Coordination of Teachers and Precariousness. Coordination Models in the Teaching of Sociology in Andalusia

Abstract

Since the implementation of the Quality Assurance Systems, university education has incorporated coordination mechanisms and figures into teaching practice. However, their application is far from being homogeneous. A mechanism originally designed to improve teaching quality has taken on new significance and importance due to the context of generalized precariousness of university academic staff. This paper presents an analysis of the context, the theoretical bases and the different coordination models implemented of a series of universities where the Sociology degree is taught in Andalusia, but the results are perfectly extrapolated to other disciplines and places. Through the use of the autoethnographic analysis, based on the experience of the authors of the text, two typical ideal models of coordination are elaborated. The actual teaching practices in the different departments analysed move along a continuum ranging from total coordination to total autonomy. Each of these models has a number of advantages and disadvantages, and is the result of a particular combination of material, cultural and human factors. Results show the usefulness of a higher degree of coordination in contexts of unstable or training workforces, as opposed to the appropriateness of autonomy in situations of greater stability and experience. Coordination may serve to mitigate some problems caused by precariousness, but it should not be an alibi for deepening it.