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THE

 TEACHING  PROFESSION  
AT  THE  CROSSROADS:  
COLLECTIVE  DYNAMICS  AND  STRATEGIES  BEFORE  THE  
CHALLENGES  OF  THE  KNOWLEDGE  SOCIETY    

Mariano  Fernández  Enguita  


University  of  Salamanca,  Spain  
www.enguita.info  

Sophia  University,  Yotsuya  Campus,  Tokyo  


June  23,  2010  
Abstract  
The  acceleraXon  of  social  change,  up  to  the  point  that  A.  Giddens  has  depicted  
as  a  runaway  world,  is  rebuilding  the  coordinates  for  educaXon  processes,  the  
school  system  and  the  teaching  profession.  The  overflow  of  informaXon  
paradoxically  provokes  a  further  inequality  and  hierarchizaXon  of  knowledge  and  a  
relentless  struggle  for  a\enXon  between  the  school  and  other  socializaXon  and  
communicaXon  means.  The  teaching  profession,  which  so  successfully  conducted  
us  into  the  Gutenberg  Galaxy,  seems  to  be  ill  equipped  to  do  so  into  the  Internet  
Galaxy.  
In  this  context,  the  move  towards  professionalizaXon  runs  the  risk  of  deviaXng  
into  a  fall  in  professionalism,  i.e.  into  an  strategy  of  dual  closure  which  simply  
pursues  to  put  the  profession  out  of  reach  either  of  the  democraXc  state  or  of  the  
public  to  be  educated.  This  corporaXst  strategy  is  aided  by  a  distorXon  and  
instrumentaXon  of  the  old  discourse  of  the  poliXcal  le],  which  allows  the  wrapping  
of  corporaXst  interests  with  the  flag  of  the  public  interest.  The  alternaXve  is  the  (re)
creaXon  of  an  old/new  democraXc  professional  model,  as  different  from  our  
bureaucraXc  origins  as  from  our  liberal  temptaXons.  
INFORMATION,  KNOWLEDGE,  
ATTENTION  
•  InformaXon  Society  means  informaXon  is  
abundant,  ever  cheaper,  democraXcally  
accessible.  
•  So  knowledge  becomes  more  necessary,  more  
scarce,  more  hierarchical  
–  Growing  social  straXficaXon  around  knowledge  
–  A  third  industrial  revoluXon  
•  So  a\enXon  becomes  scarce  
–  Problems  for  the  school  side  by  side  with  the  city,  the  
media,  the  internet  
–  Arbitrariness  as  a  point  of  departure  
TWO  ICT  REVOLUTIONS,    
BUT  ONE  SCHOOL,  ONE  PROFESSION  
•  Gutenberg  galaxy  
–  One  speaks  (writes)  to  many  
–  Teachers  were  born  with  it:  they  were  readers,  and  
writers  (calligraphers,  even  authors)  
–  Ancient  philosophers,  like  Plato,  feared  the  effects  of  
wriXng:  see  Phaedrus  dialogue.  
•  Internet  Galaxy  
–  Many  speak/write  to  many  
–  Change  acceleraXon  erodes  age  and  teachers’  status  
–  ICT  and  IKS  mean  distributed  info  and  knowl.  
–  Teachers  are  digital  immigrants,  pupils  are  naXve  
How  would  you  qualify  the  situaXon  of  the  
school  system  and  its  academic  level?  
SOME  SUCCESFUL  BOOKS,  WRITEN  BY  
TEACHERS  AND  FOR  TEACHERS  
•  The  An5-­‐Pedagogic  Pamphlet  (Moreno)  
•  A  Teacher  in  the  Trenches  (Tortosa)  
•  The  Pedagogical  Sect  (Ruiz  Paz)  
•  Educa5on  Destroyed  (Orrico)  
•  The  Educa5onal  Smash  (Salvador)  
•  The  Great  Swindle.  The  rape  of  common  sense  in  
educa5on  (Delibes)  
•  Archipiélago  Orwell  (Rosúa)  
•  Educa5onal  Genocide  (Tamburri)  
…and  so  on  so  forth,  some  with  more  neutral  Xtles  
SPANISH  TEACHERS  SALARIES  IN  THE  EUROPEAN  CONTEXT  
(EURYDICE,  2001-­‐02,  34  countries)  
SPANISH  TEACHERS’  MOST  CHERISHED  
COLLECTIVE  DEMANDS  
•  Early  reXrement  
–  Voluntary  at  60,  with  30  years  at  work,  with  full  
salary.  
 (Mandatory  is  at  65,  soon  will  be  67,  pension  
depending  on  15  last  years  contribuXon)  
•  ConXnuous  working  day  
–  The  concentraXon  of  lecturing  hours  in  the  
morning,  9:00-­‐14:00)  
 (Paid  work  week  is  37,5  hours  at  public  school)  
The  problem  of  recogni0on  

•  CIS:  Barometer  07/04,  general  populaXon:  


–  In  your  opinion,  how  do  you  value  the  work  of  professors  
in  prmary  and  secondary  schools:  very  good,  good,  regular,  
bad  or  very  bad?  
 Very  good  +  Good  =  63,9%  
–  And  how  do  you  think  that  society  values  it?  
 Very  good  +  Good  =  33,5%    
•  IDEA/FUHEM,  2006,  pupìls’  parents  
–  “My  family  values  teachers  posiXvely”  
 Strongly  agree  +  Agree  =  83,7%  
–  “Society  values  teachers  work  [posiXvely]  enough”  
 Strongly  agree  +  Agree  =  38,8%  
A  PARADOXICAL  SITUATION  
•  Teachers  collecXve  awtudes  
–  Deep  unrest  
–  Strong  tendency  to  detachment  
–  VicXmism,  suspicion…  
•  Notwithstanding  their  objecXve  posiXon  and  
evoluXon  
–  High  social  valuaXon  
–  ComparaXvely  high  wages  (compared  naXonanlly  to  
ISCED5  and  internaXonally  to  teachers)  
–  Full  Xme  wage,  part  Xme  job  
–  Work  condiXons  fast  and  widely  improved  
DUAL  PROFESSIONAL  CLOSURE  
EMPLOYER,  SOCIETY  

  (Frank  Parkin’s  concept,  adapted)

USURPATION:    
solidarity,  mobilizaXon  

PROFESSION  

EXCLUSION:  
differenXaXon,  legalism  

PUBLIC,  CLIENT  
PROFESSIONAL  MODELS  

BUREACRATIC  ,  OrganizaXonal  
(Civil  service:  hierarchy,    
discipline,  procedures)  
HISTORICAL  
ORIGINS  

TEACHERS   DEMOCRATIC:  
-­‐  IniXaXve  vs.  hierarchy  
PRESENT   -­‐ Teamwork  vs.  solo  pracXce  
ASPIRATIONS   -­‐   Partnership  vs.  paternalism  

LIBERAL,  Market  
(Autonomous  pracXce:  
jurisdicXon,  exclusiveness)  
SOME  PARADOXES  OF  EDUCATORS  RADICALISM  

•  Widespread  anX-­‐globalism,  being  a  global  insXtuXon  


and  a  global  profession  
•  Widespread  anX-­‐(neo)liberalism,  in  a  bureaucraXc  
profession  which  fosters  a    liberal  professional  ideal  
(medicine)  
•  Pretended  anX-­‐authoritarianism,  while  exercising  an  
authority-­‐invested  role  before  pupils  and  parents.  
•  MeritocraXc  utopianism,  acriXcal  stand  before  power  
based  on  or  associated  to  skills  and  knowledge  
THE  MEANING  OF  TEACHERS  RADICALISM    

•  The  bulk  of  intellectuals  criXcism  must  be  seen  


as  a  result  of  status  incongruence  
•  CriXcism  of  others’  advantages  combines  with  
the  defense  of  own  privileges  
•  A  rhetoric  that  advances  group  interests  as  
universals  values:  teachers    school  system  
  (children  )  society  as  a  whole  
•  A  dangerous  rhetoric  in  the  coming  of  
knowledge  society  
THE  SOCIAL  CRITICAL  TRADITION  
•  Liberalism  as  a  criXque  of  authority  
–  Eliminated  personal  dependence  
–  It  failed  to  criXcize  power  in  voluntary  relaXons,  such  as  property  
or  wage  labour  
•  Marxism  as  a  criXque  of  property  
–  It  exposed  them  as  power  relaXons,  parXcularly  capitalist  property  
–  It  underesXmated  personal  freedom  (factory  despo5sm,  class  
dictatorship,  etc.)  
•  None  of  them  was  as  criXcal  of  qualificaXon  
–  Most  liberals,  hosXle  to  people  educaXon  
–  However,  Weber,  Young,  Illich…  
–  Marxism,  celebraXng  revoluXonary  vs.  peXt-­‐bougeois  intellectuals  
–  Wright  (Neomarxist):  skill  assets  
–  Mannheim:  freischwebende  Intelligenz  
MULTIDIMENSIONALITY  OF  POWER:  SOCIETY  
AS  A  SYSTEM  
What’s  going  on?  
•  School  is  not  a  firm,  but  a  very  different  kind  of  
organizaXon:  an  insXtuXon  
•  In  insXtuXons,  the  main  force  is  neither  the  proprietor  or  
employer,  nor  the  whole  of  members  (pupils,  parents)  or  
the  public,  but  the  profession(s)  
•  As  an  insXtuXon,  school  is  parXcularly  asymmetric:  age  gap,  
knowledge  gap,  conscripXon  
•  Teachers  are  not  part  of  the  working  class  in  any  sense,  but  
a  professional  group,  with  professional  interests,  privileges  
and  strategies  
•  Good  for  the  profession  does  not  mean  good  for  the  
insXtuXon,  much  less  for  is  public  or  for  society,  but  the  
rethoric  of  the  poliXcal  le]  is  easy  to  instrumentalize  
SOME  PAPERS  IN  ENGLISH  
(ABOUT  THE  TEACHING  PROFESSION)  
School  DemocraXzaXon  and  Teachers'  
Professionalism  

Schools,  Teachers  and  Social  Change  

Get  to  Know  Yourself,  or  Be\er  Not  

All  and  more  at:  www.scribd.com/enguita    


THE  TEACHING  PROFESSION  
AT  THE  CROSSROADS:  
COLLECTIVE  DYNAMICS  AND  STRATEGIES  BEFORE  THE  
CHALLENGES  OF  THE  KNOWLEDGE  SOCIETY    

Mariano  Fernández  Enguita  


University  of  Salamanca,  Spain  
www.enguita.info  

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