Adult Education and State Policy in Latin America: The contrasting cases of Mexico and Nicaragua

This article examines adult education policy in two settings. The cases of Mexico and Nicaragua illustrate how the goals, content, methods, and outcomes of adult education differ according to state policy. Mexico (1970-1990) represents a "corporatist" state that undertook an incrementalist approach to literacy provision for purposes of political legitimation and social integration, while Nicaragua (1979-1990) represents a "revolutionary state" that pursued a structuralist approach to achieve fundamental changes in education and society. Despite their contrasting orientations, these two countries share many characteristics typical of dependent capitalist states in Latin America.     

Education,democracy and development in Latin America

The education first brought to America by Europeans was hardly more than ornamental culture, literacy was generally unimportant, and African slaves were not educated at all. Only in this century did industrialization cause some governments to provide economic and technological support through training and education. In the last decade, the debt crisis curtailed spending, while numbers of students and teachers continued to rise. A comparison between Latin America and South Korea illustrates the former's relative decline in investment. The advent of populist and corporatist democracies did not alleviate the situation, although there is now some evidence of concern for basic education for poorer children. With economic adjustment programmes, little else has been done for those who have suffered the heaviest burdens, and no obvious solutions to poverty and technological obsolescence are in prospect. A major reform of State institutions is called for, including a commitment to education, a change in the economic model, and a recognition of global interdependence.

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Zusammenfassung Das erste Bildungssystem, das von den Europäern nach Amerika gebracht wurde, war kaum mehr als eine dekorative Kultur; die Alphabetisierung war im allgemeinen unwichtig und afrikanische Sklaven erhielten überhaupt keine Bildung. Erst in diesem Jahrhundert veranlaßte die Industrialisierung einige Regierungen, durch Aus- und Fortbildung wirtschaftliche und technologische Unterstützung zu geben. Im letzten Jahrzehnt beschränkte die Schuldenkrise diese Ausgaben, während die Zahl der Studenten und Lehrer weiter anstieg. Ein Vergleich zwischen Lateinamerika und Südkorea macht den relativen Investitionsverfall in Lateinamerika deutlich. Die Einführung populistischer und corporativer Demokratien hat die Situation nicht verbessert, obwohl es jetzt Anzeichen dafür gibt, daß man sich um Grundbildung für ärmere Kinder kümmert. Mit den wirtschaftlichen Anpassungsprogrammen wurde sonst wenig für diejenigen getan, die die schwerste Bürde getragen haben, und es besteht keine Aussicht auf klare Konzepte zur Überwindung von Armut und technologisch veralteter Systeme. Es wird eine größere Reform staatlicher Institutionen gefordert — einschließlich eines Engagements für die Bildung, einer Änderung des wirtschaftlichen Modells und der Anerkennung globaler Abhängigkeiten.

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Résumé L'éducation apportée autrefois à l'Amérique par les Européens n'était guère plus qu'une culture d'agrément, l'alphabétisation n'avait généralement pas d'importance et les esclaves africains ne recevaient aucune instruction du tout. Ce n'est qu'au cours de notre siècle que l'industrialisation a amené certains gouvernements à offrir un soutien économique et technologique par le biais de la formation et de l'éducation. Durant les dix dernières années, la crise de la dette financière a réduit les dépenses, alors que le nombre d'apprenants et d'enseignants n'a cessé de croître. Une comparaison entre l'Amérique latine et la Corée du Sud illustre le déclin relatif de l'investissement de la part de la première. L'avènement des démocraties populistes et corporatistes n'a pas amélioré la situation, bien qu'on note maintenant quelques signes d'intérêt à l'égard de l'éducation de base des enfants pauvres. Les programmes d'ajustement économique n'ont rien apporté de plus à ceux qui portent les fardeaux les plus lourds, et il n'y a apparemment aucune solution en vue pour le problème de la pauvreté et de l'obsolescence technologique. Une réforme majeure des institutions publiques s'impose, impliquant un engagement envers l'éducation, un changement du modèle économique et une reconnaissance de l'interdépendance globale.

     

Professions and educational counseling in Mexico and Latin America

Conclusion In these circumstances, the prospect of the counselor for the professions is to play a new and different role inside the field of educational counseling. This new role will rely, in great measure, on the foreseeable behavior of society and, consequently, educational systems.It is relevant to consider the kind of society which is expected to emerge in the next twenty-five years. When this desirable scenario has been defined it becomes possible and necessary to join efforts, open new pathways and formulate new alternative solutions to present problems.Educational counseling should acquire properties that give it a new, more concrete meaning in a way that allows it to be used in a more accurate and effective way institutionally, in relation to the educational system and to career and national planning.Educational counseling should be more aware of and open to what is happening in the sectors that give a mandate to education at the economic, political, and social levels.Educational counseling and counseling for professionals must have continuity inside the educational system, and it may not be reduced to the role of filling in holes and taking responsibility for the contradictions of the national education system. Counseling must have a preventive task. In order to fulfill this, it is important that counselors have a solid background in education, politics, economics, and social areas; so they should be able to establish a connection with fields of work and their development potential.It is essential to systematize and share research on the discipline in order to delineate problems which are immediate, medium, or long-range in the different areas of counseling.     

Internationalisation in higher education in Latin America: policies and practice in Colombia and Mexico

There is now an extensive literature about internationalisation in higher education. However, much of the research relates to North America and Europe. This paper is concerned with internationalisation in Latin America and seeks to consider perceptions and experiences in Colombia and Mexico, and to compare practice in the public and private sectors. Based on detailed analysis of interviews with senior managers in six universities, the paper shows a growing level of activity, with some increasing levels of planning and strategy. Important differences are identified in the response of public and private universities, reflecting funding differences and freedom to determine institutional priorities.     

Food Engineering Education in Mexico, Central America, and South America

ABSTRACT: The teaching of food engineering (FE) in Mexico and Central and South America began more than 50 years ago, initially with programs related to Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. The first programs clearly denominated as FE emerged during late 1960s and early 1970s; the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) in some cases and the Science and Technology for Development Program (CYTED), launched in the early 1980s, stimulated and strengthened the development of FE. Relevant developments on FE in Latin-America can be traced down to topics such as: evaluation of physicochemical and transport properties, water activity, high and intermediate moisture foods, food drying, modeling and simulation of processes, hurdle technology, minimal processing, and emerging technologies. At present, FE Education in Latin-America interacts and coexists with the new paradigms related to the design of preservation processes and the development of Biotechnology.     

体制转型时期我国财政政策与经济发展研究

无论是发达国家还是发展中的国家,经济是其不可或缺的支柱,特别是在我国,目前正处于经济发展的重要体制转型时期,财政政策的调控对经济的增长和发展,发挥了极其重要的作用。在经济转型时期,不断完善我国的财政政策和支出收入机制,有着非常重要的现实意义。本文基于如何促进国民经济的发展,如何使财政政策和经济发展有效地结合,在体制转型时期来推动经济长足稳定健康的发展,然后分析了财政政策和经济发展的关系,以及如何推动经济的发展,最后对在经济转型时期财政政策实践中的得到的若干结论进行阐述。     

National Democratic Movements in Asia,Africa, and Latin America

During the transition of capitalism toward imperialism, the suffering and disaster suffered by the colonial peoples of Asia increased in depth and severity. In western Asia, after accelerating invasions by England, Russia, France, and Germany, Turkey sank into semicolonialism. Russia carved out northern Iran as her sphere of influence, while England carved out southern Iran as her sphere of influence. In central and southwest Asia, England took control of Afghanistan and swallowed up Burma; France invaded and occupied the Indochina peninsula. Both the United States and Japan entered the ranks of the colonialist powers. The former occupied the Philippines while the latter swallowed up Korea. During the process of invading the Asian nations, the capitalist nations collaborated with the various feudal authorities of those nations, deepening the suffering of the people of those nations and inhibiting the development of Asian economics and construction.     

The impact of education policy on economic development: Quantity,quality and earnings of labor

Education policy is viewed as affecting the content, and hence production functions, of different types of training and skill-formation. The relationship between skill type and level of education is considered. Optimal investment requires equating rates of return on the extensive and intensive margins, making endogenous the trade-offs between quantity and quality for each skill type. Selected education production functions are discussed with respect to implications for the distribution and levels of different skills and for skill-related earnings differentials. Equality of educational opportunity increases skill levels, upgrades the occupational structure and reduces relative earnings differentials.     

Teacher salaries in Latin America: A review

In this paper we use data from household surveys of 12 Latin American countries to assess how teacher salaries compare to workers in other occupations. The results show great variability from one country to another, ranging from an apparent underpayment of teachers in Bolivia by 35% relative to the control group, and a respective overpayment of 65% in Colombia. However, when statistical controls are introduced for the differential education, hours worked and gender composition between teachers and the comparison group, much of the earnings differential between the two groups disappears. On the basis of this finding, we cannot support the position that teachers are either overpaid or underpaid.     

Cultural capital,curriculum policy and teaching Latin

Latin is currently being trialled as a subject in 40 state secondary schools in England. This paper focuses on one of the justifications of this trial: that teaching Latin in state secondary schools provides students with cultural capital which in turn counters social injustice. By taking the example of Latin as a starting point, I reach two conclusions about cultural capital. The first is that providing students with cultural capital can be good for some individuals, and so justified on a case-by-case basis depending on context. However, this justification does not hold for curriculum policy making. My second conclusion is that in the long term, pursuing cultural capital as part of curriculum policy exacerbates the social injustices it purports to address. Wherever an activity is introduced for the sake of cultural capital rather than its educational value, educationally valuable activities risk being pushed off the curriculum, potentially degrading the educational value of the curriculum. In the case of teaching Latin, it may provide benefits to particular students, but as part of curriculum policy it risks exacerbating social injustices and undermining the educational value of school curricula. Going beyond the place of Latin on the curriculum, I argue that all appeals to cultural capital provide a poor basis for curriculum policy making.