(Re-)framing the teaching profession by reforming teacher education and careers in Chile

This critical policy study uses frame analysis coupled with a sociology perspective on policy instrumentation and a policy document analysis to analyze the System for Professional Development Law (SPDL) (2016) in Chile, a multidimensional reform aiming at supporting teachers’ professionalism and improving the profession’s attractiveness and status. Framed as a moral duty and a human rights issue, and as a mean to deliver quality education, the SPDL calls for greater regulation of the teaching profession. It targets key pillars (teacher education, teachers’ careers and teaching labor market) and draws on a wide range of policy instruments to reform the teaching profession. Despite noble objectives, our study shows that the stated aim of the policy is threatened by the emphasis on control, accountability and performance assessment. Delving into the ambivalent discourses about professionalism underlying the SPDL, the paper contributes to understanding the tensions between professionalization, regulation, and participation in countries that attempt to improve teacher professionalism using standards and accountability mechanisms while preserving preexisting market logic.