THE FORMATION OF THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEACHER: A LOOK AT THE INITIAL GRADES

Abstract

In the contemporary educational scenario, Religious Education in the Early Years of Elementary School emerges as an essential component for the integral formation of students. This article aims to promote a reflection on the training of the Religious Education teacher in the early years of elementary school, since the school plays a crucial role in critically exploring the religious dimensions, promoting a reflective and contextualized understanding. The approach to themes such as the function and values of religious traditions and the relationship between multiple religious cultures enriches learning and ethical formation. The motivation for choosing this theme is driven by the pressing need to rethink the practices of Religious Education in the Early Years, based on the premises of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) and in the light of the perspective of continuing education and teaching knowledge of Tardif (2000 and 2014) and Gauthier (1998). Thus, it was sought to analyze the training of teachers of the initial grades of Elementary School to teach the curricular component of Religious Education. The study is based on bibliographic and documentary research in this area of knowledge, aiming to understand the course of educators' training from graduation to the continuing education programs offered by the municipal education network. This study aims to broaden the debate on the importance of a consistent teacher training, since the legislation establishes that the integration of this knowledge to School Knowledge, as an object of study of the Curricular Component of Religious Education (CCER), occurs from the 1st year of the initial years of Elementary School. The results indicate that, although there are indications in the documents about the objects of knowledge of RE to be addressed in the initial grades, there is no prevalence of records about training for teachers, as occurs in the other curricular components.