Pedagogical Neoliberalism

the hijacking of teacher autonomy

Abstract

This article analyzes the impacts of neoliberalism on Brazilian public education, focusing on the reconfiguration of teaching and the hijacking of teachers’ professional autonomy. Based on a theoretical-critical approach and grounded in authors such as Freire, Nóvoa, Giroux, Contreras, Laval, and Saviani, the study articulates documents, public policies, and specialized literature. The findings indicate that the technocratic and managerial model imposed by neoliberalism subordinates pedagogical practice to a logic of efficiency, performativity, and standardization, weakening its critical and emancipatory role. Nonetheless, spaces of resistance emerge in everyday school life, teacher collectives, and critical training processes, reaffirming teaching as an ethical, political, and transformative practice. The study concludes that strengthening teacher autonomy requires robust public policies, reflective continuing education, and recognition of teachers as historical and critical intellectual subjects