Initial teacher training in the federal institutes based on theses and dissertations

The present qualitative research aims to present remarkable features linked to initial teacher training in the Institutos Federais de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia (Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology), herein defined as a new locus of teacher training. For this purpose, based on the CAPES Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations and the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, we carried out a state-of-the-art type of research on academic theses and dissertations which were under analysis, taking into consideration Content Analysis premises. Throughout the process, we presented and discussed a few of the organizational and pedagogical characteristics of Federal Institutes, highlighting their potential presented in this formative space and the challenges for the consolidation, with quality, of the teaching degrees offered. We have observed that such institutes, despite being recent, present a significant contribution to the teacher education field, but also, that they may still advance as long as their potentials are well-explored.