PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the conditions and challenges that facilitate teacher professional learning through the implementation of pedagogical mentoring (PM) within the Chilean school context.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a qualitative methods approach, utilizing an instrumental case study. As the primary data source, researchers conducted 14 individual, semistructured interviews. Participants included two comentors, six mentor teachers and six mentee teachers from two K-8 focal school sites. Data were examined using the content analysis method.FindingsResults revealed five aspects that contributed to PM's execution: the voluntary participation model, the reflective emphasis, the focus on teaching and learning, the facilitating role of the principal and comentor support. At the same time, the findings indicated three factors that hindered PM's success: interruptions due to schedule conflicts, limited dissemination throughout the school community and assimilation of the values embedded in the Chilean teacher evaluation system.Practical implicationsPM holds great potential for collaborative professional development and continuous improvement of teachers' instructional practices, drawing on their experiences and resources and leading to the strengthening sense of professionalism in teaching and in teachers' social esteem.Originality/valueThis is the first research to address a formal PM project in Chile aimed specifically at in-service teachers. Previous projects in the country have focused on novice teachers. Unlike other initiatives in the region, this project does not focus on teacher induction but on capacity building within schools through collaborative work. This research also adopts an approach based on support for teachers' professional development, while in Chile the main policies currently focus on teacher evaluation.
The high immigration wave that Chile experienced in the last decade, has defied its largely segregated educational system. Even though Chile has subscribed the 4th Sustainable Development Goal to ensure an equitable, inclusive and quality education, the current educational structure as well as the lack of an inter-cultural educational policy, are obstacles to ensure the right to education for all. This article aims to provide evidence on the conditions under which immigrant students learn in Chile, by analyzing their performance in writing -a potential mediator (or obstacle) for schooling -, their learning barriers (beliefs, attitudes and teacher expectations), and socio-emotional wellbeing. Our results demonstrate that immigrant students are divided in two achievement groups, which face different barriers according to their country of origin. On the one hand, students from Haiti, Bolivia and Dominican Republic are more vulnerable. On the other hand, students from Peru, Venezuela and Colombia outperform their peers in writing, have higher levels of self-esteem and self-efficiency, and teachers have greater educational expectations for them. This evidence suggests the need to inquire the intersections between language and race related to discrimination and prejudice.
Se investigó la experiencia que vivieron estudiantes de distintos niveles escolares durante una intervención de escritura libre en comunidad. Se usaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con 15 estudiantes de dos escuelas para recoger recuerdos, relatos espontáneos e interpretaciones de la experiencia. Se realizaron análisis intersubjetivos e inductivos de todas las entrevistas y se construyeron resultados en torno a tres ejes de la experiencia: el plano individual, el social y el situado. Se evidencia una alta valoración de que la vida personal tenga lugar en la escritura escolar, como expresión y vivencia de emociones, desahogo de penas y problemas, escritura sobre temas de interés, reflexión sobre la propia vida y ejercicio de la identidad. Destaca también la postura de que escribir en el aula no tenga que ser un ejercicio impostado, estructurado, rutinario y punitivo, como suele ser, y que haya oportunidades para escribir libremente en un ambiente benévolo en el que pares y docentes colaboran con autenticidad y en torno a temas valiosos para la comunidad.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.