Díaz, Juan José y Hugo Ñopo (2016). La carrera docente en el Perú. En GRADE. Investigación para el desarrollo en el Perú: once balances. Lima: GRADE.

This chapter examines recent advances and the remaining challenges in the teaching career in Peru. We explore the conditions of those studying to become teachers: their initial training, job access, and working conditions as teachers. To do this, we review both the national literature as well as part of the Latin American literature, and explore national survey data.

Teachers are predominantly female and public with a high incidence of part-time work. In recent decades little generational replacement has occurred. Additionally, their wages are seriously lagging behind those of other professionals and technicians in the country. There are slight differences between teachers in the public and private sectors: the latter are on average younger, but with lower wages.

Teachers are an essential element of educational quality. To improve education, it is necessary to attract excellence into teaching by improving initial and in-service training and the conditions of teachers’ professional life. The chapter closes with a proposal to gradually improve teacher salaries for public schoolteachers, a key factor in working conditions.