This text seeks to reflect on the central role teachers should play in processes leading to curriculum reform. Bearing in mind that the implementation of proposals focussing on the classroom context is directly dependent on the role played by the teacher, we would like to stress the need for this player to take on a leading role from the start of any such project. To this end, the text puts forward two major arguments: the first one discusses the place historically occupied by teachers in school reforms, taking as a starting point Lawrence Stenhouse's views on teachers' professional development based on research Carried out in the context of curriculum development. The second argument put forward the point that teaching practice transcends the technical dimension, often going beyond limits set by external curricular prescriptions. This point is supported by arguments developed by a number of authors such as Gauthier and Mellouki, Giroux, Vorraber Costa e Moreira whose vision of the teachers' role is that of mediators between different players and pressures affecting classroom practice.
teaching practice; curriculum reform; teacher's role