A felicidade no trabalho docente e a mediação das políticas de valorização docente no estado de Pernambuco

Abstract

Result of a study on the relationship between happiness and teaching work, considering the mediation of the policies of teacher appreciation in Pernambuco, this thesis aims to understand this relationship in its complex totality, based on the understanding of each of the two thematic axes that constitute in their specificities, in the sense of unveiling the importance of teacher valorization policies for happiness in the work of teachers in secondary education in the public system of Pernambuco. Supported by theoretical research, it is based on the understanding that work, as the foudation of the realization of the social being, is decisive for happiness, considered since ancient Greece as the greatest of human aspirations. Anchored in Marxian and Marxist literature, as well as in the Psychodynamics of Work, developed by Christophe Dejours, it seeks to understand the meaning of work in capitalist society and its appreciation for happiness in teaching work. In capitalist regime, work acquires a character of strangeness for the worker, ceasing to be a means of fulfillment and human happiness to be a mere means of survival, becoming work of sacrifice and suffering. In capitalist dynamics, teaching work in public education, although it is not a producer of capital goods, is subordinated to capitalist regime in a political and ideological way, with traces of alienation resulting from the deepening of control over teaching work. The teacher appreciation in the capitalist society stems from the value of education for that society, whose conception is of an economic nature under the argument of training individuals for the labor market. The understanding that education in capitalist society is at the service of the alienating perpetuation of capital and subordinated to the particular interests of the ruling class, highlights the importance of the social role of teaching to help break with the principles of the liberal conception, legitimizing social injustice. Neoliberal reforms in education, under the auspices of international organizations, which bring about deregulation, privatization and flexibility, result in intensification, accountability and precariousness of teaching work, having a negative influence on teachers' physical and psychological health, like the Burnout Syndrome. From the policies of teaching valorization of high school in Pernambuco, it is possible to affirm that although their speeches brings a message of appreciation of teachers, even though they appear in response to the category's incessant struggle in this sense, in addition to not being accompanied by improvement in the conditions of work, do nothing to make the category feel valued and prestigious, some of which are considered policies of control and domination that contribute to the process of deprofessionalization and devaluation of the teaching career. Finally, from the complexity of the theoretical study, linked to the empirical findings, it appears that, if the mediation of teaching valorization policies is essential for happiness in teaching work, the overcoming of alienated work, which removes from the human being what gives it its humanity, it is a crucial issue for the enjoyment of work activity, as a condition for a happy life in teaching.