Influence of the curricular management practices of the Heads of Technical Pedagogical Units on the teaching pedagogical practices of municipal establishments. The case of the Bío Bío and Araucanía-Chile regions

The central theme of this doctoral thesis was pedagogical leadership, specifically the influence of the curricular management practices of the Technical Pedagogical Units (UTP) on the teaching practices of municipal establishments in Chile was analyzed. Specifically in the Bío Bío and Araucanía regions. This research is organized into five blocks and eleven chapters with their respective subsections. The study arose from the validity of leadership in school organizations in the research field and the strong permeabilization in all areas of school management. Mainly, those pedagogical leaders, who in Chile are called Heads of Technical Pedagogical Units (JUTP), their curricular management practices and how these influence the practices of teachers were investigated as the subject of study. In addition, a curricular management model was designed based on the evidence collected in the research. The thesis followed a methodological framework under an interpretive paradigm which allowed us to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the reason for the reality of the phenomenon studied, considering the dynamism and diversity of the educational field. We worked with a mixed research method in which qualitative and quantitative designs were complemented. These designs were applied in two different phases and were integrated into the results and conclusions discussion sections. The qualitative phase was worked with a case study approach and the quantitative phase was descriptive. The field work was carried out in two regions of Chile, surveying 567 Heads of Technical Pedagogical Units (JUTP) and carrying out an in-depth analysis in 5 cases. The data collection techniques were: the questionnaire, individual interviews, focus group, participant observation and documentary analysis. Among the results we find that JUTPs have greater preparation in areas of pedagogical management than directors; Furthermore, they use between 40 and 100% of their time on teaching and curriculum tasks. They carry out internal evaluations of teachers at least once a year, focusing on methodology and teacher-student interaction, however, they leave aspects such as didactics and learning theories relegated to the background, being recognized as a weakness. competence. They state that the main limitation to their functions is from outside the establishment, especially originating from the owners of the establishments. At the level of implementation of management practices, we find that they implement over 90% of all pedagogical leadership practices. Regarding the influence that these have on teaching practices, we find that pedagogical reflection; classroom monitoring and monitoring of curricular coverage do have a positive correlation with some of the teaching practices, such as: analysis of class activities, class analysis, pedagogical interaction, quality of feedback, pedagogical reflection, among others. . Among the conclusions that were obtained from the results and responding to the objectives of the research, we found that the JUTPs exercise the majority of pedagogical leadership functions. On the other hand, they are recognized as pedagogical leaders by the teaching staff and, at the level of practices, they have a direct and positive influence on several of the teachers’ pedagogical practices. They are capable of articulating their practices with the strategic actions of the organization and distributing work with the directors of the establishments. At the regulatory level, it was found that there is no clear policy regarding the functions of these professionals, there is no specific training to assume these functions and that their integration into organizations depends on both the supporter and the directors.