The goal of this study was to investigate why teachers give up their work at the State of São Paulo (Brazil) public schools, understanding how this process is woven throughout their lives and professional experience. The study focused on the period between 1990 and 1995, and was based on two types of data: quantitative data, collected from the State Secretariat for Education revealed an increasing of 300%, approximately, in teachers' resignations in that period. Qualitative data were obtained through answers given to 158 questionnaire, besides 16 interviews on teachers' professional life histories. The analyses showed that, apart from low wages, bad working conditions, professional debasement, and dissatisfaction at work were among the factors that contributed most to teachers' disenchantment in their profession. They also showed that quitting does not happen suddenly. The teacher goes through several stages, in general very difficult and conflicting, before coming to the decision of giving up teaching at the public school or the teaching profession itself.
TEACHERS; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; TEACHING CAREER; HISTORIES OF LIVES
