An autonomous teacher subject as a force of pedagogical renewal: two historical moments of activation of the teacher’s movement in Chile

Abstract

Based on Hugo Zemelman’s notion of the autonomous subject as the ability to react to circumstances, this article offers a theoretical reading of two historical moments of the Chilean teachers’ movement where processes of pedagogical renewal are unfolded through the activation of a teacher subject. The first moment takes place in the first half of the 20th century with the emergence of pedagogical experimentation and its ability to renew pedagogical «normalism» The second takes place at the end of the 20th century with the emergence of a Pedagogical Movement and its ability to renew a teaching policy configured by the economic parameters of neoliberal precariousness. Methodologically, I turn to secondary sources to analyse both historical moments. Rather than obeying a historiographic work, the analysis consists of a theoretical reading of both historical moments, and it illustrates that an autonomous teacher subject, capable of thinking critically about its circumstances, is key to unfolding processes of pedagogical renewal. By way of conclusion, I argue that both teachers’ movements share a process of activation and pedagogical renewal of the educational thinking of teachers. I also briefly refer to the political, theoretical, and practical challenge emerging from the analysis: how to keep autonomy flowing.