Revista de Estudios Sociales (Apr 2006)
Aproximación a las problemáticas psicosociales y a los saberes y habilidades de los docentes del Distrito.
Abstract
The idea that “teachers in Bogotá are going crazy”, due to the difficult conditions in which they work, has been on the news many times lately. With the aim to determine 1) the contexts teachers believe are having an impact on their psycosocial well-being, 2) their perception on their present physical, emotional and psychological health, as well as their performance at work, 3) the knowledge and skills they have developed to face difficulties, and 4) the dominant narratives they use to give account of their work, which contribute or not to their social well-being, interviews and focal groups were performed with 54 teachers, principals and school counselors, and a survey was created using the cathegories emerged from the qualitative data, which was completed by 562 teachers of 25 public schools of Bogotá. The characteristics of school´s environment that disrupt teacher´s well being were identified, and some significant differences were found on the physical, emotional and pshychological health of teachers, according to the average score that obtained the institution they work in, according to their evaluation. Still, no significant levels of disruption were found and, on the contrary, the reports illustrate a tendency towards a positive well-being as well as high use of these coping. The gap that exists between the negative dominant narratives on the mental health of teachers and their positive self-reports is discussed, and recommendations are presented.
