Projeto de vida de professores na educação confessional

Abstract

This study aims to understand the life projects of basic education teachers working in a confessional school, seeking to unveil how these projects are conceived and how they are connected to Teacher Professional Development (TPD). The relevance of this research lies in the importance of a well-defined life project for teachers’ well-being and personal fulfillment. Clarity regarding personal and professional goals strengthens resilience in facing the daily challenges of the profession, contributes to the maintenance of mental health, and, more broadly, promotes the realization of meaning in life. To achieve this objective, the research adopted a phenomenological methodological approach, using semi-structured interviews as the main data collection instrument. The analysis of the collected information was carried out based on the Stanford University protocol, aiming to deepen the understanding of the experiences and meanings identified by the participants. The research was conducted in a Catholic confessional school located in Salvador, Bahia, with the participation of five elementary school teachers. The results suggest that the life project constitutes a relevant element for understanding teachers’ personal and professional trajectories. The analyzed narratives reveal different levels of awareness regarding these projects, showing that some participants explicitly recognize the central purpose guiding their choices, while others express it more implicitly, associated with experiences and values developed throughout life. The analysis also identified different domains composing these projects — especially teaching, family, faith, and personal development — highlighting how these dimensions are articulated in the organization of the participants’ lives. Different configurations of life projects were also observed: in some cases, they are structured around long-term goals oriented toward the future; in others, the reports indicate the configuration of meaningful goals centered on the present, in which the project manifests itself through current engagement in actions considered significant by the participants, organizing their choices and practices in the present time. Within this horizon, teaching emerges as a relevant space for discovering meaning through educational practice and commitment to others. Thus, the study contributes to expanding the understanding of the relationship between life project and Teacher Professional Development, emphasizing the importance of considering the existential and value-oriented dimensions of the teaching experience in educational processes and pedagogical practices.