Building and Rebuilding Teaching Professionality: An Experience Report from the PIBID/Letras-Inglês Programme at the Federal University of Western Pará

Abstract

The PIBID/Letras-Inglês sub-project is carried out within the Teaching Initiation Nucleus (NID) associated with the Institutional PIBID Project of the Federal University of Western Pará. It seeks to support the professional development of undergraduate student teachers and school-based mentors through sustained engagement with publicly funded schools in Santarém, Pará. This paper analyses the contributions of the sub-project to the initial and continuing education of English teachers affiliated with the NID, with particular attention to its implications for participants’ teaching professionality. The study is presented as an experience report informed by mixed qualitative and quantitative data collected from institutional records, teaching initiation reports, digital portfolios and testimonials produced between November 2024 and May 2026. The qualitative analysis followed the principles of reflexive thematic analysis, while the quantitative data were used to map activities and outputs developed during the first nineteen months of the sub-project. The findings suggest that PIBID/Letras-Inglês has created sustained opportunities for professional learning across university and school settings. For undergraduate student teachers, the data point to perceived growth in teaching agency, situated pedagogical judgement, reflective inquiry, awareness of school realities and professional identity. For school-based mentors, the data indicate opportunities for reflection on pedagogical practice, methodological renewal, reciprocal learning and professional recognition. The paper concludes that PIBID/Letras-Inglês may be understood as a shared space of professional development, with potential implications for the professionality of both future and practising English teachers in primary and secondary education in Brazilian Amazon.