Educadoras e educadores sociais de Porto Alegre em busca de reconhecimento

Abstract

The occupational activity of Social Educators has its origin in the actions of popular social movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Currently, these workers represent a large part of workforce in the execution of public policies in Brazil, mainly Social Assistance. Considering the context of regulation of its activity in Brazil, this work investigates what are the social recognition demands of the Social Educators of Porto Alegre. For this, it seeks, in the Sociology of Professions, to cover a sociologic deficit identified in the national discussion about regulation, distinguishing occupations from professions; it presents the Axel Honneth’s Theory of Recognition as an analytical model to identify, within the content of social discourse, the demands for recognition and to analyze its normative validity; it sketches a history of the conformation of the occupational activity of Social Educators in Brazil, demonstrating that this identity is distinct, but not antagonistic, from the Popular Educators; and, finally, it analyzes the speech of Social Educators of Porto Alegre in interviews and in debates about the themes of their initial formation, practices and working conditions and regulation of their occupational activity in Brazil, having the Theory of Recognition as an analytical guide. The main demand for recognition identified was the society's knowledge of the activities carried out by Social Educators in such a way that people recognize them as work, not charity or volunteering. They demand from their colleagues, workers of categories already professionalized, the recognition of equity of their theoretical and practical contributions for the good development of activities in teams that operate in multiprofessional cooperation model, which also indicates a desire for greater autonomy in their occupational practices. Of the contracting institutions and State, they demand better working conditions, such as: reduction of working hours, mental health care, additional salaries (painfulness), and higher income. It was also observed the lack of knowledge of the Social Educators of Porto Alegre about the process of regulating their occupational activity in Brazil as well of the national discussion about the process.