ABSTRACT
Since the 1990s many Latin American countries have undertaken reforms in education, motivated by the need for improved access to schooling. Many of the reforms have been controversial, since broader accessibility has come at the cost of quality in education. Studies have shown that attempts to reduce costs and incorporate previously excluded social classes into mainstream education have led to serious repercussions in the development of the education system and have directly affected teachers’ working conditions and income (Birgin, 2000; Tiramonti, 2001; Oliveira & Melo, 2004; Hill, 2009; Oliveira, 2006b; Rosskam, 2006). The reforms have been part of a broader restructuring process toward a more capitalist system, which in Latin America has led to state reforms that have deeply impacted relationships between state and society (Salama & Valier, 1997).
