Union leaders’ conceptions on teacher’s role in the construction of the Teacher Professional Development System in Chile

ABSTRACT The article discusses some conceptions of Chilean teachers as union leaders about the law that installed the Teacher Professional Development System (TPDS). Although it is widely known that the Chilean educational system is one of the most radical expressions of education with market centrality, some readings that have addressed the public policies implemented by progressive governments, after the recovery of democracy, affirm that these reforms have partially offset the implementation of neoliberalism. However, from the teaching movement it is possible to perceive a dissatisfaction expressed in cycles of mobilization. It is in these mobilizations where teachers have tried to resist and influence the legislative advance on educational policies, as well as where they were able to establish professionalism alternatives that operate in the interstices of the regulatory system. The research was carried out through a qualitative methodology, specifically based on semi-structured interviews and content analysis.