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Education of children in Mexico

Education of children in Mexico. Laura mccambridge Hdfs 892 June 22, 2013. School system in mexico. Primary School: Grades 1-6 Junior High: Grades 7-9 High School: Grades 10-12 Public and private schools available Much of the material focuses on culture and heritage (Levison, 2001).

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Education of children in Mexico

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  1. Education of children in Mexico Laura mccambridge Hdfs 892 June 22, 2013

  2. School system in mexico • Primary School: Grades 1-6 • Junior High: Grades 7-9 • High School: Grades 10-12 • Public and private schools available • Much of the material focuses on culture and heritage (Levison, 2001). • Memorization of material is more often taught instead of ways to solve problems (Rama, 2011).

  3. The problem • Many schools in Mexico lack buildings; must hold classes outside • Lack of drinkable water • Teacher absenteeism (Agren, 2012). • Mexican children receive an average of only 8 years of school (13 years in the U.S.) • Only 50% of students attend high school • Mexico ranks among the lowest according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international economic advisory group (Agren, 2012).  • Only .7% of Mexican children reach the advanced math level in Program for International Student Assessment • 10% of children in the U.S. reach this level (Agren, 2012).

  4. The union • Teachers are often absent • They work for the union, which protests teacher evaluations • Union is currently a dictatorship run by Union president Elba Esther Gordillo (“La Maestra:” The Teacher) (Rama, 2011). • Arrested earlier this year for embezzling $2 million, but still has many followers • Mexico spends about 5% of their budget on education (comparable to other countries) • Much of this money doesn’t translate to educational gains because of corruption (Rama, 2011).

  5. Solutions for improvement • Focus on teacher education • Schools must be more holistic- take into account children’s role in the labor force with their educational achievement • Governmental reform!!! • Educational policies must be more transparent • Data and educational research needs to be more readily available to educators and public • Policy making must become more democratic • The positive: Mexico is currently ranked #2 in science, math, and reading for the Latin America region (behind Chile) (Santibañez, et al., 2005).

  6. Existing solutions

  7. Apoyo a la Gestión Escolar (A.G.E. – School Management Support) • Gives funds to parent associations • They can invest in materials and/or infrastructure to improve their schools • Improves drop-out rates and student engagement (Gertler, 2008). • Gives important stakeholders (i.e. parents) more voice in important decisions involving their children’s education (Economist, 2011). • Randomized trial of the program from 2007-2010 shows improvement in test scores; drop out rates fell by 1.5% in most schools (Patrinos, 2012). • Beneficial program, but only improves parent engagement and empowerment; teacher accountability must also improve (Gertler, 2008)

  8. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) • Published a report emphasizing the importance of teacher accountability and more teacher training in Mexico • Teachers must be evaluated based on performance and skills • “Content needed to better identify strengths and weaknesses (Solano, 2013)” • Evaluations include: • Classroom observations • Self-evaluations • Extent to which teacher is prepared for class • Teachers who do not meet a minimum score on evaluations after 3 times will not be eligible for a permanent position (Solano, 2013). • Teachers and schools should agree on whether teacher’s position is a good fit, instead of basing decision solely on teacher’s preference (Solano, 2013).

  9. “adopt an academy” program • Established as a partnership between the Cisco Networking Academy, Fundación Televisa, and the Unión de Empresarios por la Tecnología y la Educación (UNETE) • Established to help schools integrate technology into their learning (Cisco, 2008). • Students improve their understanding of technology through practical experiences and hands-on activities • Students who attend the academy then travel to local schools and provide technology training to teachers and other students (Cisco, 2008). • Organization has also donated equipment and computers to many schools • Educates about 100 students per year who pass on their knowledge to others (Cisco, 2008). • This program is beneficial, but mostly only available to schools with existing technology

  10. In conclusion • In the context of Latin America, Mexico’s educational system is doing fairly well. • In the context of the rest of the world, Mexico’s education of their children is falling far behind. • There must be significant governmental reforms to see a vast improvement in the quality of education • Teachers must be made more accountable and the Union must have the education of children as their main goal, instead of selfish monetary gains • Many organizations have sought to improve the education system, and they are inspiring with what they have done so far! • With continued development and reform, Mexico can provide more resources, infrastructure, and effective teachers for its children to receive a quality education

  11. resources • Agren, David (2012, March 30). Education System Holding Mexico Back, Critics Say. USA Today. Retrieved June 15, 2013 from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-03-21/mexico-education/53872544/1 • Levison, D., Moe, K. S., & Marie Knaul, F. (2001). Youth education and work in Mexico. World Development, 29(1), 167-188. • Rama, Anahi (2011, April 11). Factbox: Facts About Mexico’s Education System. Reuters. Retrieved June 15, 2013 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-mexico-education-factbox-idUSTRE73C4UY20110413 • Santibañez, L., Vernez, G., & Razquin, P. (2005). Education in Mexico. • The Economist (2011, May 12). Education in Mexico: Schooling the Whole Family. The Economist. Retrieved June 15, 2013 from http://www.economist.com/node/18682699 • Patrinos, Harry A. (2012, January 25). Empowering Parents to Improve Schooling: Powerful Evidence from Rural Mexico. Education for Global Development. Retrieved June 15, 2013 from http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/dmblog/empowering-parents-to-improve-schooling-powerful-evidence-from-rural-mexico

  12. resources • Gertler, Paul J. (2008). Promising Practices. Harvard Family Research Project. Retrieved June 18, 2013 from http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/building-the-future-of-family-involvement/empowering-parents-to-improve-education-evidence-from-rural-mexico • Solano, Laura Poy (2013, June 19). OECD Urges Mexico to Maintain and Improve Teacher Evaluation. Mexico Voices. Retrieved June 20, 2013 from http://mexicovoices.blogspot.com/2013/06/oecd-urges-mexico-to-maintain-and.html • Cisco (2008). Academy Outreach Program Improves Learning in Mexico. Cisco. Retrieved June 20, 2013 from http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/success_stories/caseStudies/docs/mexico.pdf

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