Education and Work

territories in dispute

Abstract

In March 2024, administrative education staff from federal educational institutions initiated a strike movement seeking improved working conditions. A few weeks later, the faculty of these institutions joined the movement, further strengthening the collective struggle of these workers. The demands of the movement extended beyond the pursuit of better salaries and working conditions; they also aimed at overall improvements in education, which had been deteriorating for at least the past seven years. Education workers responded unanimously in yet another contest against capitalist interests. Within this context, the present text proposes a critical analysis of the current situation through the lens of Marx and Engels' philosophy, addressing the contradictions inherent in the Brazilian educational landscape, particularly concerning Federal Institutes. To achieve this, the study began with a contextual analysis, monitoring the developments of the movement in real-time, and constructing a critical analysis that incorporates the theoretical frameworks of Nadezhda Krupskaya and Soviet pedagogy, as well as Antonio Gramsci and his concept of the Unified School, which serve as the foundational principles for the establishment of these Institutes. The findings reveal that although the Institutes strive to provide emancipatory education, they have faced and continue to face numerous challenges in realizing their objectives, as evidenced by the current strike movement of 2024.