This is a qualitative study of how teachers of Quetzaltenango in Guatemala view their role as teachers in relation to the pupils and their families, as well as their opinions of the Teacher Education, their colleagues and the government. Finally, we attempt to answer the question of what role school and teachers play in a new democracy like Guatemala. The results of our study show that the teachers see school as a way to a better future for their pupils yet they lack a sense of pride for their profession. They are facing challenges in their work related to a lack of resources and the family situations. Leftovers from dictatorship, such as mistrust between people and towards the government and low power of initiative affect the teachers in a negative way. These leftovers are undesirable in a democracy. Power of initiative is a vital quality of the citizens in a country that wants to develop itself economically and socially and trust is necessary for people to be able to cooperate. Therefore, the design and quality of the Teacher Education is crucial, since the new teachers will act as a link between the democratic ideals and the young citizens who constitute the future of Guatemala. However, the Teacher Education does not only attract students who want to work as teachers. This has a negative affect on the ability to create a sense of mutual identity between the future teachers, which we believe is needed in order for the teachers to realize their great importance. We come to the conclusion that the teachers engaged in horizontal relationships of mutuality and cooperation manage to accomplish more in their profession. They have the ability to involve the parents and make them conscious of the importance of school, which makes it possible for education to have a positive impact on democracy. However, the vertical relationships of authority and dependence, which derive from authoritarian systems keep influencing teachers and prevent them to exert the positive influence they have the ability to do.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-30894 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Nimark, Emma, Silis, Alexandra |
| Publisher | Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), Malmö högskola/Lärarutbildningen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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