Preschool teachers: extension of the work day and the naturalization of family care as a definition of teaching work.

Abstract

This article presents findings from an investigation carried out to know the personal and working conditions of preschool teachers in the city of Querétaro, Mexico. Results: a) the precarious work of preschool teachers when they are systematically forced to extend their work activities to take them home, considering that they are the ones who have not been able to organize themselves, and b) the naturalization of the role of caregiver as part of the self-definition of being a woman and that favors thinking of the work of preschool teachers as an extension of a “natural” feminine work. These aspects make it difficult to recognize and value the work of teachers as true education professionals.