THE TEACHER'S JOB IN THE DIGITAL AGE: The (Re)construction of Teachers' Professional Knowledge

The need to make a critical reflection about the research on the field of teaching has been supported since early 21st century by worldwide entities such as UNESCO, European Comission and the Organisation for the Economical Cooperation and Development. These have influenced the current policies of the Portuguese Ministry of Education, which has approved a number of legal provisions, namely on the Curricular Autonomy and Flexibility (AFC), in accordance with the legislative order no. 5908/2017, as well as the Action Plan for Teachers Digital education (PAEDD) (along with other mechanisms that will be referred to in due time), entailing changes and subsequent weaknesses in the profession of teacher in the digital era (Lima et al, 2020; Nóvoa & Alvim, 2021).In the pandemic context in which we are living, a new scenery of remote teaching has required the rethinking of the teaching and learning process and has incited adaptations in the assignments to the teachers, as well the way the students are assessed, classified by the need of the (re)construction of a new Student’s profile at the end of the compulsory education (Perfil do Aluno à Saída da Escolaridade Obrigatória (PASEO)) , (Bruno, 2021; Clarke, 2021; López De La Cruz et al, 2022).Thus, this paper, which encompasses a revision of the literatures and a narrative research, aims to, through the voices of the teachers, scan the profession of the teacher in the digital era, together with their personal and professional development, in a context of change within the methodology and the didactics (Batista & Andrade, 2020; Sofianidis et al, 2021). The demands of this profession, taking place in this digital era, lead to the need of the education in the use of the new technologies, which will provide the teacher with a digital pedagogical practice, and which makes them rethink their action, allowing them (and the student) to be creative and active subjects in the process of teaching and learning mediated by the technologies (Nóvoa & Alvim, 2021). The use of the new technologies was strengthened when the government, through the Decree Law no. 10-A/2020, 13th March, (as well as the Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 53-D/2020), approved a series of exceptional and temporary measures concerning the epidemic situation of the COVID-19. Those measures were used due to the escalation of this situation (DGEstE III.2 – Organisation and function of the teaching and formative activities), namely the Plans E@D and, under the conditions lived and the new guidelines, were requalified with changes, considering the results of the monitoring carried out by the Monitoring and Supervision Teams of the school groupings themselves. Here, the teachers’ capacitation had a significant role in the building of the foundations for the mainstreaming of the digital (DigCompEdu, 2018) in their pedagogical practice, in school life, in their routine, as well as daily procedures, in students life, in their learning practice and citizenship.This context of change, in which the current profession of Teacher is included, sets as “a reference for the decisions to be adopted by rulers and educational actors at the educational establishments and the entities responsible for the educational policies, presenting itself as a common reference for all the schools and educational opportunities with compulsory education, namely at the syllabus, and planning levels, as well as in the execution and external and internal assessments of teaching and learning”(Decree no. 6478/2017, 26th July). The context above began in 2019 in some schools with the implementation of the Maia Project (PM) which establishes a policy within the context of the Curricular Autonomy and Flexibility (AFC) that envisages the curriculum development, establishing pedagogical objectives, as well as the connection between teaching, learning experiences and assessment. This implies the encompassing of analysis of the Main Essential Learnings (AE), defined by its qualities of importance and need for the next learning level. The Essential Learnings were certified for the different school levels that are part of the Curricular Autonomy and Flexibility project, according to the Decree no. 5908/2017). It should also be noted that it’s important to redefine the function of the school and, as a result, the relationships that involve the teaching and the learning, which interferes directly with the profession of the teacher.