DECENT WORK IN POINT OF VIEW OF LATVIAN TEACHERS

• Authors: Bite Dina
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The objective of the paper is to apply theoretical interpretation of decent work to teachers’ situation in Latvia. A sociological research was carried out in 2013 of how teachers in Latvia define and interpret the term “decent work”, whether they see their work as being decent. The article includes qualitative data of the research, discovering the main elements of decent work according to teachers’ point of view and shedding light on the problems of the educational system of Latvia. Results show that teachers face serious problems in their work that are not consistent with decent work concept, but at the same time they create and construct their own meaning to make their work decent. There is a significant split between theoretical statements of decent work and real situation of teachers in Latvia. On one hand, there are a number of myths and prejudices, and formal statements about teachers’ profession as being prestigious and highly evaluated occupation. On the other hand, in reality, teachers receive salary what is close to the minimum wage and are not able to meet their basic needs. They are unappreciated as professionals and important part of social system. The term “decent work” can hardly be ascribed to teachers in Latvia; it is distorted in Latvia case. The research has been considered as a starting point for developing further discussion on decent work in Latvia.

Keywords

EN

decent work,; teacher,; educational system

• Publisher: Daugavpils University, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Journal: Sociālo Zinātņu Vēstnesis
• Year: 2014
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 24-33

Contributors

author

Bite Dina

Identifiers

ISSN

1691-1881