María José Opazo

• PhD in Education
• PostDoc Position at University of Chile

This chapter aims to contribute to the international knowledge about early childhood education and care (ECEC) leadership by describing the Chilean case, specifically regarding one of its most significant factors: how ECEC leaders promote or manage the relationships with children’s families. Through three exemplary cases, it describes how ECEC lead...

Mediante un enfoque cualitativo basado en entrevistas semi-estructuradas y observaciones de aula, el estudio analizó cuatro dimensiones del juicio profesional: práctico, diagnóstico, reflexivo y crítico. 14 educadoras participaron en el estudio, provenientes de 7 escuelas con distintas dependencias en la Región Metropolitana (3 municipales, 3 part...

Presentación del team liderazgo en educación inicial (KB) en la conferencia CILME

El sistema educativo chileno ha debido enfrentar importantes desafíos derivados de la pandemia por covid-19. En el caso de la educación parvularia, a estos desafíos se añade además su ingreso al nuevo Sistema de Aseguramiento de la Calidad. A través de un enfoque cualitativo, y considerando las particularidades del liderazgo en educación parvularia...

El liderazgo ha sido identificado como una de las variables más importantes para el éxito de cualquier organización educativa. Investigaciones previas se han focalizado en el mundo escolar, prestando menor atención a la dirección de unidades educativas de educación parvularia. Considerando el reciente interés internacional y en Chile, por desarrol...

sector in Chile, which is barely investigated worldwide. In Chile,10% of children attending ECEC are enrolled in private centres. Following a tradition of qualitative research, a multiple case study was carried out, allowing the exploration of four private ECEC settings. Different techniques were used for data collection: semistructured interviews...

In Chile, the educational system is characterized by a high level of socioeconomic segregation of the educational offer. Admissions to private schools are mainly at the preschool level, so applications are made at an early age. This exploratory qualitative research investigates the perspectives of mothers and fathers and their experiences during th...

This symposium explores Chilean Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) leadership's features and challenges identified by a research team in the Centre for Advanced Research in Education at the University of Chile. We would like to take this opportunity to present our current projects and the results of the research line we have developed over t...

Resumen: En el ámbito de la carrera profesional de los líderes educativos, investigaciones previas han explorado sus trayectorias, identificando etapas y desafíos en el viaje directivo, reconociendo la relevancia de los directores para el mejoramiento escolar y los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje. El propósito de este artículo es contribuir a est...

This paper explores Chilean early childhood and care (ECEC) principals’ pedagogical leadership in the public sector, drawing upon literature regarding ECEC leadership. Following up a qualitative tradition, a purposive sample was used which considered 13 ECEC settings, from the 2 leading providers of public ECEC in Chile: JUNJI (the National Board o...

The relationship between early childhood education and care (ECEC, birth to 8 years), children’s lifelong learning trajectory and the economy is undisputed. This relationship was particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an auto-ethnographical study, this chapter discusses government responses across 10 countries: Australia, Canada,...

El artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación cuyo objetivo fue identificar los principales consensos entre actores del campo acerca de la definición, causas y proposiciones de la escolarización de la educación parvularia en Chile. Basado en un diseño cualitativo, de nivel exploratorio, la recolección de datos se realizó mediante entrevi...

Despite the relevance of early childhood services to children, families and nation states, the sector is largely undervalued and under resourced and, is not recognised as an established profession. Using collaborative auto ethnography, researchers from six different countries (Australia, Chile, England, Germany, Ireland and the United States) all m...

This article presents a study which aimed to explore the professional identity of early childhood teachers in Chile, applying a sociocultural approach. Relying on an exploratory qualitative design, data were collected through focus groups and photo-narratives. The findings show that these teachers understand that child-centred pedagogy is the pilla...

The project upon which this paper is premised, arose from discussion at the 2017 European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Conference Professionalisation Special Interest Group (P-SIG). Participants were engaged in vigorous debate around what the professionalisation of Early Childhood (the period from birth to eight years) me...

Research aims: To explore EC academics’ understanding of the ways in which the sector is pursuing professionalisation across six countries Relationship to previous research works - reference to existing literature and how it underpins your study: Neoliberalism is a key political ideology influencing how EC policy is developed, and the ways in whi...