The Latin American professoriate: Progress and prospects

The article describes the traditional image of the Latin American university professor and focuses on the effects that the movement toward a full-time professoriate and other changes have had on the recruitment patterns, morale and scholarly productivity of contemporary academics in Colombia and Argentina.The analysis shows that the attempts to reform the professorial system have been partially successful, but have also produced unintended and unanticipated consequences which must be attended to if the high expectations held for members of the academic profession in Latin America are to be fulfilled.The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Inter-American Development Bank.