Abstract

PEREIRA, Fátima; LOPES, Amélia  and  DOTTA, Leanete Thomas. Professional knowledge and identities of teachers over 50 years old in teacher education on new digital technologies. Rev. Port. de Educação [online]. 2022, vol.35, n.1, pp.449-470.  Epub July 28, 2022. ISSN 0871-9187.  https://doi.org/10.21814/rpe.22309.

In Portugal, more than half of teachers in early childhood education and basic and secondary education are 50 years old or older. As a result of policies that delayed the possibilities of retirement as a whole, which were implemented in 2005, a large number of teachers remain in activity, having even exceeded the age and length of service that most studies on teachers’ life cycles consider. This article originates from the REKINDLE+50 project, aimed at studying the possibilities of adherence to new technologies by teachers over 50 years old in their pedagogical practices, and their effects in terms of professional motivation. Its goal is to explore the resonances of the training dimension of the project in terms of professional knowledge and the professional identity of the participating teachers. The productions of the 65 teachers participating in the training actions promoted within the scope of the project and their testimonies on the training experience and its effects were thematically analyzed. The results point to the existence of a valued professional identity based, among other factors, on a complexification of teachers’ experiential knowledge, as a result of the integration of pedagogical technological content knowledge into professional knowledge, evidencing the desire and need to learn as the main cognitive and identity mediator of this transformation. On the other hand, continuous training focused on transforming pedagogical work with students seems to be confirmed as the most suitable for the professional development of veteran teachers as well.

Keywords : Aging in teaching; Continuous teacher education; Professional identity; Professional knowledge; Digital technologies..

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