L’instabilità lavorativa e la pratica professionale del docente precario

Work Instability and the Temporary Teacher’s Professional Practice The reorganization of the Italian educational system over the past decade has led to great changes in the so-called «law organic». If, on the one hand, several legislative measures aimed at improving the quality of schooling were enacted, on the other, a confusing recruitment plan has been implemented that is not always guided by an overall vision. These actions have significantly increased a sense of instability and uncertainty in those who decided to embark on a teaching career. The aim of this study is to explore the essential aspects characterising the professional practice and expectations of non-tenure teachers, and to assess whether and to what extent the condition of instability affects motivation for teaching, the behaviors enacted by teachers in their work and their life plan. We feel that the qualitative approach could be the most appropriate to adopt in order to facilitate the study participants’ reporting of their experiences by means of in-depth interviews. The reference group consists of 24 non-tenure teachers of the Campania region. The interviews were carried out in 2012. The results of the analysis and interpretation of the stories confirm our hypotheses and provide additional food for thought. The condition of instability characterising the work situation of non-tenure teachers causes a state of insecurity affecting all spheres of life: a precarious job becomes a precarious life – a life with limited planning for the future, a life which finds it difficult to recognize itself and leads to a problematic recognition of other people’s lives.