Implementation of citizenship education policies in a Chilean secondary school: The role of new leaders

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between school leadership and the implementation of citizenship education (CE) in a Chilean public secondary school, in the context of different reforms in this area, which generate contradictions around the type of curriculum to be implemented, ranging from minimalist versions focused on civic education, to maximalist versions focused on active and critical citizenship. Among them, Law 20.911 (2016) stands out, which establishes that each school must have a citizenship education plan. A case study is presented in a borough where the local policy (municipality) incorporated leaderships that work full time to coordinate and implement CE in each of the schools of the borough, a novel initiative in the national context. An institutional ethnography was developed, which examines the relationship between what is institutionally defined at different levels and its implementation, exploring how CE operates from the perspective of the different actors and recognizing their power to translate policy into action. Institutional documents were reviewed, interviews were conducted with educational actors and classes and other formative instances were observed during a school year. The results show the challenges that leaders must face: the articulation between the municipal and school levels for the implementation of CE; the tension between accountability and the focus on the pedagogical meaning of CE; the reconciliation of different notions about CE within the school; and difficulties to involve the teaching staff in the implementation of CE, and to articulate CE with other school subjects, incorporating it into the curriculum.