Las reformas llevadas adelante durante la década de los años 90 en la mayoría de los países latinoamericanos apenas tuvieron en cuenta a los docentes. En algunos casos se pretendió sustituir a los maestros por tecnología, en otros el énfasis se puso en los factores institucionales. Uno de los puntos centrales para mejorar la actual situación es considerar muy de cerca la estructura y contenido de la formación de los docentes. Gran parte de lo que se haga o se pueda hacer en materia de reformas depende de la preparación que reciben los hombres y mujeres que día a día están en las aulas. Pero entender bien la naturaleza de la formación de docentes y los problemas que la acompañan no es tan fácil como parece. Variables de distinto tipo, realidades problemáticas, concurso de diversas disciplinas, hacen de la formación un escenario de cambio muy complejo. ¿Cuál es la red de factores que interviene en la preparación inicial de maestros y profesores? ¿Qué características tiene este proceso? ¿Qué mecanismos de la estructura institucional alientan o traban los proyectos innovadores? Es sabido que en América Latina la docencia no es la elección de carrera más frecuente de los jóvenes más talentosos. Los bajos salarios y el deterioro de las condiciones materiales de vida explican, entre otras cosas, el bajo interés por la profesión. El tema de maestros y profesores, sus sueldos y su formación constituyen un círculo vicioso que tiene como consecuencia la existencia de educadores con preparación insuficiente. Apoyándose en una sólida evidencia empírica, la autora muestra cómo es posible cambiar el modo tradicional de pensar y de hacer reformas en formación inicial de docentes logrando transformaciones significativas, efectivas, y ante todo sustentables en las prácticas profesionales y la cultura de trabajo de los docentes.

Education in South America is a critical reference guide to development of education in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The chapters, written by local experts, provide an overview of the education system in each country, focusing particularly on policies and implementation of reforms. Key themes include quality and access, multicultural education and the management of education systems. Including a comparative introduction to the issues facing education in the region as a whole and guides to available online datasets, this book is an essential reference for researchers, scholars, international agencies and policy-makers.

Conceptually rich and grounded in cutting-edge research, this book addresses the often-overlooked roles and implications of diversity and indigeneity in curriculum. Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the development of teacher education in Guatemala, López provides a historical and transnational understanding of how "indigenous" has been negotiated as a subject/object of scientific inquiry in education. Moving beyond the generally accepted "common sense" markers of diversity such as race, gender, and ethnicity, López focuses on the often-ignored histories behind the development of these markers, and the crucial implications these histories have in education – in Guatemala and beyond – today.

This handbook presents a timeless, comprehensive, and up-to-date resource covering major issues in the field of teacher education research. In a global landscape where migration, inequality, climate change, political upheavals and strife continue to be broadly manifest, governments and scholars alike are increasingly considering what role education systems can play in achieving stability and managed, sustainable economic development. With growing awareness that the quality of education is very closely related to the quality of teachers and teaching, teacher education has moved into a key position in international debate and discussion. This volume brings together transnational perspectives to provide insight and evidence of current policy and practice in the field, covering issues such as teacher supply, preservice education, continuing professional learning, leadership development, professionalism and identity, comparative and policy studies, as well as gender, equity, and social justice.

This book analyzes teacher quality in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is the key to faster education progress. Based on new research in 15,000 classrooms in seven different countries, it documents the sources of low teacher quality and distills the global evidence on practical policies that can help the region produce "great teachers."

The International Handbook of Teacher and School Development brings together a collection of research and evidence-based authoritative writings which focus on international teacher and school development. Drawing on research from eighteen countries across seven continents, the forty chapters are grouped into ten themes which represent key aspects of teacher and school development: Issues of Professionalism and Performativity What Being an Effective Teacher Really Means Reason and Emotion in Teaching Schools in Different Circumstances Student Voices in a Global Context Professional Learning and Development Innovative Pedagogies School Effectiveness and Improvement Successful Schools, Successful Leader Professional Communities: their practices, problems & possibilities Each theme expertly adds to the existing knowledge base about teacher and school development internationally. They are individually important in shaping and understanding an appreciation of the underlying conditions which influence teachers and schools, both positively and negatively, and the possibilities for their further development. This essential handbook will be of interest to teacher educators, researchers in the field of teacher education and policy makers.