University Policy: A Strategic Crossroads
The recent appearance of the ranking of the 200 “best” universities in the world, published annually by the British magazine Times Higher Education-in which there appears no Chilean university has re-activate the demand for a greater investment of fiscal resources in this sector. In particular, authorities in some of our universities that aspire to be internationally recognized stress the idea that without greater government support is impossible that their institutions can become world class institutions.
This type of approach deserves to be discussed carefully, even if you’re skeptical (like me) about the quality, consistency, rigor and utility of the global rankings and importance usually be granted.
First, it is true that the national budget allocated a reduced amount of resources to higher education and academic research, in fact, one of the lowest among the countries with a level of development similar to ours. However, it does not follow automatically that the government should invest in a few universities who yearn to achieve an international status.
Rather, a balanced strategy for the development of national education should promote, with priority, a substantial and rapid increase in school subsidies for basic and intermediate levels, no amount of effort is being done to extend the coverage and quality of preschool and early care of children. This depends largely on the ability to roll back social inequalities.
At the tertiary level, while the state should be concerned primarily to finance scholarships for talented young people from lower income families and credits for those youth and adults who are unable to finance their studies. Continue reading
School’s Academic Success does not Guarantee Success in College
This was pointed out by several studies, at least in Chile, and also the experiences of many young people having been successful in high school, even with high scores on tests of academic selection, then failed to reach acceptable results fairly academic in higher education.
The reasons? The different rates of university studies, which require constant study, where not enough to “be aware of the kind” or “last-minute studying” what works in classrooms in secondary schools. If it joins many students go to live alone by moving from city, many of the time restrictions or even the “look” of adults to their study hours disappears, are delivered to their own responsibility and effort In the case of exceptional students in secondary education, which reached success without effort, is overrated.
What to do?
There are four key, I think, should be considered to address this situation:
a) Planning: Organize your time, bring an agenda to consider the fact and what to do, the urgent and important. Continue reading
Talk About The Teacher’s Responsibility in The Current Situation of Educational Quality
There is much talk these days the quality of education and the media engages in disputes over the responsibility of teachers in low performance exhibited by Chilean students. On the other hand, teachers complain that they always prove them guilty and nowhere meeting rigorous analysis on teacher quality. By the way, I am convinced that teacher quality has a significant impact on teaching and learning processes.
Certainly, as I have stated several times before, that some of the problems of our public education pass through the administrative and financial mismanagement and, indeed, this is explained by the autonomy of managers no teachers in local authority educational establishments . Without autonomy to decide, not to be blamed for the failure to a greater extent than their fair share of their lack of academic leadership.
What about teachers? I think that if managers can not have autonomy in the management of resources, can not therefore provide performance incentives for teachers and this, of course, could make a difference. Regarding the incentives offered by the Ministry of Education to teachers who perform well on assessments (whether mandatory or voluntary as the AEP), knowingly say that teaching hospitals have suffered muc humiliation even try to collect these payments on schedule the Ministry of Education never respected. If the Ministry itself does that with the best teachers, what is left to municipal corporations always short of resources? Continue reading
On Quality, Leadership and Education
Not only in Chile, but in many parts of the world on five continents, we are talking about the need to move to higher levels of quality. In Latin America, of course, the issue has gained urgency ranges. It seems that the economic and social investment in education we are doing does not satisfy the aspirations of the citizens, since the levels of inequality of educational quality that are the most depressed socioeconomically and receiving the most high is too large, which added to the differences between the cultural heritages of both groups, the quality of parental education and aspirations of families, makes the problem of educational quality in an inescapable urgency in making progress towards the full development.
In the case of Chile, has not only been a weakening of the State responsible action to ensure quality education for all, but also failure (despite efforts) to broaden the coverage of preschool education, dropout rates that, although low in overall bulge in precisely those sectors that require more education, poor results in national and international standardized measures, lack of autonomy in educational management of the local school administration, ignorance (and apathy) of parents and guardians about the educational and school activities, teacher training if not bad, at least mediocre quality, very low social status of teachers (linked to low wages, despite efforts to raise them), relaxation of the school disciplinary rules; bureaucratization of the administrative procedures of teachers, lack of implementation of methodologies for an education suitable for the XXI century and a long list of problems with varying degrees of national or local impact. We are very far from having a quality education and how serious is that, although the diagnosis is clear and accepted by the majority, not as a country we have been able to agree on the basic actions for improvement. Who ruled yesterday and called to such agreements, known today and entered the implementation of them. Continue reading
Primary Socialist What do They Think of The University?
A few days before the first round of the Socialist primary, Sunday, October 9, how are the six candidates from the major issues in higher education? Journalist Michel Leroy, author of an investigation into the “big bang” of universities, asked the same eight questions to the candidates, he and five responded. Ségolène Royal has not only provided answers. It addresses some college, but made education one of its priorities. You can find the questionnaires on the blog Universitas.
Among the advisers “superior” candidates, there are many familiar faces.
Arnaud Montebourg is assisted by Bertrand Monthubert, the national secretary of the PS sector.
Martine Aubry is by many academics that Vincent Berger, president of Paris-Diderot, and Isabelle This-Saint-Jean, Vice President of the Ile-de-France in charge of higher education.
François Hollande himself is advised by members Fioraso Geneviève and Jean-Yves Le Déaut, research, and by Lionel Collet, the former president of Lyon-I and the Conference of University Presidents, the higher . Continue reading