Two strategies towards a change in public teachers` labour regulations: recent educative reforms in México and Ecuador

Abstract

The early questions of the sociology of education about the State roles have been revitalized by the global age. This article dismisses that the reduction of state functions operates as the only and inescapable trend. On the contrary, this paper postulates the thesis of a reorientation on State functions, always directed by political imperatives. To this end, it is analyzed how the last educational reforms undertaken by Mexico and Ecuador -both of a professionalizing sign- affect the working conditions of teachers. In order to this end, we use methodologies of multiple case study. In this area, is clearly shown the nature of a new interventionism, mixed with deregulation (loss of rights) or subregulation (insufficient protection) of teachers' work. Due to the time gap since the legal enactment of these reforms, ant their current implementation, the analysis reveals differences between the definition terms and their practical verification. Thus, is confirmed the  refunctionalization as a process in which different forces have active roles.