SCHOOL COEXISTENCE MANAGER IN THE NORTH OF CHILE

PROFILE, OBSTACLES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The goal of the present study is to describe the profile and role of professionals in charge of school coexistence in schools of Iquique and Alto Hospicio in the north of Chile. A cross-sectional study with a survey design was used, with the participation of 38 professionals from public, subsidized, and private schools. The main findings show that this activity is carried out mainly by teachers and psychologists, with a predominance of women; most of them have a school coexistence formation and are aware of the normative instruments associated to this role; they coordinate a school coexistence team and are part of the school management staff. There is a coincidence in their main responsibilities: they execute the management plan of school coexistence, send information to the Superintendence of Education, interview parents and supervise individual cases. However, they face different obstacles at work, such as: low family participation, resource management difficulties and lack of time. Furthermore, the participants provide suggestions to improve the job performance: be a member of the school management staff and have a work
team with a full-time dedication to this task. The main contribution of this investigation is to provide a unique study about school coexistence professionals in the north of Chile, inclusive due to the diversity of professionals and school contexts, and that these results can help outline the profile of school coexistence professionals in future public policies in the formation of teachers and psychologists with school management roles.