TY - JOUR
T1 - Philanthropic emotional work
T2 - Papering over the cracks of unprecedented public education reform
AU - Sanfuentes, Matías
AU - Garretón, Matías
AU - Valenzuela, Juan Pablo
AU - Díaz, Rocío
AU - Montoya, Claudio
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The research was supported by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) funded by National Agency for Research and Development (ANID). The support from ANID/ PIA/ Basal Funds for Centers of Excellence FB0003 is also gratefully acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Chile is undertaking an ambitious public education reform, re-centralising the administration of municipal schools in larger territories. This reform is unprecedented, both for the size of the new intermediate-level services (Servicios Locales de Educación Pública) and the escalation of their bureaucratic complexity, facing widespread organisational problems that cause high stress and labour suffering. We argue that improving emotional working conditions is necessary to accomplish pedagogical goals, but this dimension has received little attention. This article presents a follow-up study focused on school principals and professionals’ emotional and occupational experiences that have worked in the initial two-and-half years of one of the first Servicios Locales de Educación Pública created in the country. The qualitative analysis of interviews reveals how they make sense of organisational dilemmas while crafting solutions for facing structural shortcomings of new institutions. We understand their extraordinary commitment as ‘philanthropic emotional work’, driven by genuine care for children and the nation's future. However, in this effort, they also experience labour suffering and work overload, which may compromise their well-being and the long-term accomplishment of this reform's goals. These observations highlight the need for a reflexive improvement of this reform, recognising emotional work as a valuable resource but unsustainable without appropriate institutional support.
AB - Chile is undertaking an ambitious public education reform, re-centralising the administration of municipal schools in larger territories. This reform is unprecedented, both for the size of the new intermediate-level services (Servicios Locales de Educación Pública) and the escalation of their bureaucratic complexity, facing widespread organisational problems that cause high stress and labour suffering. We argue that improving emotional working conditions is necessary to accomplish pedagogical goals, but this dimension has received little attention. This article presents a follow-up study focused on school principals and professionals’ emotional and occupational experiences that have worked in the initial two-and-half years of one of the first Servicios Locales de Educación Pública created in the country. The qualitative analysis of interviews reveals how they make sense of organisational dilemmas while crafting solutions for facing structural shortcomings of new institutions. We understand their extraordinary commitment as ‘philanthropic emotional work’, driven by genuine care for children and the nation's future. However, in this effort, they also experience labour suffering and work overload, which may compromise their well-being and the long-term accomplishment of this reform's goals. These observations highlight the need for a reflexive improvement of this reform, recognising emotional work as a valuable resource but unsustainable without appropriate institutional support.
KW - Emotional work
KW - education reform
KW - intermediate-level organisations
KW - labour suffering
KW - principals
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118827917&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17411432211054625
DO - 10.1177/17411432211054625
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118827917
SN - 1741-1432
JO - Educational Management Administration and Leadership
JF - Educational Management Administration and Leadership
ER -