Military Dictatorship, University Reform, and Teacher Education in Chile: The Historical Emergence of a Dysfunctional Structure

Abstract

The article describes the evolution of public policies related to teacher education in Chile during the period of the military dictatorship (1973-1990) and the paradoxical impact of university reform in teacher education at the end of the 1960s. Both processes are connected to examine the roots of the inability of teacher education to meet the necessary requirements following the structural changes produced by the 1960 reform. The reform extended primary education by two grades, thereby broadening and complexifying both the curriculum and the student population. Given that the initial implementation of the reform coincided with the political crisis that culminated in the coup d'état, it can be understood why neither teacher education policies nor teacher preparation institutions responded to this change. Unfortunately, during the quarter of a century that followed, there was a persistent failure to adapt to the changes that the 1960 reform had wrought. Thus, a dysfunctional structure of teacher education remained, one that did not respond to the structure of the school system it sought to serve. In terms of its analytical and interpretative purpose, the paper combines historical policy analysis, sociological interpretation of the dynamics of higher education, and an extended analysis of how disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge came to be disconnected in teacher education.