The circle of non-dialogue: everyday interactions at schools located in vulnerable areas and Chilean educational system

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand, through an ethnography, how interactions and dialogue transpire in the classrooms of three high-risk primary schools in Santiago, Chile. We address the problem in an educational model with an evaluation system based on high-stakes testing. The results give an account of interactions do not favour dialogue, there is a prevalence of a sequence of expository class, individual work and monitoring, hurry to cover the curriculum predominate, and the evaluation standards for learning are limited to content tests in the form of a standardised high-stakes test. The rationale behind these classroom practices follows a circular logic where the students are both the cause and consequence of the lack of dialogue.