Concursos públicos para professor de língua portuguesa: obstáculo ao reconhecimento do saber científico e crítico sobre a linguagem

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to analyze how knowledge about language is configured in the exams of three public selection processes for Portuguese Language teaching positions held in 2025 in the state of Rio Grande do Norte: those organized by the Municipality of Natal, the State Government of Rio Grande do Norte, and the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte. This analysis is framed by two key considerations: first, that language is a complex and heterogeneous object, and therefore any knowledge produced about it necessarily stems from a particular angle or perspective; and second, that the Curricular Guidelines for Language and Literature Programs establish that graduates must possess a solid linguistic foundation. Our examination of questions involving the analysis, description, and explanation of linguistic phenomena revealed a lack of explicit theoretical framework, a strong predominance of content focused on language structure—particularly grounded in traditional knowledge (as represented by Traditional Grammar)—and minimal attention given to other dimensions of language, such as linguistic acts and situated practices. These findings highlight the erasure of the characteristics of knowledge about language and the marginalization of Linguistics as a scientific field, reinforcing a distorted view of how knowledge about language is constructed. In this sense, these selection processes, as instruments of professional evaluation policy, represent an obstacle to the recognition of scientific and critical knowledge about language.