Life histories and autobiographies in teacher education and teaching profession (Brazil, 1985-2003)

Abstract

The text offers a review within the area of Education of the works that make use of life histories and autobiographic studies as a scientific research methodology in Brazil. The period between 1985 and 2003 is focused under two different slants, one temporal, and the other thematic: teacher education and teaching profession. The main purpose here was to map out the national production, seeking to identify the themes that have emerged with greater strength, pointing out deficient aspects, and suggesting directions for future studies in this field. Several sources were utilized: abstracts of theses and dissertations from the CAPES database; complete texts of theses and dissertations presented to the graduate programs of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo - PUC-SP - and of the Faculty of Education of the University of São Paulo - FEUSP; books; and scientific journals. The analyses have shown that the use of these approaches has grown significantly in Brazil since the 1990s but, in a very disperse manner, they have been used more as a source of data for the development of a wide spectrum of studies, and only timidly as formation devices. Nevertheless, it has become apparent that the rise of these methodologies has contributed to a renewal in the studies about teachers, at the same time that it has fostered the interest in new issues and themes, such as those developed, for example, in the researches about profession, professionalization and teacher identity.