Teaching and Professional Trajectories Committed to Equity: Contrast with the Perceptions of In-service Teachers

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of teachers' opinions on the principle of equity. Based on a review of the normative foundation related to the principle of equity at state and European level, the research used mixed techniques; the biographical interview with key agents (n=4) and the administration of a survey in five autonomous communities of the Spanish state (n=992). For the analysis, triangulation of the data from the interviews, the surveys and the two positions or ways of conceiving equity raised in the LOE/LOMLOE and in the LOCE/LOMCE, and transmitted by the progressive and conservative political groups in their electoral programs, was used. The results showed that the definitions of equity held by education professionals are more in line with progressive than conservative political positions. Significant discrepancies were also found in the specific educational measures to be implemented or the teaching paths to be followed, where, in general, a positive and uncritical attitude was observed on the part of active teachers compared to the critical positions of senior teachers. The conflicting positioning of political parties regarding equity, the opinions of senior teachers and the lack of a positioning of active educational agents on specific educational measures linked to equity were discussed