have the same access to higher education. The study is based on documentary analysis, bibliographic review of texts focused on addressing such changes in Brazilian daily life, and on debates about education level and institutional suitability to educate these teachers. Results have shown that despite the increased number of teachers educated at higher education level, schools aiming at teacher education at secondary level remain a reality that leads to significant differences within the country. We frame our analysis of the implications of the international higher education policy agenda on these developments within a Freirean conception of educational purpose.