Educating Language Teachers in Brazil: Where Do Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Fit?
What is it about?
This article looks at how language teachers are educated in Brazilian public universities, considering the question: Are issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion truly part of their education, or do they remain on the sidelines? After new national guidelines for teacher education were introduced in 2015, universities redesigned their programs for educating language teachers. While these reforms changed course structures and increased practicum hours, it is still unclear whether they addressed social inequalities related to race, gender, capability, and other forms of difference that deeply shape Brazilian society. To explore this, we examined the curricula of undergraduate programs in English language at three public universities and reflected on our experiences as language teacher educators working within these programs.
Why is it important?
Teachers play a key role in shaping how students understand language, culture, and identity. If teacher education programs do not engage with equity, diversity, and inclusion, future teachers may reproduce the same exclusions that already exist in schools and universities. In a country marked by deep social inequalities, treating inclusion as a secondary concern can limit the transformative potential of education. Understanding how curricula deal with these issues helps us understand how teacher education can contributing to social justice.