Introduction

In this paper, we talk about the role of teachers’ education as one of the main roles of the pedagogical counsellor, especially in public schools. The goal is to clarify, from the perspective of the pedagogical counsellor's performance, the proposition of actions aimed at this purpose. Moreover, we intend to broaden the reflection on issues considered essential in regards to articulations between the challenges of training in a multi-referenced scenario. Among these circumstances, there are the expectations related to teacher training, the school as a space for continuous education, and the challenges faced by the pedagogical counsellor in proposing teacher education actions.

For better awareness of who the pedagogical counsellor is and what their attributions are, it is important to contextualize the role of this professional in the organizational dynamics of a Brazilian school. From the school's point of view, the organization of its administrative-pedagogical processes displays the distribution of functions and attributions of its actors. Among these functions, regardless of how it is called, the guiding function of teaching has always been present in the structuring and consolidation of the educational system. The guiding function of teaching is characterized as that related to actions of articulation, conception, planning, monitoring and evaluation of educational practices and school pedagogical processes (^{Alarcão & Roldão, 2008}; ^{Brzezinski, 2014}).

It is important to highlight that, according to the meanings and interpretations given by the educational systems, the guiding function of teaching was designated throughout its structuring history as school supervision, pedagogical coordination and pedagogical guidance. It is also relevant to point out that, regardless of classification, this function is associated with a process in which one collaborates with the work and training of the teacher. (^{Lomonico, 2005}; ^{Almeida, Souza, & Placco, 2016}). This article chooses to use the term pedagogical guidance and assumes ‘pedagogical counsellor’ as the professional responsible for “[...] monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning processes [...]; ensure the active participation of all teachers[...] organize and select materials suitable for different teaching and learning situations” (^{Almeida, Souza, & Placco, 2016}, p. 76 and 77).

Though this is not the focus of analysis, it should be said that, in terms of teacher education qualification, the Brazilian legislation inaugurated, from the 1920s onwards, proposals that have assigned to Pedagogy undergraduate courses the education of these professionals. Issues involving training to perform the teaching guiding function have been permeated by contradictions, tensions, advances and setbacks that also express inaccuracies regarding the professional profile of those who exercise the teaching guiding function in different levels of the hierarchy of the educational system. Over time, they were understood as technicians in educational matters, as specialists and more recently as education professionals (^{Saviani, 1999}; ^{Cunha & Prado, 2006}; ^{Franco, Libâneo, & Pimenta, 2011}; ^{Almeida, Souza, & Placco, 2016}).

The relationship between changes in society and teacher education, to expand what is expected of them in personal, social, emotional and professional terms, have been identified in different ways. In some respects, these changes provoke in teachers a feeling of impotence that affects them in a scenario of uncertainty, where the beliefs and knowledge that supported their conceptions and practices seem not only insufficient but also inadequate to the said new models (^{Imbernón, 2009}). Teachers feel disregarded while

[...] someone with cultural background who dominates their area of scientific and pedagogical-educational speciality [...] a critical analyst of society, who intervenes in it with his professional activity; a member of a scientific community, which produces knowledge about their field and society (^{Pimenta & Lima, 2012}, p. 88).

As a result, there is an almost excessive search for ways of 'how to do it’ and the consequent dissemination of the so-called 'suggestions' of activities, dissociated from proposals and contexts.

From the perspective of the challenges related to initial teacher education, there is a mismatch between the legislative prescription and its implementation. This mismatch is present at all levels of the hierarchy of the educational system. Some reasons can justify this fact, such as the lack of emphasis given by educational institutions to teacher training, the new profiles of the clientele, the devaluation of the teaching career, unattractive salaries, and the expansion of pedagogical work responsibilities (^{Pereira, 2006}; ^{Gatti & Barreto, 2009}). It is curious that even in this scenario, “[...] teacher education stands out as a relevant factor” (^{Gatti & Barreto, 2009}, p. 11-12).

Teacher education is gaining importance and has been the object of permanent revision in terms of the knowledge and skills needed for education. Legislative determinations, especially those of recent years, expand and detail the set of knowledge and skills deemed necessary by the teacher for more effective action in order to guarantee learning rights in an increasingly plural society. Examples are the propositions of Resolução No. 2 of July 1, 2015, and Resolução No. 2 of December 20, 2019. Both resolutions reaffirm teaching, understood in a broader sense, as the structuring foundation of education. It is also necessary to consider that, when it comes to the education of the pedagogical counsellor, this is not always instrumentalized in performing the attributions of articulator of school dynamics and, especially, of actions aimed at teacher education.

On the understanding of the school as a education space, ^{Nóvoa (2017}) states that, for the teacher, a school is a place of learning. He highlights the importance of considering two aspects: the teacher as an agent and the school as an organization. From the teacher's point of view, he understands the essentiality of self-training processes, the recognition of practice as an expression of singularities and personalities. From the point of view of the school, it needs to go through a process of change to operationalize more collaborative and participatory management processes both in terms of student learning and the (self) training of the different actors that constitute it. In this sense, the result would be “[...] more than the creation of a space for collaboration between teachers, the possibility of public recognition of professional teaching knowledge, including those belonging to beginners” (^{Nono, 2011}, p. 37).

It is in this multi-referenced fabric of knowledge and practices that the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor, permeated by the controversies between legislative determinations and the needs of everyday school life, are redefined in a permanent process of reconfiguration of logics, focuses and actions. It is essential to understand how the pedagogical counsellor articulates, in the context of daily life, the attributions of promoting meaningful learning for students and improving the work of teachers and teaching through training actions, all at the same time. It is important to point out that studies of/in everyday life have contributed a lot to understanding the senses and meanings attributed by different subjects to the spaces/times in which they are inserted (^{Certeau, 1994}; ^{Alves & Oliveira, 2004}). In this article, however, without disregarding the relevance of these studies, daily life is used as the set of actions and routines developed by the pedagogical counsellor in the daily life of the school (^{Malinoski, 2014}).

Thus, this article aims to reflect on how the pedagogical counsellor contemplates the training of teachers in the set of functions and attributions they are required to perform in the overwhelming daily life of public schools. It seeks to clarify if and how the pedagogical counsellors fulfil the attribution of promoting teacher training actions in the schools where they work. This is all based on professionals who work at public schools in the Baixada Fluminense-Rio de Janeiro, specifically within the scope of the Municipal Education Department of Duque de Caxias. The reflections articulate what is expected from the teacher, in a society in permanent transformation, with the qualification of the pedagogical counsellor and with their attributions, highlighting those related to the operationalization of actions aimed at the qualification of teachers.

On what is expected from the teacher in a society in permanent transformation: indications for education.

The need for teacher training fits the dynamics of a society that has changed profoundly, especially since the 1990s. As an example, we have the proposals of the ^{Ministry of Education of Quebec, which, in 2001}, highlighted the need to reconfigure the guidelines for teacher education. These guidelines were especially concerned about expanding the list of skills required for a new social and cultural scenario, emphasizing the modification of teachers' practices. The school takes on new functions and roles arising from factors such as the diversification of the target audience, changes in family arrangements, changes in the labour market, advances in research on education and the consequent proposition/search for new models, and more participatory/collaborative ways of school management.

As it can be seen, the challenges indicated a focus on the essentiality of the articulations between the education proposals and the professional profiles necessary for the different scenarios for which school education is intended. Balance points are sought between the demands of society and its subjects, concerning the purposes of school education and the educational processes to be developed in and by the school. When this articulation and balance do not take place in initial training, this task of articulating knowledge and practices are transferred to continuous education, especially that promoted in and by the school.

Still from the perspective of what is expected from teachers in a society undergoing rapid transformation, when analyzing the French context, ^{Huot (2014}) highlights the difficulty in ensuring the provision of good quality education for all in the perspective of the purposes of teaching democratization and learning. By alluding to the focus of public school education, he calls attention to the overcoming of the teaching/instructing, educating and training triad. As society becomes more sophisticated about the complexity of its multivariate textures, expectations concerning the teacher include new skills/knowledge/qualities. In addition to those related to instructing, educating and training, teamwork, encouragement of innovation, monitoring of students in their different processes, use of forms of assessment that promote students, the establishment of communication channels with parents/guardians, and the availability to listen to students. In the proposed restructuring in 2013, the author talks about the guidelines on the skills needed by the teacher as an actor in the public service. These guidelines add, as competencies: the ethical dimension of the teaching profession, the monitoring of students' learning processes, engagement with the demands of the internal and external community, the didactic dimension of their performance, respect for the diversity of students, the promotion of significant learning and socialization experiences, and the use of assessment as a monitoring strategy for students' learning and progress.

Concerning all this, the scope of what is expected from public school education, specifically from the teacher, is marked. Because of this profusion of demands, it is worth questioning what pieces of knowledge are necessary for effective professional performance, and also how and which training agencies will be involved in this training process. This point is crucial, as the teaching activity is always transversal by the personal, cultural, social, psychological and emotional dimensions of the teacher (^{Franco, 2008}). These dimensions directly interfere with the actions of the pedagogical counsellor in the performance of their functions.

The qualification of the pedagogical counsellor: indications for action

If we consider the Brazilian legislative proposals on pedagogical counsellor education, there is a process of permanent reconfiguration, marked from the outset by the social dimension that directly impacts the school organization. This can be seen, for example, in the propositions of ^{Parecer CNE/CP n. 5 (2005}), according to which:

[...] with the expansion of access to school, the demands for teacher qualification grew, to guide the learning of children and teenagers from the popular classes, which brought diverse world views and perspectives of citizenship into schools. varied. On the other hand, the organizational and pedagogical complexity, provided by the democratization of civil life and public management, also brought new needs to school management [...] (^{Parecer CNE/CP nº 5, 2005}).

Therefore, the school management and learning orientation of children from popular classes are explicit as the foundation that structures the school pedagogical field.

Regarding the qualification of the pedagogical counsellor by Pedagogy Courses, it is worth adding that the idea of ​​teaching is presented as an articulator of educational actions and of teaching and learning processes. They are, methodical and intentional, aimed at a specific training focus. The perception of the functions of public school education in its broader dimensions is ratified, whether from the point of view of ends and purposes, or the point of view of training experiences to be promoted to different school actors, in and by the school. For the professional who will come to exercise pedagogical guidance, it is essential, “[...] I- knowledge of the school as a complex organization that has the function of promoting education for and in citizenship; [...] III - participation in the management of educational processes and the organization and functioning of educational systems and institutions” (^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 1, 2006}). It is interesting to point out that the ideas of repertoire, plurality, contextualization, democratization and school as a complex organization are related to training. Added to these is the idea of internal and external management of processes, knowledge and practices to promote spaces for more educational experiences in terms of participation and exercise of citizenship.

This scenario, which appears to be increasingly multi-referenced, is the object of the indications of Resolução No. 4, (July 13, 2010). When defining the General National Curriculum Guidelines for Basic Education, it points out that the intended education encompasses the domain of objectives, conceptual references, forms of curricular organization, stages and modalities of basic education, guidelines for education, political-pedagogical project, school regulations, evaluation processes and school organization from the perspective of democratic management.

Resolução No. 2 (July 1, 2015), when presenting the National Curriculum Guidelines for initial education at higher education and continuous education, reaffirms the strategic role of basic education institutions in training processes. Ratifies as principles of initial and continuous education: [...] a) solid theoretical and interdisciplinary education; b) theory-practice unit; c) collective and interdisciplinary work; d) social commitment and appreciation of the education professional; e) democratic management; f) evaluation and regulation of training courses (^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2015}) These processes include “[...] scientific and cultural knowledge, [...] ethical, political and aesthetic values ​​inherent in teaching and learning, [...] socialization and construction of knowledge, [...] constant dialogue between different views of the world” (^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2015}). An important point highlighted in this document is the understanding of the process of conception, elaboration and implementation of the School's Political Pedagogical Project as a training experience.

It is considered relevant to point out, from the perspective of legislative determinations, the ^{Resolução No. 2 (December 20, 2019}), when defining the National Curriculum Guidelines for Initial Teacher Training for Basic Education and instituting the Common National Base for Training Initial for Teachers of Basic Education (BNC-Training). It ratifies, details and expands the specific skills and abilities necessary for training, organizing them into three dimensions: knowledge, practice and engagement. In terms of continuous education, this Resolução points to the organizing axes of effective continuous education, lifelong learning and the contributions of evidence-based literature. It specifically elects in these contributions, the “[...] 1) focus on pedagogical content knowledge; 2) use of active learning methodologies; 3) collaborative work among peers; 4) extended duration of training; 5) systemic coherence” (^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2019}).

What is observed from a legislative perspective is a description of items predominantly focused on performance. In this sense, we should be able to conclude that it is a training trend that has action as its focus. In this regard, there is an evident gap between the initial education proposals and the real needs of schools, their contexts and subjects. Also, when it comes to continuous education, the contradictions and complexities of school dynamics do not always allow for broader participation of teachers, and even pedagogical counsellors. This makes evident the role of the school in offering training opportunities.

Therefore, the role of the school as a training agency and, above all, the importance of the pedagogical counsellor, as an articulator of the needs of the different subjects that constitute the school community and the demands of society, is ratified.

Teacher education as one of the pedagogical counsellor’s attributions

The contributions of ^{Shulman (2014}), ^{Nóvoa (2017}) and ^{Algebaile (2009}) are taken as references to guide reflections on the school as a space for teacher education. These contributions are considered relevant because they refer both to the scope and multi-referentiality of skills and knowledge required for the education and performance of the pedagogical counsellor and teacher, as well as to the possibility of the school becoming an education space.

By recognizing the school as one of the institutions responsible for teacher education, ^{Shulman (2014}, p. 223) proposes as a focus of this education the “[...] teacher's ability to think about teaching, to teach specific topics and to base their actions on-premises that can be scrutinized by the professional community”. It understands “[...] teaching as understanding and reasoning, as transformation and reflection” (^{Shulman, 2014}, p. 213), evidencing the articulation between the domain of content and how it is taught. It highlights as important the ethical dimension of teacher education and performance. This dimension guides the practice in the sense of understanding it as committed, personal and social, with the promotion of the improvement of the human condition and life in society. In other words, there is always a social, morally responsible purpose in teaching and learning relationships.

A formative action inspired by these bases takes into account content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of students and their characteristics, knowledge of educational contexts, knowledge of purposes, purposes and values ​​of education, and its historical and philosophical basis (^{Shulman, 2014}).

From the perspective of understanding the school as a place for education, for collective and shared reflection, and the construction of professional knowledge, ^{Nóvoa (2017}) points out the inseparability between education and the professional context. It considers the school “[...] a meeting place [...] an authentic encounter between worlds that know each other poorly and that live in situations of great disparity, both in the material conditions of life and in the social image that is projected from them ” (^{Novoa, 2017}, p. 1117). Therefore, as a place for public action, indicating the need for a broader view of cultural diversities and the multiple realities that make up society. In this sense, the public school is understood, at the same time, as a space for professional performance and as a space for building democracy (^{Nóvoa, 2017}). Ensuring this participatory space for (self) training is, notably, one of the pedagogical counsellor's attributions.

When it comes to Brazilian public education, democratic management, teacher training and the literacy of low-income students can be considered as its main challenges. These challenges are reflected in how public schools are organized to face them (^{Algebaile, 2009}). It is important to note that school education and its results are part of the discussion agenda for both public policies and the speeches of different school actors. There is dissatisfaction with the school education’s actual effectiveness and the performance of teachers, who are attributed with the non-learning of students and the results, which are considered insufficient. Hence the need, in the school context, to develop a proposal that foresees “[...] actions more directly and systematically directed to the teaching and learning process, in a strict sense, previously envisioned and, therefore, referred to planning and control of actions constituted as specific means for their achievement” (Algebaile, 2009, p. 42). By understanding the particularities of each school context and the singularities of its subjects, the proposition of training strategies offered at and by the school becomes more viable and effective. The proposition of these strategies is part of the set of attributions of the pedagogical counsellor.

Regarding teacher education as one of the pedagogical counsellor's attributions, there is a consensus on the idea that teachers learn at school. It is admitted that this is where the teaching profession is constituted. Continuous education, especially that developed in the school context, “[...] favours the appropriation of knowledge, stimulates the search for other knowledge and introduces a fertile, continuous restlessness with what is already known, which motivates the teacher to try and experience teaching in all its imponderability, surprise, creation and dialectics with its novelty” (^{Placco & Silva, 2000}, p. 27). It also favors the establishment of reciprocal and partner relationships between teachers and the pedagogical counsellor. This reduces the mistaken expectations about each other in terms of mastery of knowledge and practices. The pedagogical counsellor plays the role of mediator of reflections, decision-making and forwarding of actions. One of the obstacles in conducting this process is the volume of activities and the time to carry out the education work.

The dynamics of everyday school life takes on new contours due to the different profiles of school actors and, above all, the demands regarding the promotion of meaningful learning experiences for students as a strategy to minimize/solve non-learning problems. In fact, especially when it comes to public schools, promoting student learning and the consequent challenges for the teacher are part of everyday school life. And, it is in this tangle of challenges and relationships that the pedagogical counsellor ends up overloaded, assuming, as mentioned above, attributions that do not always make up their performance and education. In this regard, ^{Dugnani (2011}) draws attention to the dilemmas of the pedagogical counsellor who sees himself, in most cases, as a 'jack-of-all-trades' or a 'handyman', involved by questions of the most varied natures that distance it from training actions as a focus (^{Placco, Almeida, & Souza, 2011}).

This scenario possibly indicates a process of redesigning not only the school organization, but also the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor, whose organizing foundation is in everyday practice. The data described in the research 'The pedagogical coordinator and teacher education: intentions, tensions and contradictions - frameworks of attribution by legislation by region', developed by the Carlos Chagas Foundation for the Victor Civita Foundation (2011), can be considered as evidence of this reconfiguration scenario. The research lists the attributions of the pedagogical counsellors identified by the legislation, identifying the categories in this set: “[...] attribution that refers to the role of the Pedagogical Coordinator as a teacher trainer, attribution that touches on the formative role of the Pedagogical Coordinator, and attribution which does not refer to the formative role of the Pedagogical Coordinator” (^{Placco et al., 2011}).

This article is based on research data from the Carlos Chagas Foundation for the Victor Civita Foundation, specifically related to the attribution of the pedagogical counsellor as a teacher trainer. What is observed is how this attribution is inscribed in the set of attributions described. Thus, considering the data, by state, it was identified: in Acre, in a total of 34 attributions, only 06 are indicated as referring to the pedagogical counsellor as a teacher trainer. Of these 06, only one does it explicitly; in Rio Grande do Norte, from a total of 23 attributions, 05 points to this aspect. Of these, one is specific; in Goiás, 75 attributions are listed, of which 08 point to teacher education. Among these, three specifically; in São Paulo, out of a set of 31 attributions, 12 contemplate teacher education. Only two are specific; in Paraná, 95 attributions are listed for the pedagogical counsellor, 18 of which are related to teacher education. Only three are specific. The data fundamentally show the profusion and breadth of attributions that the pedagogical counsellor is expected to perform in their daily lives. From the identified quantitative aspects, it is evident how much the guiding role of teaching is being reconfigured in terms of the expected attributions.

It is important to indicate here what was found about the State of Rio de Janeiro and the Municipality of Duque de Caxias/RJ. In the State of Rio de Janeiro, following ^{Law nº 6.027, of August 29}, 2011, Art. 4, § 1, 21, attributions of the pedagogical coordinator function are indicated. Of these, only one is related to the idea of ​​teacher education. In the Municipality of Duque de Caxias/RJ, following the provisions of the School Regiment of this Network, the Pedagogical Counsellor (OP) attributions are as follows: a) to promote the articulation of theory and practice under the Pedagogical Political Project (PPP); b) guide and regulate the school life of students observing the legal provisions; c) promote integration between teachers, students and technical-pedagogical staff and d) implement teaching strategies that promote student learning and development; among others (City Hall of ^{Duque de Caxias, 2015}).

The data on the State of Rio de Janeiro and the Municipality of Duque de Caxias are in line with the data found in the different states covered by the survey mentioned here.

This panorama, without a doubt, serves as a foundation for the intended reflection on the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor in the context of the Municipality of Duque de Caxias-RJ.

Methodology

Considering the nature of what was investigated, the proposed questions and objectives, the qualitative research approach was chosen as the most appropriate, as it allows the researcher to have a more direct approach to the investigated universe and object and to apprehend the meanings that the subjects attribute to the situations investigated (^{Gatti & André, 2011}). Also, for “[...] its potential to study issues related to school” (^{Lüdke & André, 1986}, p. 13). Using a descriptive approach, we sought to clarify, considering the challenges of daily life in public schools, whether and how teacher education is included in the pedagogical counsellor's list of attributions. Semi-structured interviews were used as instruments for data production (^{Duarte, 2004}).

In this article, contents of interviews were carried out with 10 (ten) pedagogical counsellors who work in public schools in the city of Duque de Caxias, Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, which constituted the universe investigated, are considered. The contents are presented that refer especially to what characterizes the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor regarding the proposition of actions aimed at training teachers. In the presentation of excerpts from the interviews, the pedagogical counsellors will be identified as OP1, OP2, and so on.

To systematize the data obtained in the interviews with the pedagogical counsellors, these will be organized with a focus on the place of training in the pedagogical counsellor's attributions.²

What the data about the place of training in the pedagogical counsellor's attributions reveal

The pedagogical counsellors interviewed, when describing the attributions they perform, did so in a way to indicate, in some way, an association between the constitutive attributions of their function, the routines and crossings of the dynamics of daily school life. From there, it was possible to organize the descriptions along the following lines: daily demands and actions aimed at teacher training. Regarding the proposition of training actions, routines and daily crossings, it was observed that the pedagogical counsellors interviewed favoured the detailed report of their actions.

Concerning actions specifically aimed at training teachers, these are more explicit in the reports of 6 of the 10 pedagogical counsellors interviewed. These counsellors (OP1, OP2, OP3, OP5, OP6 and OP7) highlighted:

[...] daily follow-up [...] of the student's school life [...] I also follow the teacher's practice in the sense of thinking about strategies to assist the demand of the classes. [...]. [...] I have a pedagogical counsellory project and then every 15 days during extra-class activities I sit with them [...] I established this moment for us to sit down to think about their anxieties and see how we can help them. [...] the Class Council is also a time when counsellors state their anxieties and what is not being achieved with goals (OP1).

[...] more direct discussion about the revision and updating of course plans and teaching plans, [...] monitoring the pedagogical practices that are developed daily, going to the classrooms and talking with the teachers [...]. [...] and when there is a decision, we meet at that moment, on that day to make a joint or specific decision [...] we have our study groups [...] which are regular and these moments are privileged [...] which is a specific meeting so that we can talk more calmly about the work being developed and the children's learning (OP2).

[...] the political pedagogical project issue, [...] participating actively in all class councils, study groups,[...] sitting down with the team for us to organize these actions. [...] talk about basically the performance of the classes. [...] assist teachers [...] (OP3).

[...] the training of teachers. [...] this part of teacher training [...] should also [...] pay more attention to this, to this part. [...] So, the moments that we manage to be together, which are in the descriptive reporting period, in the school calendar [...] we have integrated planning days there, [...] conversations [...] in the extra-class schedules that teachers have (OP5).

[...] follow the entire pedagogical development of the school. We sat down with a professor and discussed the issue of the calendar that is already organized by the Secretariat. Organize the PPP debate, [...] make the necessary changes, including new actions and that we do together with the professors. [...] I like working with customer service - we say consulting - [...] so, I prefer today, I prefer to go to the classrooms, talk to each one of them, ask how the students are doing, how they are dealing with the problems [...]. To meet with them is very complicated! (OP6).

[...] I work together with them, in this sense, to see this planning, participate in the elaboration, give ideas, suggestions, [...] case studies [...] And to monitor the day-to-day, [. ..]. I try to bring material, we exchange, talk and from then on I start looking for things, researching [...] (OP7).

From the actions aimed at teacher training, as pointed out by the interviewees, it is possible to perceive two aspects. One with a focus on structured proposals: pedagogical counsellory project, integrated planning, participation in the elaboration of the Pedagogical Political Project, assistance from the perspective of consultancy, and the other, with a focus on circumstantial meetings: Class Council, Study Groups, case studies, joint decision making, descriptive reporting period, use of extracurricular hours. As indicated by ^{Franco, Libâneo and Pimenta (2011}) and ^{Almeida, Souza and Placco (2016}), this set of actions has been considered as a key point for the exercise of the guiding function of teaching, especially in public schools, regardless of how it is designated. The legislation also highlights these actions as constituting the role of the pedagogical counsellor (^{Resolução CNE/CP nº 1, 2006}; ^{Resolução CNE/CEB nº 4, 2010}).

Concerning the structured proposals, an initiative of the pedagogical counsellors in proposing something that can be directed towards teacher training is perceived, considering the idea of ​​monitoring the pedagogical practice. As for the specific meetings, they seem to be more comprehensive, without elements to guide the continuous education of the teacher. They seem to comply with a school routine (joint decision-making, after-school hours, help in selecting, exchanging and researching materials) and/or the SME calendar (Class Council, Study Groups, descriptive reporting period). Thus, some actions are more like improvised moments, devoid of prior organization, since, according to the report of the pedagogical counsellors, they visit classrooms, talk to the teachers, have contact with the students, which could contribute to the proposition of continuous education meetings based on the real needs of teachers. These challenges, experienced by the pedagogical counsellor in fulfilling their attributions pointed out by the interviewees, ratify the contributions for discussion, as proposed by ^{Almeida, Souza and Placco (2016}) and ^{Dugnani (2011}).

About daily routines and crossings, 04 of the counsellors (OP4, OP8, OP9 and OP10) associated training with other factors such as recognition of training and excessive bureaucratic demands. Highlight:

[...] I believe that our main attribution, although not the most valued, is teacher education, continuous education, this is our main attribution, but it was kind of established in common sense that we are used to giving suggestion, the suggestion of ready activity, [...] and to play the role that the secretariat asks for (OP4).

[...] pedagogical issues, [...] I think let's say that at least 70% of the time at school should be dedicated to pedagogical issues, but [...] the SME also asks for [...] meetings that I do I think that, sometimes, it gets in the way a little, then I think we are a little harmed in this sense [...] (OP8).

[...] the issue of monitoring, of support, is the issue of streamlining the meetings, planning these meetings, even those that are not provided for in the calendar, but we end up checking the need, and whenever I talk with them - I don't really like the question of the pedagogical counsellor - it's more the pedagogical cooperator (OP9).

[...] mainly related to teaching and learning, but today we are suffocated, above all, by bureaucratic issues that are many and for me, the main role of the OP should be in teacher training [...] so that he can act more effectively with students. But more and more this space is being reduced on the Net. [...]. It is complicated! (OP10).

As for the detailing of daily routines and demands, the need to follow the pedagogical practice was emphasized. Among the forms of monitoring, there are conversations with teachers about the students, about the class, going to the classroom, suggesting ready-made activities, checking the planning, course plan, talking to teachers and the team, identifying anxieties, dynamizing meetings, offering support, assisting in the selection, exchange and research of materials for teachers.

Still on the demands of daily life, OP4, OP8 and OP10 claim “[...] to play the role of Secretariat [...]” and “[...] to be suffocated by bureaucratic issues and to participate in SME meetings [. ..]”, actions that contribute to distancing the focus of the continuous education of the teacher (^{Dugnani, 2011}; ^{Placco et al., 2011}).

Noteworthy is what OP4 points out that, despite signalling continuous education as not valued, it recognizes it as an essential element for advising and proposing interventions and strategies so that the teacher “[...] can act more effectively with the students". Also, part of this scenario of the importance of continuous education as the main attribution of Pedagogical Guidance, the statements of OP5 on the availability of more “[...] attention to the part of teacher training[...]” and of OP10 when recognizing that “[...] the main role of the OP should be in teacher education [...]”.

Given the above, the reflections of OP4, OP5 and OP10 are in line with the notes presented in the legislative recommendations (^{Resolução CNE/CEB No. 4, 2010}; ^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2015}; ^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2019}) and to the ^{Shulman's ideas (2014}); ^{Nóvoa (2017}) and ^{Algebaile (2009}).

It is noteworthy that, from the point of view of interpersonal relationships with school actors, being identified as a pedagogical counsellor is not well regarded by OP9. She reports that she prefers to be called a 'pedagogical cooperator'. Initially, it doesn't seem to be that relevant. However, cooperating can be interpreted as help and not as guidance. It may even be that OP9 does not feel comfortable in providing guidance, assuming that it has to master certain content or establish a power relationship. Thus, the idea of ​​cooperating/helping can presuppose a smoothness in the indications, a theoretical-conceptual loosening. This fact distances itself, for example, from the propositions of ^{Shulman (2014}), when he states that the formative action must also be based on the domain of knowledge of the content.

It is believed, in terms of what was observed in the researched universe, regarding the articulations between the attributions established for the counsellor, the routines and crossings of the daily life of the school, that the OP6 report synthesizes the perceptions of the group of pedagogical counsellors interviewed. Highlight:

Not often, sometimes they think we’re just there to put out fires, you know? The pedagogical counsellor has to solve everything, the student doesn't learn to read, doesn't learn to read, for example, and they think we have to provide a solution for that, or a very undisciplined student, and I think that indiscipline is true in most schools, right? And we have to solve that problem of that student who is undisciplined. So they get a little confused; it’s not that the counsellor doesn’t have a fundamental role in the pedagogical organization when it comes to disciplinary issues, or in the matter of learning for that student who keeps repeating for several years. We do, but it seems that we are their lifeline; we don't always have the right answer, we don't always have the right paths to follow, even because we are subject to a Municipal Education Department and the Department does not always offer us what we know would be necessary to solve the student’s problem. And there is also the issue of us having the reality of the community, a needy community, a community in which students may come to school only to realize that there is no teacher, and they don't complain, but if there isn't, they still complain, so I mean, the community itself has other - I don't say inefficiencies - other issues to be overcome in the social sphere (OP6).

In summary, the perceptions of OP6, representative of the set of contents of the interviews, reveal important aspects about the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor in public schools, already pointed out in different ways and different contexts (^{Algebaile, 2009}; ^{Alarcão & Roldão, 2008}; ^{Pimenta & Lima, 2012}; ^{Brzezinski, 2014}; ^{Gatti & Barreto, 2009}). These fundamentally refer to the necessary articulation between the legislative determinations regarding the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor, the constant transformations of society in terms of expectations about the aims and purposes of the school, the new training profiles intended for teachers and the challenges of the school routine (^{Resolução CNE/CP No. 2, 2015}). The perceptions as a whole suggest a certain imprecision regarding the attributions of the pedagogical counsellor and the presence of new ways of exercising this function that try to reduce the distance between what is determined, what is intended and what is done.

Final considerations

The essentiality of the guiding role of teaching is a mark in the history of the Brazilian public school. Although the nomenclatures used to designate it are not consensual and have been questioned and influenced by political, cultural and social approaches, associated with specific theoretical-ideological matrices, the consensus regarding the need for this function remains. In this regard, it is important to point out that the option to use, for example, 'pedagogical supervision', 'pedagogical coordination' and 'pedagogical guidance' is aligned with the meanings and ways in which each State or municipal education network interprets this function. As additional information about the singularities and challenges of Brazilian education, there are cases of states, where there is no 'pedagogical coordinator'. This aspect, although relevant to understanding several of the issues discussed here, is not part of the scope of this article, since its complexity requires a more extensive treatment than this article allows.

Faced with tensions, needs and emergencies in everyday school life, the resulting activities overload the pedagogical counsellor, who ends up assuming, as a substitute, other attributions that distance him from his focus: teacher training. These activities that add to the set of specific attributions of their function suggest the emergence of new guiding logics for training actions, based on the dynamics of school practices. There are signs of an overwhelming daily demand that, although it may imply an emptying of the guiding function, points to a new logic for building a professional profile in line with new scenarios and contexts. In addition, there is little explicitness in the actions of planning, monitoring and evaluating the organization of schoolwork. These, although punctuated in the interviews, seem unsystematic and suggest that the priority of action is, as already mentioned, meeting the immediate needs of the teacher.

Finally, it is worth noting the recognition by the pedagogical counsellors of teacher education as one of their attributions. They understand it as essential for the school to become a space for citizen education and affirm the intention to pay greater attention to this aspect. Despite this, they report that their daily lives are crossed by administrative activities, monitoring by teachers and other school routines that make it difficult to propose training activities in a more systematic and less circumstantial way.