High school and professional education in nursing: some reflections

Abstract

Analyzing the politics of professional education and questioning the changes that have been introduced in the Brazilian high school system are the main objectives of this study. In general, the approved legislation expresses the interests of the neo-liberal policies, of multilateral organisms, and of the implications of the worldwide productive reorganization and of the reduction of State participation in social policies. It also mirrors the manner in which Brazil inserts itself in the globalization process, in a dependent role, more as a knowledge consumer than a producer of it, thus missing the opportunity for achieving its autonomy, including in the area of professional formation. Based on the possibilities that these laws offer for curricular organization, this article defends that professional teaching in Nursing should take up a technical perspective integrated to a general education and be provided in a single space, thus reducing the risk of a minimalist, superficial training.