Docentes; Educação; Sofrimento; Subjetividade; Precariedade
Teachers; Education; Suffering; Subjectivity; Precarity.
This study emerges from concerns regarding the significant increase in the number of teachers in Brazil experiencing subjective suffering. The way this issue has been addressed remains limited: there has been a notable rise in diagnoses of various psychological disorders, as well as in requests for medical leave among education professionals. A tendency has been observed— sustained by hegemonic discourses—to interpret teacher suffering through simplified explanations, often rooted in medicalizing, pathologizing, and individualistic perspectives. In light of this, the present research aims to understand the subjective configurations—both individual and social— involved in the processes of subjective suffering experienced by teachers at a public school within the basic education network of the Federal District. The study seeks to contribute to the development of educational practices focused on supporting the subjective development of teachers in distress, proposing alternatives to approaches that reduce the phenomenon to pathologizing and individualizing interpretations. The research is grounded in the theoretical framework of subjectivity from a culturalhistorical perspective, as proposed by González Rey. It articulates the fields of education, health, and teacher suffering, critically examining the contextualization of the teacher’s role, the technicization of teaching, and the symbolic precariousness to which educators are subjected. Finally, the study adopts a qualitative epistemology, in conjunction with the Constructive-Interpretative Methodology, through an in-depth case study of a teacher exhibiting signs of subjective suffering. The objective is to construct a theoretical model aligned with the aims of this research.