Pedagogical Dimensions of a Potentially Generative Development in Chilean Rural Teachers

Abstract

The life stories of Chilean rural teachers provide relevant experiences and knowledge for understanding their potentially generative teaching practice, which is genuinely committed to the educational development of students and their communities of origin. The objective of this article is to understand, from a generative narrative perspective, the patterns of potentially generative behavior manifested by rural teachers residing in the Metropolitan, La Araucanía, and Los Ríos Regions (Chile). In this way, as a method, a qualitative and phenomenological approach is adopted, with the participation of twelve educators (seven men and five women) who have an average of thirty-three years of professional experience. In-depth interviews are used from the generative narrative perspective. Subsequently, the stories are submitted to content analysis, following the logic of the grounded theory. The results show that rural teachers show potentially generative behavior patterns characterized by empathy, optimism, resilience, and autonomy. Likewise, the participants manifest the development of an expansive generative adulthood characterized by a passion for teaching, sensitivity to the suffering of others, and self-development, strengthening their teaching commitment to the younger generations. In conclusion, the life trajectories of rural teachers allow for the systematization of a set of experiences, knowledge, and pedagogical practices that enrich the training and continuous improvement of professional work, revealing the pedagogical implications of generativity for a transcendent rural teaching profession committed to their educational work. © 2023 Research Center of Universidad Pedagogica Nacional. All rights reserved.