Teacher Practices in Zones of Armed Conflict: Prácticas de profesores en zonas de conflicto armado: An Understanding of the Experience

Abstract

This research article analyzes the different typologies of practices developed by teachers working in territories affected by the armed conflict in Colombia. These practices are understood from the teachers' narrative, insofar as practice is conceived as a human experience. In this sense, pedagogical practice, teaching practice and classroom practice are traced in contexts crossed by armed violence.  For the analysis of narratives, a conceptual network was constructed that articulates three central categories: practice as human experience, school in the context of the Colombian armed conflict and autobiographical accounts by teachers who teach in this context.  The research is part of the Narrative Research approach, which made it possible to analyses a significant body of studies on education and school in areas of armed conflict. The results showed that teachers' practices are in constant tension: teaching practices move in the balance between adaptation and resistance; pedagogical practices move from conviction to strategy; and classroom practices take place between the teacher’s duty and the marks of conflict.