How can teaching be professionalized?

In recent decades, several educational systems in Latin America have undertaken reforms to professionalize teaching. In this current study, the Latin American Coalition for Teaching Excellence, in partnership with the Ministry of Education of the City of Buenos Aires and the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), upholds the belief that educational systems should work towards creating better working conditions that (i) promote better teaching performance in the classroom and (ii) encourage professional development that supports, strengthens and recognizes the work of teachers. In this regard, the study focuses on initiatives in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It aims to identify key factors and reasons that have helped professionalize teaching, and to report on difficulties or obstacles resulting from these processes and which could be useful for national and subnational systems, both in Argentina and in other countries in the region.

This document offers an overview of the regulatory framework for professionalizing teaching, providing examples from countries that have worked to do so, such as Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, using the following factors: (i) routes into teaching; (ii) professional incentives; (iii) teacher evaluation; (iv) ongoing training; and (v) information systems. It also presents a section on how the regulatory framework for professionalizing teaching has been used in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Finally, it proposes a set of conclusions and recommendations that seek to initiate dialogue and debate around professionalizing teaching in the countries analysed in the region, as well as to serve as a guide for formulating effective educational policies to make progress in this area.