Segregation in Teacher Preparation and in the Teaching Career. and its Role in the Reproduction of Social Inequalities.

Abstract

We study the segregation of teacher preparation and the teaching career, and its role in the reproduction of social inequalities. We analyze the relationship between the teachers' social origins and academic credentials, and the type of governance, socioeconomic level and working conditions of the schools where they teach. Then, we model how these different dimensions affect the students' scores on the standardized test Simce. The results show a strong association between the teachers' social origin and credentials, and thus a significant segregation in teacher preparation. We also observe a strong association between the teachers' social origins and academic credentials with the socioeconomic characteristics of the schools where they teach, revealing segregation in the teaching profession. The final results show that students' scores are heavily affected by the teachers' academic preparation, and especially by the working conditions in their schools - which are in turn determined by the teachers' social origins. Thus, the segregation of the teaching career, and the strong association between teachers' and students' social backgrounds, constitute a significant mechanism of the reproduction of social inequality.