During the last decades, social activism has become a significant and representative issue worldwide: countries such as the United States, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, Spain, Hong Kong, and more, have had a significant number of people trying to make themselves heard. Teachers have been active participants of this social and public activism. This project explores how social activism shapes the professional identity of teachers in Chile and the journey from street-based activism to social and political inclusion in the classroom. It also incorporates community and historical struggles, such as colonisation and dictatorship in Chile, and how the consequences are reflected in the educational system, with systematic oppression of participants.  This project’s research question is how does social activism influence teachers’ professional identity in Chile. The sub-questions that will be answered include, a) which teachers who practice social activism, b) what shape does the activism take, and c) how this activism has changed over time. It will also analyse whether teachers see some connections between both of their identities, how it influences their teaching, and how they feel about it.

This research uses ideas from Bernstein’s sociological corpus as a theoretical framework, namely, the concepts of pedagogic device and pedagogic rights. Some of Bernstein's latest work was the heuristic of pedagogic rights, developed and presented at a conference in Santiago, Chile, in 1986 (Frandji & Vitale, 2016). This frame will be an essential set of ideas to cover the inclusion, participation, and enhancement of teachers and students in the schooling system and society. The rights incorporated in this heuristic model need to work together and are interdependent. I argue that the rights reclaimed in the streets end up in the classrooms (and vice versa). Bernstein saw the dictatorship and lack of people's rights in the streets framing classroom teaching because what is seen outside classrooms is replicated in the classrooms (Bernstein, 1988). This model of rights, along with the pedagogic discourse and its social reproduction, frame teachers' professional identity. The ideas to explore prejudices, concepts, and ideas reproduced in the classrooms and in the streets, and how they frame teachers’ identities are inspired by the idea of decolonising love (Luguetti & McDonald, 2020). Finally, the public pedagogy concepts complement the previous views, to create an environment where new forms of education are created out of formal schooling such as public activism.  

Two research methods were used—yarning and written testimonios. Yarning means an open conversation about a particular topic, where participants can freely talk in a safe space. In this case, the focus for the yarning was conversation around a photo representing the teacher’s identity outside the classroom or in the streets. This photo needed to be meaningful for the participant and had to be taken at a form of social activism they had attended, such as a protest. The second method used to produce data for this project was a written or oral testimony that represented the teacher’s identity inside the classroom. Both methods were online (e.g., Teams, meet, video call on Facebook or WhatsApp), unless the participant and researcher agreed otherwise on a physical place. This decision depended on the researcher’s familiarity with the participant, and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at that time. As the pandemic was poorly managed in Chile, not many opportunities existed to meet the participants face to face. After the first round of data analysis, a second stage of data production will be conducted, where any doubts will be discussed. Participants will have the opportunity to clarify and give more in-depth insights about their participation. To participate, the teachers followed the ethics procedure imposed by Griffith University in Australia. To recruit the teacher participants, purposive and snowballing sampling was used. The criteria used was to contact teachers who have worked in a school during the last two years who had participated in public activism. Participants’ contributions were anonymous.

This research project will investigate an under-researched area in Chile. The outcomes of this project will offer suggestions for implementing policies supporting the pedagogic rights of teachers and students. They will also shape the group of teachers who participate in activism: who they are, who their allies are, how and whether their activism has changed over time, and their motivations and concerns. Besides, limited information is available regarding how social activism has influenced educational issues; hence, further research is needed into this area.

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