Initial teacher education from the perspective of the dialectic between theory and practice: narratives of a teacher educator

Abstract

This text presents the experiences of a teacher educator working with novice teachers in the municipal education network of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Our discourse is grounded in the dialectical relationship between theory and practice, as an indispensable factor for a transformative praxis of human beings. In a historical, political, economic, and social context that prioritizes productivity and mechanized work, we face challenges in implementing a training program that considers individuals as autonomous, critical, and transformative agents of praxis. In this sense, we ask: What are the challenges and utopias that emerge in the initial teacher education, considering the dialectic between theory and practice? Our objective is to discuss the challenges and utopias present in teacher education, from the perspective of the dialectic between theory and practice. Along with empirical data, we draw on the discussions proposed by Schmied-Kowarzik (1983), Franco (2008), Pimenta (2023), and Saviani (2020). Our research is based on the critical-dialectical method, highlighting the categories of totality, contradiction, and mediation. Through this experience, we argue that it is possible to mediate formative processes amalgamated in the inseparable relationship between theory and practice, thus fertilizing a revolutionary and transformative praxis of the subjects of action.