Improving the professional training of teachers is critical to any effort aimed at improving the quality of education in Brazil.

Teacher status and education are considered fundamental for the improvement of educational quality. This is the commitment of UNESCO State Members, including Brazil, in two of the six Education for All Goals (goal 2 and 6), during the World Forum of Educational for All (Dakar, 2000).

It is of fundamental importance to establish the links between learning evaluation results and pre-service and in-service teacher education and training, in order to effectively renovate the learning process in the classrooms. Equally important is the establishment of career development plans for teachers and other professionals in the education sector.

Study results still show that:

• there are low rates of education achievement in Mathematics and Portuguese Language of students taking the first years of basic education;
• insufficient or even worse results were found in the last grades of primary and secondary education.  

In order to improve the quality of education, as registered in UNESCO report of the International Commisson of Education for the 21st Century, Education: the treasure within: it is necessary, above all, to improve the teachers' recruitment, education, social status and their working conditions. The teachers can only respond to what is expected of them if they can have knowledge and competencies, as well as personal qualities, professional possibilities, and required motivation.

In accordance to the Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4, UNESCO Member States will ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems.

The same Framework states that teachers also have socio-economic and
political rights, including the right to seek decent working conditions and adequate remuneration. Governments should make teaching an attractive, first-choice profession with continuing training and development by improving teachers’ professional status, working conditions and support, and should strengthen policy dialogue mechanisms with teacher organizations.