High-stakes accountability and teachers’ discomfort in Chile: A multiple-case study of two public schools in under-resourced areas

Abstract

In Chile, the relationship between teacher well-being and high-stakes accountability policies has received limited scholarly attention, despite their extensive use. This study qualitatively examined how teachers from two municipal public schools interpret the effects of performance categorization and the evaluation system for the teaching career on their experiences of well-being and discomfort. A multiple case study design was employed, combining interviews, document analysis, and thematic analysis. The analysis was conducted in two phases. First, drawing on policy enactment theory, the local contexts were reconstructed, and the prevailing interpretations and translations of the policies within each school were identified. Second, the relationships established by teachers between these policies, their working conditions, and their experiences of well-being and discomfort were explored. The findings indicate that these policies shape how teachers perceive certain key working conditions, deepening their sense of discomfort. General discomfort, associated with the precariousness of teaching in under-resourced areas, is compounded by policy-specific sources of discomfort. However, the intensity and nature of this negative effect vary across the two schools. Finally, the results are discussed in light of their theoretical and practical implications for educational policy and teacher well-being.