Leadership and Pedagogical Mentoring in Chilean Schools: An Innovative Approach to Professional Development

• In Event: Leading and Learning: Examining Principal Development and Evaluation

Abstract

In Chilean schools, assessment of teacher effectiveness primarily occurs in formal evaluations, devoid of teacher collaboration or development of pedagogical practice. This study examined conceptual and behavioral changes of participants in a Pedagogical Mentoring initiative focused on Cognitive Coaching. Qualitative data collected and analyzed over one school year at two elementary schools in Santiago, Chile included interviews, reports, observational data, and field notes. The results indicated participants developed new strategies for peer collaboration to increase effectiveness of instructional practices. The significance of this intervention was that participants made a key paradigm shift from teacher performance connected to compliance and supervision to one centered on collaboration and continual improvement of teacher practice. Contextual conditions that supported or challenged sustainability were revealed.

Authors

• Soraya Sablo Sutton, University of California - Berkeley

• Carolina Cuéllar, Universidad Catolica Silva Henriquez

• María Jesús Espinosa Aguirre, Universidad Diego Portales

• Paz González, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Campus Villarrica