Abstract. The main objective of this study was to analyze how the participants of a postgraduate course lato sensu, Three Brazilian English teachers in continuing professional development discursively construct the concept of teacher suffering. The study also sought to highlight the coherence demonstrated by the participating teachers in associating the term "suffering" with its etymological meaning. Guided by the parameters of Interactional Sociolinguistics (Ribeiro and Garcez, 2002), the theoretical framework adopted in this research is based on studies of oral narratives (Labov, 1972, [1967] 2003; Bastos, 2005, 2008, 2015) and life histories (Linde, 1993). This is a qualitative and interpretivist research project (Denzin & Lincoln, 2006; Erickson, 1986; Minayo, 2002; André, 2008), whose data were generated through interviews understood as reflective activities with exploratory potential (RAPE), in accordance with the principles of Exploratory Practice (Allwright, 1991, 2003c, 2006; Miller, 2012, 2010; Moraes Bezerra, 2007). Suffering is characterized as the difficulty of being a teacher due to discrimination and social contempt; and as the result of the reinforcement of common sense, the product of social and educational policies, in unspoken constructions of professional idealization. The results obtained shed light on the urgent need to foster resilience and survival in the face of inequality and social injustices.
How to cite. Colombo Gomes, G. da S. (2019). The weight of pedagogical suffering in episodes and life stories. Thoughts in Magazine, 14. https://doi.org/10.12957/pr.2019.38311
