André Freitas, in collaboration with researchers from CIIE/University of Porto, has published an article in Professional Development in Education.

The article explores the professional development of elementary teachers through and with art experiences.

The study, which draws on André’s work at CIIE/University of Porto until August 2024, introduces the concept of a ‘school contract’ designed to enhance and foster literacy and teachers’ professional development through art experiences. This approach, rooted in the recognition of lived experiences and the inherent flexibility of school cultures, emerges from a narrative-biographical methodology. The study is based on the stories of two teachers from schools in Porto (Portugal): Rosa do Mar and Elisabete - and a teacher from a school in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): Kleber.

Three key dimensions underpin this school contract: peer collaboration, authorial artistic practice, and the active engagement of school leadership and policymakers. The research highlights how these dimensions develop in response to neoliberal power structures, fostering a pedagogy of care within the profession.

For Rosa do Mar, collaborating with colleagues means embracing the uncertainties of life and the teaching profession. In this context, art experiences challenge teachers to ‘let down their professional guard’, strengthening collaborative work and inspiring new ways of engaging in professional practice.

For Kleber, artistic practice is an act of resistance. By immersing in the colours, forms, and movements that surround us, artistic creation nurtures critical knowledge that helps teachers overcome the fear of making mistakes and professional failure.

For Elisabete, the active and empathetic involvement of school leadership and policymakers is crucial for enabling art experiences in schools. While financial support for materials is important, decision-makers should actively engage in learning and sharing spaces alongside teachers, such as knitting clubs.

Ultimately, the article calls for a paradigm shift that integrates art experiences into teachers’ professional development, fostering a school culture centred on personal and professional growth within the community. This integration has the potential to create a more inclusive, creative, and dynamic educational landscape - one that opens space to imagine the futures of education.

Read the article here: [https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2025.2472186].

For free full access to the publication, please contact the author.

To cite this article: Freitas, A., Pereira, F., & Nogueira, P. (2025). Teachers’ professional development within art experiences: Pedagogical narratives for hopeful educational futures. Professional Development in Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2025.2472186

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