HEGEMONY CONSTRUCTION TOWARDS THE SENSE OF PERFORMANCE IN PERU’S TEACHING CAREER: REFLECTIONS ON ITS LABOUR AND TRADE-UNION IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Framed in the implementation of the Teachers’ Reform Law in Peru, the following text discusses the process of hegemony construction that a performance narrative associated to labour regulation, particularly tenure, has experienced as a professionalization criterion. It highlights the process of dislocation which performance had as a parameter for professional dignification, by turning from continuous improvement and social acknowledgment to individual prestige and the increase of purchasing power, in a context of peer competition. Throughout the testimonies of key informants, some counterproductive effects derived from a performance policy based on tenure regulation from an accountability logic are pointed out. They include simulation and credentialism, and the legitimacy of a labour statute which dispenses incorporation to the teachers ? public career, according to individual merit. Also, recent representation challenges for the teachers ? trade union regarding the institutionalization of an individualized remuneration policy are exposed. Finally, it argues that some elements existing in the professional dignification narrative are capable to dislocate the sense of performance associated to accountability and labour regulation.