Continuing teacher education: epistemologies, best practices, and focus on learning

Abstract

This article analyzes continuing teacher education in Brazil from an ontological, historiographical, and epistemological approach, with an emphasis on its impact on student learning. The research is guided by the question: what kind of teacher are we currently training, and what kind of teacher should we be training? Drawing on authors such as Ellen G. White, Francisco Imbernón, and Patrícia Albiere de Almeida, the study articulates conceptual, critical, and spiritual dimensions to discuss formative rationalities—classical, technical, practical, and critica—and proposes a new architecture for teacher education. The methodological approach is based on a systematic literature review and document analysis. It was found that, although there are efforts and policies aimed at teacher training, a gap still persists between the training offered and the actual improvement in student learning. The study’s central proposal is to re-center the formative process on the student, understanding the teacher as an essential mediator whose training must be intentionally directed toward the transformation of the educational experience. Finally, it advocates for a comprehensive training model grounded in collaborative practices, critical foundations, and an ethical-pedagogical commitment.