Education In Chile Research Articles

Chile: Universal Collection, Open Access, and Innovation in the Use of Attendance and Absenteeism Data

In Chile, attendance is recognized as an important component of school quality and educational equity. The Chilean education system has clear, standardized definitions that apply country-wide, and a good registration system for school attendance that compiles national databases containing student-level, daily attendance, absences, and withdrawals for all children attending public schools. Moreover, these data are publicly available via open access, which allows the entire education community and the Ministry of Education access to all schools’ data in an organized, centralized manner. These data contribute to ongoing scholarship about the impacts of attendance and absenteeism on education outcomes. In practice, schools use attendance data to monitor progress toward goals. The Ministry of Education uses data to calculate and pay school subsidies that are linked directly to average monthly attendance in accordance with Chilean law, and to classify schools into categories of education quality. Chilean Fundación Educacional Oportunidad uses attendance data and continuous quality improvement methods to promote attendance and prevent chronic absenteeism with more than 150 schools via a regional Learning Network. Meanwhile, the Learning Network fills an important gap by repurposing the nationally reported data to calculate and focus on individual-level attendance and by creating opportunities for practitioners to learn together how to promote attendance and prevent chronic absenteeism. This paper describes the context of Chile and its educational system; the definition, recording, reporting and use of attendance data; and the methods, outcomes and lessons learned by the regional Learning Network.

Virtual Education in Chile, Example of A New Space For Learning

Virtual Education in Chile, Example of A New Space For Learning

Freire's hope in radically changing times: a dialogue for curriculum integration from science education to face the climate crisis.

This article advances a dialogue for understanding curriculum integration as a form of radical pedagogy, starting from science education in times of climate crisis. The paper weaves Paulo Freire's work about a radical form of emancipatory pedagogy, bell hooks's proposal to transgress boundaries in teaching, and the landscape of identities for science persons in order to embrace a radical pedagogy for facing the climate crisis: an anti-oppressive curriculum integration practice. The issue of climate change education is discussed in its challenges as we present some findings about the role of policy in incorporating climate change in education in Chile and the experience of a teacher, Nataly, coauthor in this work, integrating curriculum as an action-research project. We propose that an anti-oppressive curriculum integration emerges from converging two approaches: curriculum design intended for sustaining democratic societies and thematic investigations proposed for liberatory practices of the oppressed.

Students' Learning Perception in Engineering, Health and Education During Emergency Remote Education in Chile

<p style="text-align:justify">Higher education institutions around the world had to implement an emergency remote education (ERE) modality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the individual and relational factors that affect the perception of learning in engineering, education, and health students during emergency distance education. Through a quantitative, non-experimental, and correlational study, an online survey was administered to a sample of 929 higher education students regarding their ERE experience. They were surveyed regarding their perceived learning, empathy, classroom interaction, self-regulation of learning, positive agency, student engagement, learning approaches, and use of digital resources. Data was analyzed using quantitative methods, namely correlations, comparisons of means and a linear regression analysis. Education students showed a more positive perception of learning, used a deep learning approach, and rated more positively the empathy shown by their professors and the possibilities for class participation than other students. Engineering students had the lowest scores on perceived learning and on almost all other variables. In general, students with a better perception of learning presented a higher engagement in their studies and a lower use of surface learning approach.</p>

A Look at the Interconnection of Dimensions of Knowledge in Physical Education Teacher Training in Chile

The massive fragmentation of knowledge that exists in the current field of physical education enables us to research pedagogical and disciplinary aspects in the educational processes of teachers in training, as this has significant implications for future educational practices. This study proposes to assess the dimensions of knowledge (conceptual, procedural and attitudinal) that stem from the learnings that emerge in physical education teacher training in terms of the disciplinary standards proposed by the Chilean Education Ministry for the Preservice Teacher Education. The study methodology was descriptive and inferential, and the cohort was cross-sectional. A total of 750 fourth- and fifth-year students in training from 13 Chilean universities participated. Of these, 619 subjects were considered: 54.6% (338) men and 45.4% (281) women between the ages of 21 and 25. The questionnaire used for data collection was the "Questionnaire on Conceptual, Procedural and Attitudinal Learning in Preservice Teacher Education in Physical Education" (CACPA-FIDEF), prepared as part of Fondecyt project No. 11190537. The main results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the three dimensions in terms of students' sex and type of schooling, with p values > 0.05. In conclusion, the study observed a weak conceptual management of the discipline in future teachers, revealing once again the need to seek out didactic alternatives that enable teachers in training to understand the importance of the conceptual dimension in their learning and teaching processes.

Hegemony and Academic Precariousness: University Education in Chile in times of Covid 19

Hegemony and Academic Precariousness: University Education in Chile in times of Covid 19

Impact of competition and voucher school subsidy law on education quality in Chile

We analyzed the effect of competition and the Preferential School Subsidies (SEP) Law on the quality of Chilean schools for the period 2000-2013. We use dynamic panel regressions, and we show that competition has a positive and non-linear effect on education quality. The initial positive effect of competition on education quality is not persistent and is reversed for high levels of competition. The impact of competition on education quality also depends on the administrative dependence of schools. The SEP Law increased education quality, but through competition the inequality between public and private schools deepened. These results are relevant for the design of public policies aimed at reducing inequality in Chilean education.

Limits of Evaluation in the Quality Assurance System of Chilean Education: a Case Study

Education Quality Assurance Systems (in Spanish, SAC) are institutional architectures with which some educational systems seek to enhance the achievement of results by actors and institutions. Evaluation has a central place within the set of components that SAC have, since it is necessary to judge performance in order to determine to what extent the expected results are being achieved. The result of such evaluation is subject to accountability, which positive or negative consequences. Given its relevance, the SAC evaluation must be sufficiently valid to capture the achievements and weaknesses of the institutions and actors, as well as to be credible within the system. In addition, the different evaluation devices need to be articulated and mutually reinforcing, to account for the systemic logic of this strategy. A case study was carried out to analyze the capacities and limits of the SAC evaluation, seeking to compare the results of the evaluation of an educational institution categorized as “insufficient” for its performance in learning achievements, with the analysis and data considered within its educational community. The results revealed important gaps between both perspectives and weaknesses in the functioning of the SAC evaluation mechanism, such as: the updating of information to categorize the institution, the identification of relevant results that account for its performance, or the use of information produced by the assurance system itself. These difficulties are relevant because of the effects they produce on the evaluated institutions and open the discussion about the evaluation process itself, but also regarding the accountability mechanisms used on the basis on the results of these evaluations.

Proposta Didática para Abordar os Conflitos Socioambientais na América Latina a partir de uma Perspectiva Geográfica Feminista no Segundo Ciclo da Educação Básica no Chile

This paper presents a didactic proposal to be applied in the second cycle of basic education in Chile, in which a feminist geographical perspective is integrated into the approach to some socio­environmental conflicts in Latin America. This is the result of an investigation focused on the articulation between geography teaching, feminism, and socio­environmental conflicts in the context of the Chilean curriculum. To achieve this aim, some theoretical discussions are developed around feminist geography, socio­environmental conflicts, and geographical education. Next, a didactic proposal addressing different socio­environmental conflicts is presented. Finally, some initial conclusions are shared regarding the potentialities and challenges to be tackled.

Situating Norbert Elias’ Power Differential in a Critical Exploration of Violence in Chilean Education

Once hailed as a poster boy for neoliberalism, or what Milton Friedman called “The Miracle of Chile”, Chile has undergone a myriad of social and political changes that since 2011 have resulted in increased polarization and violent clashes between the opposing parties. The apex of this violence was reached in 2019, where civilians were blinded, public buses and subway stations burned and businesses vandalized in a series of violent acts that continued for weeks. Between October and November 2019, the country also experienced large peaceful demonstrations demanding greater equality towards women, sexual minorities and migrants (Chile has seen a surge in migration over the last 5 years, with 1.5 million people immigrating from Haiti, Venezuela and Colombia). It is against this background that I began my research to investigate to what degree this direct, structural and cultural violence had spilled over into classrooms. My doctoral research, titled “Non-violence as a practice of equality: an exploration in Chilean higher education classrooms through participatory action research” sought to co-develop non-violent strategies to tackle violence in the way of exclusion, discrimination and any other manifestation within classroom settings. This paper will explore the application of Elias’ notion of power differentials in the perpetration of cultural violence and the experience of violence by Chilean minorities as documented in my own research. I am particularly inspired by Norbert Elias’ work “The established and the outsiders”. Discussions with my research participants, all trainee teachers at Chilean universities, revealed that at the core of the instances of violence found lies a power imbalance and a view of those “outsiders” (migrants, lower income students, LGBTQI+) as less worthy and valuable and therefore victims to a wide range of violent acts resulting in exclusion and discrimination.

The meaning of citizenship: Identifying the beliefs of teachers responsible for citizenship education in Chile

ABSTRACT Based on evidence from a 2019 survey of a sample of Chilean secondary education teachers responsible for citizenship education, this article examines their beliefs regarding citizenship and how these beliefs relate to their justifications of both legal and illegal protest actions in a societal context of wide socio-political crisis and mobilization. Using exploratory factor analysis, two types of citizenship are identified as structuring the beliefs of teachers: duty-based citizenship, related to what the literature conceives of as a minimalist or personally responsible-type of citizen, and activism-based citizenship, or the citizen type defined in the literature as justice-oriented. Then, exploring bivariate correlations with teachers’ justification of different protest actions, we found that duty-based citizenship beliefs are related to a pattern in which protest (legal or illegal) is considered less justifiable, whereas activism-based beliefs correlate positively with a greater justification of both legal and illegal (blockades of streets and strikes) protest actions. We examine these findings, distinguishing between teachers’ beliefs and justifications as educators and as citizens, arguing that the context of socio-political crisis and mobilization is a key factor for interpreting the tensions and dilemmas of teaching citizenship in Chile.

Educational Justice, Challenges for Ideas, Institutions, and Practices in Chilean Education

Educational Justice, Challenges for Ideas, Institutions, and Practices in Chilean Education

How do Catholic religion teachers approach death education in Chile?

Talking and thinking about death in school education encourages the spiritual development of students and constitutes an objective of the Catholic religion subject in Chile in both primary and secondary education. This article aims to examine the teachers’ perspectives who teach the Catholic religion on the matter. In particular, what disposition they have when approaching death with their students, what theological knowledge they possess on the subject of death, and what relationship exists between the domain of this theological knowledge and readiness for education about death. Based on quantitative methods, the results show a high willingness of teachers towards death education and high confidence in the abilities to carry it out. Nevertheless, a medium theological knowledge is identified, which is not related to the disposition to death education. The study concludes by discussing the difficulties of death education, which is not entirely based on theological knowledge.

Types of beliefs of secondary school students in southern Chile

Research in mathematics education has shown that individuals' beliefs play a fundamental role in their responses to and interest in mathematics and their application of these beliefs in real-life situations. Although the literature related to the affective domain in general, and beliefs in particular, has explored the relationship between beliefs and student educational level, there still needs to be a research gap regarding the empirical testing of this variable in the context of secondary mathematics education in Chile. Therefore, the present study, with a quantitative and exploratory methodology, aims to fill this gap by adapting the Mathematics-Related Beliefs Questionnaire MRBQ to describe and analyze students' beliefs in mathematics at two levels of secondary education. The main results of the study indicate that mostly positive beliefs are observed in the three types of beliefs studied: Beliefs about the social context, about self-concept, and mathematics education, highlighting the dimension of beliefs about the social context or classroom environment, in which students showed a highly positive perception of the role of the mathematics teacher.

Education in Chile: Towards the Virtualization of our Educational Future?

This article proposes a study of the evolution of educational offers of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a virtual or semi-virtual mode in Chile, based on its explosive increase, analyzed data, and breakdown of implications. Higher education, after this analysis, evidently expresses a new context of reality in professional training; we are experiencing a new era, educational offer that perhaps responds to the demands of productive dynamism, customs, and experiences of the tremendous technological immersion by our young people, in response to programs that seek to approach this need but with a low level of development and organization quality.

Policy Translation of Social Movements Demands: The Case of Free-Tuition in Higher Education in Chile

Chile experienced massive student protests against market-based education in 2011. In 2013, center-left President Michelle Bachelet proposed tuition-free higher education for Chile’s bottom 70%, fueling controversy due to the uncertainty and unexpected medium and long-term consequences. This study analyzes how the free-tuition policy was developed, the actors involved, the political discourse deployed during its implementation, and the strategy used to make this policy a reality. Using semi-structured interviews with key actors, such as policymakers and scholars, and a review of newspaper columns, we wanted to explore how politicians and bureaucrats translated the students’ demands into the free-tuition policy. Our findings suggest that the policy translation process involved former student leaders, free-tuition policy prioritization, and a quick, straightforward implementation process that enabled the government to fulfill its promise.

Development of digital and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills in chemistry teacher training

Citizens of the twenty-first century use specific skills to solve real-life problem situations, propose interdisciplinary solutions, and sustainably solve their communities’ socio-scientific and technological problems, locally and globally. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is an integrated and interdisciplinary teaching-learning space. STEM careers are subject to gender gaps in terms of access to higher education, and only a quarter of female students follow a STEM career. Moreover, later in their professional careers, women often obtain lower salaries and income in the STEM professions. STEM education seeks to actively engage students by incorporating technologies into teaching-learning processes since, favoring searching, analysis, solution, and simulation of socio-scientific problems. The latter has become highly visible during the pandemic caused by COVID-19, particularly in emergency remote education measures. Information and communication technologies (ICT) plays a role in online education, either via the knowledge involved in school curricula or an understanding of how the pandemic has evolved. This is a triple task for professors since they must have the right skills to train citizens of the twenty-first century, build new stimulating learning spaces for their highly technologized students, and develop these skills in their students. This article reviews the concepts associated with digital and STEM skills by analyzing a case study, exploring the perception of students in terms of their development of these competencies, and the commitments required in the study plans made by a Professor of Chemistry in a Chilean state university. A mixed investigation was undertaken, considering three phases with different methodologies. The first phase consisted of a bibliographic study, comparing both the digital and STEM skills of several organizations in Chilean education (UNESCO, MINEDUC, and ISTE). ISTE was used as the basis of the applied questionnaire to establish coherence in the dimensions coming from different reference frames. A second phase refers to the analysis of the study plan programs associated with STEM, ICT, and chemistry teaching, through an Analysis Matrix of Aprioristic Categories. In a third phase, the development of digital skills in undergraduate Chemistry students and professors were evaluated through the Digital Competence Questionnaire of Higher Education Students. Based on UNESCO information, the STEM competencies address both the content and its application to problems related to STEM careers in a manner consistent with the training model for science and chemistry teachers. In the case of digital skills, UNESCO integrates international reference frameworks respecting each country’s laws, enabling them to adapt them. In Chile, MINEDUC focuses on teachers’ use of digital tools to improve the teaching-learning processes of students; and ISTE is focused on the skills of higher education. The analysis of the study programs shows that students’ digital skills do not meet the requirements of the Chilean Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). However, the programs enhance more complex cognitive levels when the curricula advance, promoting STEM skills. The digital competence questionnaire for higher education students (CDAES) survey showed a development proportional to the curricular pursuit of the students where, in the first year of the degree, the students declare positive answers in 60.5% of the items consulted. This trend increases in the second and third years (90.7% of positive answers) and the fourth and fifth years (93.0 and 95.4% of positive answers). It remains a challenge to develop skills to design, create or modify technological educational media that promote the use of digital and STEM skills. In conclusion, this research proposes digital and STEM skills for teacher training, discussing the relevance of their integration in STEM teaching and learning. The teacher training curriculum does not have an explicit association with digital and STEM skills, although it addresses the skills required by national and international benchmarks. However, the students indicate positive attitudes toward the digital skills developed progressively during their training as teachers. As future Chemistry teachers, they value the development of digital teaching skills that allow them to address the challenges that arise in the classroom and thus promote the appreciation of STEM careers, which helps form citizens with more sustainable intentions.

Innovating social work education in Chile: addressing the UN sustainable development goals, enhancing our profession

ABSTRACT This article describes and analyzes the process of designing and implementing a new social work curriculum in Chile, considering the many social-justice challenges and rapid changes that the country has experienced in recent years. At the center of this new curriculum, an innovative, pedagogical strategy called ‘Research and Development Nuclei’ seeks to address the 17 United Nations’ goals for sustainable development. This process involved social work students, faculty, agencies, and service users who worked collectively to generate a more inclusive and effective way to transform social problems in Chile and, potentially, other parts of Latin America. This article summarizes part of the history of the social work profession in Chile; describes some of the current characteristics of the social context, currently flagged by overlapped inequalities and high levels of mistrust toward institutions. In this context, we provide some examples of how the ‘Research and Development Nuclei’, our flagship innovation, are working to address some of the Global Goals as well as some shortcomings from the traditional way social work has been taught in the country. Finally, we discuss some limitations and challenges of this new model in order to consolidate its innovative character in social work education in Chile.

Education for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood Education in Chile

The study aims to assess sustainable practices in early childhood education. We observed classrooms in institutions with different administrative dependencies, located in the North, Center and South of Chile using the adaptation of the Environmental Rating Scale for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood. The scale was applied to 36 early childhood educators, obtaining 93 records. The results in the dimensions of social, economic, and environmental sustainability were compared according to educational level, administrative dependency, and geographical location of the establishment. The pedagogical practices in the dimensions of social and economic sustainability revealed poor results, close to 2 out of a maximum of 5, finding markedly asymmetric distributions (SAC > 1.96). Additionally, the usability of the scale for remote work contexts was explored, determining some irrelevant items. Likewise, through the analysis of interviews with educators and directors of preschool institutions, the definitions associated with sustainability practices were identified. We found less knowledge on issues such as gender approach, social justice, economic training, although the importance of working on these themes was recognized, accepting that it is in this vital period of childhood when values and social awareness of sustainability can be promoted.

Chilean preservice teachers and reading: a first look of a complex relationship

Two pillars of the curricula for primary education and early childhood education in Chile are, respectively, the formal teaching of reading and the promotion of the pleasure of reading. These two objectives depend, in part, on the relationship that teachers themselves establish with reading. Previous studies have been critical, suggesting that teachers seem to act as “false readers,” endangering the formation of new readers. Under this premise, this research investigated the reading life of future teachers who are trained, among other things, to mediate subsequent learning, as well as the acquisition and development of committed readers. The study focused on the importance of reading, preservice teachers’ motivation to read different types of texts, reading habits, and actual reading done during 1 year. The research participants were 365 prospective Chilean early childhood (n = 164) and primary education (n = 201) teachers, who responded to Likert-type and open-ended questions. In line with previous studies, we observed teachers’ high reading valuation but low effective reading praxis. Regarding the importance of reading, we observe reading utility as a first dimension while “enjoyment” or “connecting with my history” are the least valuable dimensions. The implications of these findings for initial teacher training—and especially the role of children’s literature in this framework—are discussed.