Educational work and social and regulatory context. A qualitative study in primary schools in the city of Buenos Aires

Resumen

The purpose of this paper is to describe how the actions linked to pedagogic work are defined and negotiated in relation with the social and normative context in primary schools located in Buenos Aires City. The definition of School Effectiveness and its associated factors provided the framework for the design as well as for the interpretation of the findings. The subject was approached from a micro-social angle, focusing on school work and its actors point of view. In order to do so, a deliberate sample provided the elements to compare four primary schools from Buenos Aires City. The data was obtained by utilizing a variety of methods. To synthesize the information the four schools were placed on a continuum which defines their levels of efficiency and shows how on each of its extremes social and normative peculiarities are compressed. The differences among schools materialize in the environmental conditions in which school life takes place, family participation and the different levels of pedagogic hegemony. The research is relevant to the field of school management as it helps to understand which conditions favour or hinder the school centralization around the teaching process in different contexts.