Teachers as transformative agents and professional chameleons

Teachers play a key role in supporting equitable and quality education, as also advocated by the 2030 Agenda, leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. To achieve this, they must develop themselves as transformative agents and change-makers, especially in a post-pandemic era. To this end, through a research project with municipal school teachers, activities were proposed to initiate a reflexive re-examination of the basic premises that characterize their professional action based on the ideas of Schön (particularly the concepts of reflection in and on action) and Mezirow (with respect to the concept of the ‘disorienting dilemma’). The findings highlight the need to develop a 'transformative resilience' that enables teachers to transform themselves into 'professional chameleons', i.e. evolving professionals capable of managing multiple levels with a reflective and research-based educational mindset