Neoliberal Education Reform Gendered Notions in Global and Local Contexts [Paperback]

The restructuring of teaching is a global issue, the result of a transnational movement of policy. Gender shapes the occupational reform and binds the global-to-the-local movement of reform ideas. Gender is also implicated in how policy is done and how it leads to particular outcomes. This volume examines the behind-the-scenes work done to make sense of reform and implement it during the workday and questions the new forms and controls over teaching reformsthe labor processrevealed to understand the implications of neoliberal education reform on teachers work.

Based on ethnographic research undertaken at public high schools in Argentina, this volume introduces the everyday work lives of teachers. It includes interviews and observations revealing what it means to be a teacher in the reform context, and explores the ways masculinities and femininities shape teachers decision-making about reforms. At a time when teachers are at the center of political controversy around the world, this volume is an important reminder that school change is about changing the work of teachers.

Introduction 1. Transforming teachers gendered work in and out of the classroom 2. How we get work: teacher preparation and the job search 3. Navigating new curriculum and school structures 4. Negotiating incentives and salary bonuses 5. Extracurricular work in and for an unequal society  Conclusion

Sarah A. Robert is Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Buffalo, USA.