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TERRA ECONOMICUS

Education reforms and precariatization of school teachers

TERRA ECONOMICUS, , Vol. 15 (no. 2),

The school reform is associated with the new professional standards for teachers. Being a teacher in Russia is becoming a less-respected profession. This paper discusses the reasons for the growing precariatization of teachers. Emergence of precariat in school education is associated with the implementation of the ideas of New Public Management (NPM). Proponents of the new managerialism in education tend to perceive the teacher as an actor providing educational services; the quality of these services can be and should be measured by indicators and targets. The reverse side of this emphasis on performance indicators in education is the destruction of social values and institutions inherent in educational organizations and activities. Using empirical data (survey questionnaires as well as in-depth interviews with the school teachers from Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, Russia), the article discusses the factors of precarity. Russian teachers are facing with the following issues: erosion of guarantees of stable employment; fall of the prestige of the profession; increase in the workload without adequate growth in labor remuneration; increasing bureaucratization and regulation of their professional activities. The teachers spend more time at work, far from the pedagogical practice, thereby not developing and even worsening her or his pedagogical competence. When choosing a profession, teachers are often guided by non-material motives, therefore they note the dominant influence on their motivation for value factors. However, the processes of precarization in the teacher’s environment in the future can lead to a decrease in professionalism, the quality of teaching and further dilution of professional identity. When planning and implementing reforms in the sphere of school education, it is necessary to take into account evolutionary institutions and social values.


Keywords: school education; precarity; institutions; institutional change; regulatory mechanisms; New Public Management (NPM); professional identity

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Publisher: Southern Federal University
Founder: Southern Federal University
ISSN: 2073-6606