SYMBOLIC VALORIZATION AND TEACHER IDENTITY

MEANINGS ATTRIBUTED BY TEACHERS OF THE MUNICIPAL EDUCATION NETWORK OF FORTALEZA-CE

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze how teacher valorization policies influence the construction of the professional identity of Basic Education teachers in the municipality of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers from the municipal basic education network in Fortaleza. The data were analyzed following the principles of content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin (2011), which made it possible to identify the meanings and interpretations that teachers attribute to experiences of recognition and devaluation experienced in their daily school routine. The investigation problematizes how teacher valorization policies shape teachers’ professional identity, with special emphasis on the symbolic dimension of this process. The results show that, although there are concrete advances related to training and remuneration, the real sense of professional valorization arises from everyday interactions, through attentive listening by the institution, the welcoming attitude of school management, and the affection demonstrated by students and families. The results suggest that the absence of these elements leads to emotional exhaustion, contributing to illness and difficulties in identifying oneself as a teacher, especially among early-career teachers. Based on teachers’ discourses, symbolic valorization is considered an important axis of this identity, indispensable for the motivation that leads to engagement, sustains well-being, and permanence in the profession. This reinforces the urgency of public policies that integrate material and symbolic dimensions of teacher valorization.