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Although she was surprised to be awarded the National Prize, she says she received it as recognition for a lifetime dedicated to education, in one of its fundamental areas: teacher training.
It was 1957. Beatrice Ávalos graduated with a degree in History from the Catholic University and was preparing to pursue a master's degree in education at Saint Louis University in the United States, thanks to a Fulbright scholarship. A few years later, she would return to Chile with a doctorate, teach at the Mariano School, and be part of the founding team of the first master's program in Education at the Catholic University. During her time abroad, she worked for 20 years in Great Britain, Canada, and Papua New Guinea, where she took up a professorship in education.
Since then, her work has been linked to teacher training. Today, from the Center for Advanced Research in Education, her work continues: she currently leads a Fondecyt project to discover the causes of early teacher attrition. Her research found that 20% of recent graduates are no longer working as teachers within two years of leaving university.
One of the experiences that marked Beatrice was her time in the classroom. “I have very fond memories of that time. It was an important experience, even though I already had a doctorate, because you can’t be a teacher trainer if you haven’t taught classes. It was six years, during which I worked as a history teacher and homeroom teacher, getting to know different types of students.”.
Regarding the award, she says that although it was unexpected—in fact, the Ministry of Education took several hours to announce it because they couldn't find her at home or in her office that day—she is delighted to receive it, as she has always been dedicated to teacher training, both in Chile and abroad. She refers to the "small area" of classroom work.
-How did you realize your vocation for Pedagogy?
It's funny, because I went into Education because I wanted to go to university. Back then, it wasn't common for women to study much. A friend put me in touch with the vice-rector of the Catholic University, who told me that Education was offered in the afternoons, which suited me because I was taking a secretarial course in the mornings. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a teacher. Then I did my master's degree thinking I'd go into academia, and little by little, the topic of education started to take hold. I felt it was important to dedicate myself to this because at that time there weren't many good teachers in the field of education, at least not where I studied.
-How much progress have we made in this area since the 1950s?
We have improved considerably in methodology; today we have a more structured training program with a better understanding of what is required to train teachers than what existed at that time.
-How do you view teacher training at CRUCH universities?
I know them well because in 1997 I worked with many of them on the Strengthening Initial Teacher Training (FFID) program of the Ministry of Education. Fourteen universities from the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) and three private universities participated in that project. At that time, teacher training was in very poor condition; it had been experiencing a decline in quality and enrollment since the mid-1980s, and its students had the lowest scores on the University Admission Test (PAA). Thanks to that four-year project, there were significant improvements, such as curricular changes, improvements in teacher training programs, and the idea of implementing progressive professional internships, not just the internship at the end.
I believe that the CRUCH universities have made efforts to improve their teacher training and continue to do so. Last year, I had the opportunity to work with the University of Los Lagos, the University of Concepción, and others, and each one has its own differences, which are related to their location. For example, universities in the regions have difficulty finding professors for their faculties, and that's why they train them from among their own students.
-What is your opinion of teacher training in general, considering the other institutions?
Once the FFID ended, there was much more to be done. So for the next two years, no work was done in this area, while enrollment increased and other institutions began offering programs, and there was no way to ensure the quality of those programs. This has contributed to the negative image that exists today regarding teacher training.
I believe there is diversity in quality, although in terms of the curriculum they teach, they are similar, as well as in their progressive teaching practices. Basic Education programs have the problem that they dedicate too much time to teaching content because young people arrive with foundational deficiencies. Thus, the content portion of the curriculum is weak due to lack of time. In other countries where there is good quality from the outset, initial basic education does not focus on these elementary subjects.
But while there's always room for improvement, I can't say that teacher training is a disaster, as it sometimes appears, despite the Inicia results, which don't reflect well on anyone. Now, if a test doesn't reflect well on anyone, then the test itself should be questioned.
-You have made a public criticism of Inicia.
Of course, because it was taken by the 14% group of graduates, so you can't generalize. We don't know if those who answered were the ones who weren't working or the top students in their graduating class. Furthermore, I think that if we're going to evaluate their knowledge in terms of content, we can't simply sum their scores at the end because you don't necessarily remember exactly what you learned in your first year in your fourth or fifth year.
For example, it happened to me when I studied History. World History was taught in the first year, and then when I started working, I had to organize all that knowledge and look it up in textbooks. But I knew where to look and I knew the main events. So, if we're going to measure content, we have to find a way that isn't based on memorization but on the application of that content. For example, if you have to teach a class on the Renaissance, the question would be: where would you look for sources, how would you organize the class, or what are the central concepts? Students who have done their practicum can answer these questions, but if you ask them what year a certain person was born, it's highly likely they won't know.
-What can be done to improve initial training?
One way to address this is to raise the entry-level requirements, but that could also reduce the number of candidates willing to go to regional universities in northern and southern Chile, where teachers are also needed. There's the issue of how to compensate for the lower quality of prior knowledge in initial teacher training, as well as for deficiencies in basic skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Basic skills are very low, and while universities are making efforts, they don't monitor them sufficiently. These skills are crucial because a teacher's entire career relies on them.
-What challenges do you foresee for the future of teacher training?
The curriculum change is coming, which will have six years of primary school and six years of secondary school. This will require a generalist education for primary school, but there should be specializations for the last three years of primary school. This new primary education system will require specialist training that must be implemented.
However, I believe we are moving in the right direction: I appreciate that good students are entering the program and that universities are concerned about inviting them to Pedagogy, as it is always important to motivate them to choose this career.
Photo: Education Magazine – MINEDUC
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