A feminização da carreira docente no Brasil: reflexões teóricas sobre relações de gênero e educação

Abstract

The teaching profession throughout the historical periods of Brazilian education has undergone several metamorphoses. Understanding these transformations requires, among other things, an understanding of the epistemologies of social, historical, economic, and political gender relations, especially when the teaching profession became a predominantly female domain. This study aims to present an analysis of the feminization of the teaching career in the Brazilian context, based on the theoretical perspective of Butler (2018) and Louro (1997), who contribute to and question concepts related to gender and education. Accordingly, bibliographic literature was used, including authors who address the feminization of teaching in Brazil such as Costa (2017), Sá and Rosa (2004), Stamatto (2002), Fagundes (2005), Antunes and Accorssi (2019), among others. The methodological approach of the research is anchored in a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory nature. The results show that the feminization of teaching in Brazil occurs due to various structural factors, with gender being one of the main intersectional categories for explaining this phenomenon. The research moves toward final considerations, bringing reflections on the feminization of teaching, which has been historically constituted through power relations based on patriarchal, sexist, and misogynistic assumptions. Despite the challenges, the struggle of women for recognition and for the construction of a professional identity is also an important factor in the consolidation of this phenomenon.