The narrative documentation of pedagogical experiences and the democratization of professional development and schooling in Argentina

Abstract

This article represents the culmination of several decades of the development of collaborative forms of teacher inquiry in Argentina and Chile. Inspired by education ethnographers in the 1970s and 1980s, the talleres (workshops) movement led to forms of professional development grounded in critical ethnographic inquiry by teachers and an attempt to open up democratic spaces in the context of brutal dictatorships in both counties. The author documents the current iteration of this approach. While the original talleres drew on work by Paulo Freire and Enrique Pichon-Riviere, the approach developed by the author is grounded in Latin American traditions of narrative and memory. Using a case example, he documents the process of how teachers collaborate to problematize their practice through several iterations of narratives of their pedagogical experiences.

Keywords:

• Participatory action research
• narrative
• ethnography

Notes

1. From 1989–199 Carlos Menem was Argentina’s president. As part of a general restructuring of the Argentinian State, Menem implemented a neoliberal national Education reform (called ‘Educational Transformation’) that decentralized the system, transferring many responsibilities to the provinces. The reforms also transformed the structure and curriculum of the K-12 system and reformed teacher professional development and evaluation in ways that disqualified the professional knowledge, experience, and pedagogical skills of teachers. For an analysis of the pedagogical effects of these neoliberal policies, see Suarez (2003).

2. In Argentina, the teachers’ unions and teacher activists mobilized against the neoliberal policies of the Menem government. These mobilizations culminated in the ‘Carpa Blanca’ or white tent that was pitched in front of the national congress. Where teachers carried on a massive, turn-taking hunger strike for 1003 days (from 1997–1999). For a study of teacher activism during this period, see Gentilli, Suarez, Stubrin, and Gindin (2004). For an analysis of the Carpa Blanca in the context of teacher union struggles against neoliberal reforms, see Suarez (2005).

3. The following are some of the major projects that have been enacted. They all were enacted under the auspices of the Institute for Educational Sciences in the School of Philosophy and Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. As part of these projects, 5 masters theses and 3 doctoral dissertations focused on these NDPE projects. Through these projects collaboratives were formed with other researchers using narrative and autobiographical approaches with teacher professional development: La conformación del campo pedagógico. Sentidos y disputas en torno de las desigualdades y diferencias en educación y Formación docente: modelos, estructuras, trayectorias y prácticas en el marco de la preparación profesional (UBACyT 2014–2017 Grupos Consolidados); La construcción social del cambio educativo. Desigualdades y diferencias en el campo pedagógico (UBACyT 2011 – 2014 GC); Pedagogos, docentes y relatos de experiencia. Saberes pedagógicos y experiencias formativas producidas en la trayectoria profesional (UBACyT 2008–2010 GC) y El saber de la experiencia. Experiencias pedagógicas, narración y subjetividad en la trayectoria profesional de los docentes (UBACyT 2004–2007 CG).

4. There are several active cross-national research networks: Narrative Network, Autobiographies and Education (Red NAuE), with participation by researchers from Brazil, Columbia, Chile, Mexico, and Argentina; BIOGRAFIA Network: Latin America- Europe, which collaborates among countries in Europe (Primarily, France) and Latin-America.

5. In Argentina, for example, the education budget has risen to 6.47% of GDP. Teachers played an active role in projects developed by the Ministry of Education and were able to collectively negotiate better salaries and working conditions in their schools. They also influenced then new education law that replaced the one implemented under the neoliberal regime, and they helped define national approaches to in-service professional development.

6. Educational regions consist of several school districts.

7. It is important to add that the head of the educational region and the district supervisors in La Matanza were union activists who participated in the Carpa Blanca mobilizations and opposed the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s. Several of them were also active in the Latin American Network of Teacher Collectives that engaged in school-based research.