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The Pain of Teaching: Considerations Regarding Educational Endeavors



Author(s)

Raisa Pinheiro Arruda, Ana Maria Fontenelle Catrib, Christina Cesar Praça Brasil, Maxmiria Holanda Batista, Patricia Passos Sampaio

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DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2015.04A.004

Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza, Brazil

This article discusses the daily work of teachers in public elementary schools in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Action research was performed as a practical activity in the discipline of management processes and worker health. The research was conducted in a municipal school and aims to understand how teachers handle their daily lives from the changes in the working world, taking into account the ways in which such transformations bolster health or illness among these professionals. Discussion groups were held, from which the following themes emerged: the role of the teacher, feelings arising from teaching activities, and favorable aspects and difficulties in the daily lives of teachers. The teachers interviewed showed a strong sense of frustration at the idealization of the teaching practice in contrast with the current education scenario and the constant social devaluation of the profession. The teachers often experience feelings of frustration, helplessness, anxiety, discouragement, and fatigue, but also, occasionally, joy, satisfaction, and hope. There are urgent measures that can change this situation with a focus on health promotion and the improvement of teachers’ quality of life.

teaching, health promotion, action research