BETWEEN TEACHING AND PROTECTION: THE ETHICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL LIMITS OF TEACHING PRACTICE WHEN DEALING WITH STUDENTS IN SITUATIONS OF VULNERABILITY AND FAMILY NEGLECT

Abstract

This study critically analyzes the ethical and institutional limits of teaching practice in relation to students in situations of vulnerability and family neglect. Through an exploratory bibliographic approach, it examines how Brazilian child protection legislation holds teachers responsible for protection without providing adequate institutional resources. The findings reveal that ethical dilemmas faced by teachers do not constitute individual problems of lack of moral commitment, but structural issues that emerge from a specific institutional configuration. The analysis identifies three main ethical dilemmas: tension between confidentiality and reporting, responsibility for intervention, and balance between protection and child autonomy. Significant gaps exist between advanced legislation and institutional reality, particularly in the absence of support professionals in public schools. Initial teacher training remains disconnected from the practical reality of social vulnerability. The study concludes that effective transformation requires institutional reconfiguration that goes beyond holding teachers individually accountable, including increased investment in human resources, reformulation of teacher training, and establishment of coordination mechanisms between education, social protection, and health services. The research contributes to reframing ethical dilemmas faced by teachers as structural rather than personal issues, which is fundamental to avoid individual blame and to direct attention toward necessary institutional changes. Future empirical investigations should explore how teachers navigate these dilemmas in practice and how public policies can be reformulated to reduce the ethical burden placed on educators.