THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHER APPRECIATION: BETWEEN PRECARIOUSNESS AND THE FIGHT FOR PROFESSIONAL DIGNITY.

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the precarization of teaching in Brazil, focusing on the devaluation of the teaching profession and the decline in educational quality. Neoliberal reforms, fostered by international organizations, have increased the flexibilization and intensification of teachers’ work, also affecting their pedagogical autonomy. Drawing on authors such as Barroso (2005) and Feldfeber (2006), who denounce the commodification of education and its impact on teachers’ health, the study examines teacher valorization through the lenses of professional training, remuneration, and working conditions. Despite advances such as the National Salary Floor Law (2008), these measures are deemed insufficient, particularly in Pernambuco—the focus of our research—where excessive workloads and persecution of teachers in training are reported. Target 17 of the National Education Plan (2014–2024) faces financial and political barriers. The study argues that professional recognition is essential to teachers’ dignity, yet it has been undermined by meritocratic policies that overlook the complexity of education. This article advocates for the valorization of teachers through integrated public policies, countering state dismantling and neoliberal logic, and calls for social mobilization in support of an emancipatory educational project.