Practice as a curriculum component in teacher education programs in Brazil

This article discusses practice as a curriculum component in teacher education from three perspectives: 1. an analysis of this expression at the current Brazilian educational legislation, that means, in the legal documents on Education written, in Brazil, after the National Educational Law was approved in 1996; 2. the discussion, based upon John Dewey's work, about the origins of the difficulties to both understand and follow the principle of no separation between theory and practice in teacher education and, finally, 3. the presentation of some possibilities through the so-called movement for the professionalization of teaching work - a movement started in the 1980's, in the United States and Canada, and which has principles such as: to conceive teaching as a professional activity based upon a solid knowledge foundation; to understand professional practice as an educational setting and as a place for practitioners produce knowledge; and to establish links between university institutions and elementary, middle and high schools.