Continuous teacher training focused on the school. Analysis of its Operation

The thesis is based on the Chilean situation of private schools with no government subsidies, and deals with the continuous school-centered training of teachers, analyzing it from the operational viewpoint. The general objective is to analyze the grounds for and the feasibility of producing a qualitative improvement in the training of teachers. The theoretical framework provides the views, ideas and knowledge of a group of experts in teacher training as well as those of specialists in field of education. There is also a frame of reference that is formally stated through a field study. From the viewpoint of methodology, the study includes both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the first case it took the private schools from the east side of Santiago, Chile, whereas the second case included the participation of three schools that regularly use the center-training model and that are located in the north, center and south of Chile. The study understands teacher training at educational centers as a form of uniting the teachers of a determined center considering their particular needs, experiences and practices so as to build new learning models based on their own experience and thus meet their specific requirements. In the analysis, teacher training at educational centers is perceived as a model that allows for innovation – with facilitating and hindering factors. Collaborative work and the concept of change are facilitating elements, whereas time and the proper wearing out of the teaching profession may well obstruct innovation. The model of teacher training at educational centers considers the center to be the moving axis of formative activity which is developed in accordance to the particular characteristics of the center and its teachers. This type of training also enables teachers to design their own educational model and promotes self training. Conclusions combine the principles put forward on the theoretical frame of reference with the field studies results. It summarizes the topic of the thesis and highlights the most significant situations encountered while analyzing teacher training at educational centers. From this viewpoint, the study states that in Chile: Formative actions have traditionally been inorganic, individualistic, vertical, and instrumental, mainly oriented towards correcting, and almost exclusively directed to the classroom teacher, with scarce connection with the teachers´ experiences. The school is the most representative place where social, political and school relationships occur. It is necessary then to have autonomous educational centers with pedagogical and administrative management capacity if we want to succeed in school-centered permanent training. It is very important to discuss and redefine the role of teachers according to the new curriculum and in view of the latest management models that have been proposed. It is most urgent to have scenarios for horizontal analysis and full deliberation on teachers own practice. Teaching training models must be linked with the workplace reality, which should promote interdisciplinary activity and foster collaborative work. It is vital to consider schools as professional learning communities as this will improve teaching practices and favor students to be better learners. “Whilst the workplace does not become a learning place, learning will continue to be an attractive but peripheral idea” Senge (1999: 36).