The paper examines the process of establishing a teacher evaluation system in Chile and its acceptance by teachers over time. The conceptual base upon which the system was established is described. Evidence is also examined from a variety of data sources and research related to the evaluation system as well as teachers’ use of its results. This evidence includes information from an external review of the system noting tensions between the formative versus accountability purposes of the evaluation system and that are being attended to in the new Teacher Professional Development Law (2016).

The article presents results of studies in Chile and Portugal during COVID-19 lockdowns and remote teaching conditions. In each of both countries, over two thousand teachers of all school levels and types were surveyed during a two-month period on their professional experiences in the first year of remote teaching. The article discusses teacher accounts of how their work changed, their difficulties, impact on well-being, as well as new professional learning brought about by the challenges involved. Conceptually, the study relied on notions of occupational professionalism, self-efficacy perceptionsand collegial support in challenging circumstances. Results in both countries highlighted an impact on teacher occupational professionalism and self-efficacy perceptions, mainly brought about by intermittent levels of engagement of students during remote teaching sessions, and difficulties in carrying out proper assessments of student learning. Student well-being was of greater concern to teachers than their own problems, despite feeling the stressful effect of much longer daily working hours, more so among Chilean than Portuguese teachers. The study also brought out teachers’ imaginative efforts and the use of unaccustomed pedagogic strategies to reach out to students and insure some level of learning, especially among those without internet connectivity.

This study examines how classroom activities, student gender and student personal interest in science studies and careers predict situational interest in physics learning. Teaching modules were designed based on the secondary physics curricula in Finland (Helsinki) and Chile (Santiago and Viña del Mar) emphasising students engagement in scientific practices. The study was implemented in four classrooms in both countries. Data on situational interest and ongoing classroom activities were obtained using the experience sampling method, with measurements taken three times during a lesson. The process yielded a total of 1717 measurements in the Finnish schools and 1767 in the Chilean schools. Multilevel regression analyses with mixed effects and random intercept were conducted. Results showed a positive effect of scientific practices that required asking questions, designing scientific inquiry and interpreting data on situational interest. Student collaborative situations were more interesting for Chilean students than for Finnish ones. In terms of gender differences, on average, Finnish male and female students experienced the same level of situational interest, while the situational interest of Chilean female students was higher than the average of male students. Personal interest in science studies and careers was the best predictor of situational interest in both countries.

The article presents results of a study on teachers’ views, beliefs, and experience on school‐based informal collaboration for professional improvement. It explores the relationship of teacher beliefs in the collective efficacy of their colleagues and school’s capital and culture with their beliefs and experience in school‐based collaborative learning. The key source of evidence used is a survey of 1025 primary and secondary teachers in three geographical regions of Chile. Main results show that teachers hold positive beliefs about the collective efficacy of their colleagues and students in their schools but more negative ones regarding the contribution of parents. In terms of collaboration, teachers hold positive beliefs in general about its role for professional learning but indeed engage more in the “weaker” types of collaboration such as “sharing ideas” and “talking about teaching problems” and less in the more demanding ones such as “mutual lesson observation” and “team teaching.” Differences in teachers’ views, beliefs, and experience were examined in terms of level of teaching (primary/secondary), urban/rural location, school type (public and private), and school size.

Situational engagement is a key element in promoting students’ maintained interest and focused attention in learning. Most research on students engagement has been variable-centered, and only few studies have examined situational patterns of student engagement. The present study used person-oriented approach (e.g., latent profile analysis with Mplus multigroup comparison and 3-step procedure) to examine patterns of students’ situational engagement in science (e.g., situational interest, skills, and challenge), differences in the engagement patterns during regular vs. intervention science lessons, and the extent to which situational expectations and task values (e.g., attainment and utility values) are associated with engagement patterns. Chilean ninth grade students participated in the study using Experience Sampling Method (N = 77 students; 475 situational responses). Three patterns of engagement were identified: a) medium interest and skills (21% and 23% of the moments during regular/intervention lessons, b) high interest and skills (12% and 16%), and c) low interest, skills, and challenge (13% and 15%). Situational task values and expectations were positively associated with high and medium engagement patterns, especially during the regular science lessons.

This study extends research on school-based teacher collaboration from single country to comparative settings in Chile and Portugal. Based on interviews with school teachers and principals, the study focused on collaboration engagement and factors conditioning its modalities and depth. Findings indicate that more than country differences and between school differences, collaboration factors and experiences vary according to teacher perception of its value, collective efficacy, school culture/practices and leadership, and in Chile by rural/urban location. Collaboration forms rarely involve more than mutual learning based on sharing of experience. However, involvement in school-based external projects engage teachers in deeper forms of collaboration. Available spaces, time, work-load, systemic policies, testing/accountability are limiting factors.