Teaching careers in Latin America: merit-based measures for professional development

This report reviews the current situation for the teaching profession in Latin America. The regulations of 18 countries in the region were gathered based on four core concepts: the access mechanisms to the teaching career, workplace promotion  strategies,  assessment  processes  for  teachers  and  the  exit procedures from the field. Afterward, special attention was given to incentives and teaching encouragement programs developed in the region. The teaching careers in Latin America have heterogeneous legal contexts in terms of their legal nature, technical orientation and internal organization.  This is due to the extensive period of time during which these regulations have originated.  As of 2014, careers that were designed and approved in the fifties coexist together with the most recent regulations of 2013.