Form Teachers, a Key Actor for Students in Pandemic. Case Study in Six Public Secondary Schools in Santiago

Abstract

The pandemic generated by the COVID-19 virus has had a strong impact in schools. A study about the relational environment in six public schools in the Metropolitan Region reported the relevance of the role played by form teachers during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting to the needs of the current crisis context and achieving higher levels of trust with their students. The aim of this article was to deepen in the characteristics and tasks performed by the role of form teachers, showing how trust between teachers and students has increased. Through the case study methodology, interviews were conducted with teachers (form and class teachers), students and school leaders. The interviews were conducted in two phases: 2020 and 2021. Our results indicate that form teachers have assumed four main tasks during this period: i) monitoring and follow-up of connectivity and participation; ii) accompaniment of the formative process and learning; iii) promotion of psycho-emotional well-being; and iv) assistance with socio-economic problems. The higher level of trust reported between students and their form teachers is mainly based on three dimensions of trust: benevolence, predictability and receptiveness.