Abstract:

This work is the result of joint efforts of the thematic group FAPESP (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo): New models of in-service teacher-training. The research group which involves more than 20 members is led by the Faculty of Education, University of São Paulo. Mexico, Chile and Argentina serve as benchmarks for verification of public policies towards a common model for continued teacher training in Latin American. The focus of this excerpt is the Chilean case during the government of the Concertación.

Chile currently has a system polysemic continuous training of program, as well as a full set of goals: standardization of evaluation parameters, definition of common objectives for training, and in-depth studies about the characteristics of their demands. These goals point to well-known issues in Latin American such as the lack of operational rigor within government, the former centrality of project operations and subsequent elite profile of those who are served by the institutions.

Maintaining the breadth of coverage of public education, the quality of teaching and education as a guarantee of social cohesion are central themes in public policy of teacher education in the country since 1991, when the recommendation of international organizations pointed to aspects which include: the improvement teacher education models, decentralization of training systems, school autonomy, cooperation from the community, the use of ICTs as devices for the modernization of education and the presence of unified curricula, as essential principles to provide better qualification in the field.

The diversification of institutional projects, financial sources, and educational curricula created in Chile did not result in proposals that differed substantially from those implemented in other countries in Latin America, if not in a certain lead in implementing these proposals and a specificity of its appropriations. From an accurate analysis of this general framework, this presentation will discuss the Chilean agenda for continuing techer education for the past 20 years and compare it to the Brazilian agenda, identifying the existence and scope of common models for continued teacher education in Latin America.