Teacher Leadership Interrogates Teaching Policy: Comparing the Voices of Low-Income Schools with National Teacher Policies in Argentina

Abstract

This article analyses how low-income schools and teacher education policies in Argentina describe the idealised “good” teacher. One of the crucial foundations of teacher leadership is related to teachers’ professional abilities. This study aims to problematise the fragile discursive constructions of what counts as effective and good teaching in both low-income schools' actors and teacher education policy documents. As previous research has confirmed teacher ability is contextual and a highly controversial topic. How low-income school actors describe, interpret and enact good teaching might differ from national teaching policy guidelines and standards. This study attempts to address the following research questions. First, what factors do low-income school actors and Argentinean educational policies highlight regarding teachers’ professional ability? Second, does a teacher’s professional ability refer to teacher leadership? Finally, what are the implications of the gap between the perspectives of low-income schools and the official teaching policy for knowledge production and educational policy? The findings provide a framework to understand the current limited status of teacher leadership in Argentina. Through the historical normalist genesis of the Argentinean educational system that fostered homogenisation as a crucial technology of schooling, and an epistemological bias that deemed the low-income perspective as unscientific the article shed light on the status of teacher leadership. Finally, the research suggests bridges to foster dialogues between teaching policies and low-income schools.