Schoolwork, precarious conditions, and their tangible effects: evaluations between results and relationships

Abstract

This article presents a series of reflections arising from ethnographic research on the relationships between teachers in “administrative” and “classroom” roles. It is based on the assumption that schools are shaped by the interplay of distinct social fields, as described by Bourdieu (1989): managerial Public Administration and School Education. These two social fields have distinct logics and foster conflicting subjectivities and perceptions among their participants regarding school work, particularly regarding potential “outcomes.” The main objective of the article is to reflect on the difficulties of assessing the various manifestations of precariousness in school work, with a focus on relational precariousness. The text was developed through reflections on field observations in conjunction with theorists who engage with the issues raised. One of the conclusions is that the pursuit of quantitative “results”—a perspective typical of those positioned closer to the center of state power and permeated by managerial logic—can be interpreted as a renunciation of the logic that guides good school teaching, and that this fuels a series of resentments and rivalries between both positions, something difficult to assess using traditional public policy evaluation tools.