Effect of political socialization on children: quasi-experimental study with Argentinian children / Efecto de la socialización política en población infantil: estudio cuasi-experimental con niños/as argentinos/as

This study evaluates the effect that two experiences of political socialization had on different psychosocial and psychopolitical variables (social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, attitudes towards equality, socially conscious behaviour, empathy, attitude towards unfair behaviour by authorities, sociopolitical participation) in children in the city of Córdoba (Argentina). Specifically, it analyses the effect of participation in a social organization that promotes citizen education (Study 1), and participation in the Alternative Political Socialization Programme (APSP) (Study 2) created for this research. Likewise, a comparative analysis of both experiences was performed (Study 3). Children aged 10 and 11 participated in the experiences. A quasi-experimental design was used with a pre- and post-test, along with a quasi-control group. The results suggest a significant effect in the variables studied based on participation in these experiences, with differences according to the kind of programme. The study underscores the importance of designing alternative political socialization mechanisms geared at citizen training in childhood.     

Fighting for excellence: the case of the Federal University of Pelotas

This paper investigates the implementation and evaluation of quality management systems within the higher education sector in Brazil. It is based on Institutional and Neo Institutional theories and presents the case of the Federal University of Pelotas, to discuss higher education institutions’ options in a context of wide and complex environmental changes.     

Curricular Reforms in Latin America with Special Emphasis on the Argentine Case

The purpose of this article is to describe the effect of the curricular reforms introduced in Latin America in the 1990s. Special emphasis is placed on the Argentine case. Therefore, this work initially makes a historical synthesis of the curricular policies in the region, from the creation of modern education systems by the end of the nineteenth century, up to the present. Secondly, the proposals for education reforms during the 1990s are put forward, with an emphasis on the Argentine experience. The search for some degree of decentralisation of the curricular policies and, at the same time, the emergence of centralised systems of educational assessment, are the issues treated in this section. Lastly, the work discusses the concrete effects that the reform policies have had in the Argentine case. The central hypothesis is that far from a decentralisation of decision-making responsibilities in terms of curriculum, the system is hyper-regulated as a consequence of the interaction of several factors, many of which are related to the centralised tradition which has characterised the development and management of curriculum in most countries in the region.     

What type of teachers do we intend to train? An analysis of teacher profiles in MERCOSUR curricula

Over the last decades, teachers have often been identified as ‘key’ players for the improvement of education systems. The successive waves of reform taking place in Latin America since the 1990s have aimed at initial and continuous teacher training. The main changes intended to improve the quality and lengthen the duration of initial teacher training; additionally, the variety of teacher training courses was widened and diversified. This work focuses on the teacher training curricula currently in force for the MERCOSUR member states (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). Special attention will be paid to the definitions of the profile that is intended for future teachers, as it is believed that this dimension makes it possible to reveal the different types of expected performance, which will allow us to move towards the dimension of the educational practices. The results obtained from the comparative analysis indicate that the abilities/competences put forth by the four countries are relevant and complementary with each other. Studies of this kind are a step forward in the definition of common policies for MERCOSUR countries aimed at strengthening and articulating teacher training and, specifically, at recognizing teacher qualifications and favouring mobility among countries.     

The Natural Sciences in The Schools: Tension in the Modernization Process of Argentine Society (1870–1960)

In this paper, we analyze one of the issues that has historically influenced the primary and secondary schools in Argentina: the politicization of the Natural Sciences curriculum. Here we present research findings for two particularly important cases: (a) the evolutionist theories, and (b) the teaching of Astronomy and Cosmography. These findings make it possible to reconsider the complex relationship which exists between the Natural Sciences, the scholastic institution, and politics. We conclude that the ways in which contents are selected and arranged into disciplines arise as a solutionto ideological conflicts. The role of the school in these conflicts was not that of a passive spectator but that of an active participant in the construction of knowledge.     

An overview of educational policies in the countries of Latin America during the 1990s

In this paper we want to examine the construct of the Learning Society in its economic and social context in the UK. We will argue that the policy rhetoric which makes up the current discourse of the ‘learning’ society is both powerfully normative and unhelpfully reductionist and that it displaces and masks issues of inequality. The discourse of the Learning Society has conflated the achievement of increased levels of participation for 16‐ to 19‐year‐olds with the insertion of market mechanisms and relations and the assertion of self‐interest. This has meant that issues of exclusion, polarization and social justice have been systematically neglected. The Learning Society provides, we suggest, for a redrawing and relegitimation of patterns of exclusion. In particular, in a time of social crisis, middle‐class retrenchment (masked as familial duty) has re‐asserted itself, in part, through a specific, particular engagement with the Learning Society in order to ensure advantage and distinction. As Connell (1996: 5) puts it, this ‘is the point on which the politics of education markets mainly turns’. Thus, we believe it is critical to address the question, ‘Whose Learning Society'? We shall attempt this through a preliminary examination of data collected from a cohort of 16‐year‐olds who are in the process of transition from statutory schooling into a post‐16 education and training market (ETM), and deploy their ‘emergent narratives’ to problematize the normative simplicities of the Learning Society.