Da assistência a transformação social: a educação profissional e tecnológica como instrumento de emancipação humana

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study discusses professional and technological education as an instrument for emancipation and social transformation. Vocational education in Brazil has historical roots tied to social control and workforce training. Professional education has been evolving from a welfare-oriented approach toward a concept that seeks the individual's autonomy and integral development. Technical vocational education must go beyond mere labor market preparation; it should foster integral human development, autonomy, and citizenship, thereby contributing to social emancipation. Currently, there is still resistance to implementing "omnilateral" education—a holistic, all-around development approach—within Professional and Technological Education (PTE), requiring us all to take effective action to expand its impact and recognition. With this in mind, we aim to create a communication channel to inform, update, and clarify questions for the teaching community, while highlighting the importance of PTE. The overarching objective is to analyze the impact of PTE’s integral human development approach on the individual's life. To achieve this, we will examine historical social control, showcase the experiences of former PTE students, review the original purpose of the system's creation, and investigate the concept of omnilateral education. This will be done through bibliographic research—consulting books, articles, and journals—complemented by personal accounts and experiences. Autobiographical analysis demonstrates that technical education transcends instrumental training for the labor market, serving instead as a vehicle for socioeconomic and intellectual emancipation. The integration of scientific and practical knowledge—evidenced by the author's three-decade-long journey—fosters decision-making autonomy and management capabilities, subverting the stigma associated with manual labor and solidifying the author's professional recognition. Keywords: Vocational Technical Education (VTE). Technical Education. Experiences. Omnilateral.