THE FUNCTIONS OF HUMOUR WITHIN TEACHER DEVELOPMENT. GROUP ANALYSIS IN TWO COMMUNITIES OF TEACHERS IN CHILE

Humour has been studied from various theoretical and empirical perspectives. In the educational field, it has been observed that it has multiple beneficial effects, however, it has also been seen to work generating environments that are not conducive to learning. In this sense, although mixed results have been reported in the literature that account for its paradoxical functioning, it has not been specifically explored how humour could work in this way in educational contexts. Thus, this article seeks to explore the functions that humor adopts from its paradoxical nature within a teacher training context. For this, an exploratory qualitative methodology was used. Although the findings show diverse functions of humour that favour the context of training, its dual function was also found within this context: it maintains, and in turn, closes topics of conversation in contexts of dialogue and learning.