Women´s life stories about the decision to become teachers in Chile: a case study on socio-psychic factory influencing professional choice

Abstract

This study analyses how social class, gender, and socio-familial life trajectories influence the professional decision-making of a group of five young Chilean women who became English teachers. Using a qualitative socio-clinical case study, a Group of Implication and Research was implemented, in which life stories about professional choice were shared and coanalyzed by the participant-researchers. The findings indicate that the choice to become a teacher can be interpreted as a professional decision that mediates between the opposing needs for belonging to the social group of origin and the need for individual differentiation. This tension, in turn, is framed by the interplay of social class, gender, and the participants’ psychic coping mechanisms. It is concluded that professional choice is a multi-factorial socio-psychic process that needs to be considered in public policy and teacher education in order to achieve more equitable teacher education that addresses class and gender differences more effectively.