Knowledge of professional contexts in the development of prospective teachers’ educators

ABSTRACT The article addresses the professional knowledge developed by prospective teachers’ educators from the formative courses offered by the institutions where they work. This qualitative-interpretative work was based on Lee Shulman's professional knowledge perspective. It involved the analysis of official and institutional documents related to policies and formative actions aimed at teacher educators, a questionnaire applied to the faculty in human sciences, and an interview with four university professors selected from those who answered the questionnaire. The research participants teach degree courses in human sciences at a federal university in southern Brazil. As a result, the study points out that the teachers’ participation in different formative sessions allowed them to develop knowledge about multiple aspects related to the knowledge of professional contexts of higher education teaching, with emphasis on students’ and faculty's contexts and institutional and regional social contexts.