Activity and consciousness: reflections on the teaching work from a cultural-historical perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this theoretical article is to reflect on how teaching can be understood as a work activity under the referential of Cultural-Historical Psychology. From this perspective, we emphasize the concepts of activity and consciousness; a brief discussion on the psychological function of the teaching work is also presented. We argue that teachers' awareness of their work activity is a relevant tool that transforms teaching practices and strengthens their power to act in the situated context of the classroom. We conclude that Cultural-Historical Psychology brings significant contributions to the understanding of teaching activity, being configured as an approach that values the creative and critical character of teaching as a conscious, intentional, accessible, and transforming action of work and life relations for the teacher.