Territorial Dynamics and Senses in Educational Institutions of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The aim of this article is to answer the question about which dynamics and senses people imprint in educational institutions, throughout a territory. Based on a qualitative research strategy, we analyse testimonies of teachers, management teams and other leaders of four secondary and higher education institutions located in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (or AMBA after its Spanish acronym): an institute of teacher training in Art, an institute of studies in Recreation and Free Time and two popular secondary schools. As a result of the analysis, we identified three dimensions associated with territory: contextual, institutional and subjective. In the development of each dimension, it is noted that institutional agents, through the territory, build logics and dispositions that shape (and prefigure) senses, which reinforce each other dialectically. The territory represents an enabling space where practices, motivations, challenges and institutional horizons of its members are expressed. The notion of territorial reflexivity is discussed to raise awareness the daily dynamics, the way of positioning and perceiving oneself both at an institutional and subjective level.