Report of a continuing education program with educational counselors in the municipal public school system of Sapucaia do Sul/RS

Abstract

This article presents an analytical account of a continuing education experience carried out with pedagogical advisors from the municipal education network of Sapucaia do Sul, RS, Brazil. The experience was developed within the scope of a research-training project linked to a 30-hour extension course. In this context, the study sought to answer the following question: How does a continuing education program, organized as research training, contribute to clarifying intervention criteria, defining responsibilities, and improving records and communication flows within the network? To this end, its general objective was to promote collaborative construction, reflection, and proposals aimed at strengthening professional identity, resignifying pedagogical practices, and valuing the role of Educational Counselors within the Municipal Public Education Network of Sapucaia do Sul, RS. The study was developed through a systematized process involving the participation of up to 55 Educational Counselors, in which specific issues related to the challenges and possibilities concerning the organization of pedagogical guidance work in the network were addressed. In addition, empirical materials collected through field notes, autobiographical narratives, and records from discussion groups were analyzed. To conduct the study, a hermeneutic-interpretive approach was adopted, with methodological procedures inspired by Discursive Textual Analysis, articulated with source triangulation and complemented by processes of interpretive feedback to the participating group. The results were organized around five analytical axes: professional identity and demand regimes; limits of action and school governance; records, justifications, and continuity; intersectoriality and co-responsibility; and continuing education as institutional infrastructure. Based on these axes, operational guidelines are proposed to strengthen performance criteria, communication flows, recording practices, and training cycles with feedback within the municipal education network