Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta World Bank. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta World Bank. Mostrar todas las entradas

1990-2015: Education for All | Educación para Todos


Rosa María Torres
Tomado del sitio web de UNESCO
(Español, abajo)
Below is a compilation of texts (books, articles, interviews, blogs) - English, Spanish, Portuguese, French - that I have written on the global Education for All - EFA initiative (1990-2015). Over these 25 years I have been close to EFA since its start, at world, regional and national level, working from various capacities and places.
I attended the regional preparatory conference on EFA, held in Quito-Ecuador in 1988. Invited by UNESCO, I participated in 1990 at the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand) where EFA was launched and its six goals approved, dealing with an 'expanded vision of basic education', comprising children, youth and adults. I was also invited by UNESCO to attend the World Education Forum in 2000 (Dakar, Senegal) where the evaluation of the EFA decade was presented and the deadline was postponed until 2015 since the goals had not been met.

I was one of the five senior education advisers recruited by UNICEF in 1990 to organize an Education Cluster that would deal with EFA worldwide; being the editor of UNICEF's Education News was one of my tasks. Later, while working at IIPE UNESCO Buenos Aires in the late 1990s, I wrote a book on the first EFA decade and the challenges ahead. For the goals related to youth and adult literacy/basic education I have worked with UIE, later UIL, in Hamburg, as well as with UNESCO Paris in the preparation of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012). I drafted the Base Document for the Decade, which was discussed and approved at a special session at the Dakar Forum.

Since 2000 I organized and coordinated the Latin American Statement on Education for All and moderated for over ten years Comunidad Educativa, the virtual community linked to it. In 2003, together with members of Comunidad Educativa, we organized an open letter to Mr. Koichiro Maatsura protesting the designation of Mrs. Laura Bush as Honorary Ambassador for the UN Literacy Decade. The letter was signed by thousands of people worldwide.

I follow the developments and international debates on EFA. The 2000-2015 EFA Global Monitoring Report, released in April 2015, showed that the goals, once again, were not met. Only one third of countries met them worldwide, Cuba the only one in the Latin American and Caribbean context.

This compilation wants to be a contribution to the collective reflection and debate around EFA, and to the evaluation process of these 25 years of EFA implementation vis a vis the post 2015 scenario.
Compilo aquí textos (libros, artículos, entrevistas, blogs) - español, inglés, portugués, francés - que he escrito sobre la iniciativa mundial Educación para Todos - EPT (1990-2015). He estado cerca de la EPT a lo largo de estos 25 años y desde sus inicios, en diferentes capacidades y desde distintos lugares.

Estuve en la conferencia regional preparatoria de la Conferencia Mundial sobre Educación para Todos, realizada en Quito en 1988. Invitada por UNESCO, participé en 1990 en dicha conferencia en Jomtien-Tailandia, donde se lanzó la EPT y se aprobaron las seis metas con una 'visión ampliada de la educación básica', destinadas a "satisfacer necesidades básicas de aprendizaje" de niños, jóvenes y adultos, dentro y fuera del sistema escolar. También invitada por UNESCO, estuve en 2000 en el Foro Mundial de Educación (Dakar-Senegal), donde se presentó la evaluación de la década y se decidió postergar el plazo de la EPT por 15 años más, hasta el 2015, en vista de que las metas no se cumplieron.
Fui una de las cinco personas contratadas por UNICEF para formar parte del equipo de asesores de alto nivel que conformaría la Sección Educación de UNICEF en Nueva York, encargada de diseñar políticas de EPT a nivel mundial; parte de mis tareas fue ser la editora del boletín Education News de UNICEF. A fines de los 1990s, mientras trabajaba en el IIPE UNESCO Buenos Aires, escribí un libro sobre la primera década de EPT y los desafíos pendientes. Para las metas relacionadas con la alfabetización y la educación básica de jóvenes y adultos he trabajado con el UIE, más tarde rebautizado como UIL, en Hamburgo, así como con UNESCO París en la preparación de la Década de Naciones Unidas para la Alfabetización (2003-2012), para la que redacté el Documento Base que fue discutido y aprobado en una sesión especial en Dakar.

Desde el 2000, a partir del Foro Mundial de Dakar, organicé y coordiné el Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educación para Todos y moderé durante más de 10 años la comunidad virtual Comunidad Educativa asociada a éste. En 2003, junto con miembros del Pronunciamiento y de Comunidad Educativa, organizamos y enviamos una carta abierta al Sr. Koichiro Maatsura protestando por la designación de la Sra. Laura Bush como Embajadora Honoraria de la Década de Alfabetización. La carta fue firmada por miles de personas en todo el mundo.
Seguí de cerca los desarrollos y debates de la EPT a nivel internacional. El Informe Global de Monitoreo de la EPT 2000-2015, hecho público en abril de 2015, mostró que, una vez más, las metas no se cumplieron. Solo un tercio de los países - la mayoría del "mundo desarrollado" - alcanzaron todas las metas; Cuba fue el único en América Latina y El Caribe.

Con esta compilación aspiro contribuir a la reflexión colectiva en torno a la EPT y a la evaluación de sus 25 años de trayectoria.




Reaching the Unreached: Non-Formal Approaches and Universal Primary Education
(Rosa María Torres and Manzoor Ahmed), UNICEF Education Cluster, New York, 1993 (dossier)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/06/reaching-unreached-non-formal.html


Open Letter to School Children
In: Education News, N° 11, UNICEF, Education Cluster, New York, 1995
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2010/08/open-letter-to-school-children.html
Carta abierta para niños y niñas que van a la escuela
En: Education News, N° 11, UNICEF, Education Cluster, New York, 1995
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2010/08/carta-abierta-para-ninos-y-ninas-que.html


Children's right to basic education
In: Education News, N° 14, UNICEF, Education Cluster, New York, 1995
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2010/11/childrens-right-to-basic-education.html
El derecho de niños y niñas a una educación básica
En: Education News, N° 14, UNICEF, Education Cluster, New York, 1995
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/08/el-derecho-de-ninos-y-ninas-una.html


La educación según el Banco Mundial. Un análisis de sus propuestas y métodos, Miño y Dávila/ CEM, Buenos Aires, 1997; 2a. edición, Buenos Aires/ México/Madrid, 1999. (con José Luis Coraggio)
"Improving the Quality of Basic Education? The Strategies of the World Bank", in: Stromquist, N.; Basile, M. (ed.). 1999. Politics of Educational Innovations in Developing Countries, An Analysis of Knowledge and Power. NewYork-London: Falmer Press, 1999.

¿Qué recomendaba el Banco Mundial para la reforma educativa en los 1990s?
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/10/que-recomendaba-el-banco-mundial-para.html


¿Mejorar la educación para aliviar la pobreza o aliviar la pobreza para mejorar la educación?
En: Rosa María Torres, Itinerarios por la educación latinoamericana: Cuaderno de viajes, Editorial Paidós, Buenos Aires-Barcelona-México, 2000.
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2010/09/mejorar-la-educacion-para-aliviar-la.html


Una década de Educación para Todos: La tarea pendiente (IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000, PDF)

One Decade of 'Education for All': The Challenge Ahead (IIEP-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000, PDF)
 http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/publicaciones/one-decade-education-all-challenge-ahead


What happened at the World Education Forum (Dakar 200)?
http://www.iiz-dvv.de/index.php?article_id=473&clang=1

¿Qué pasó en el Foro Mundial de Educación (Dakar, 2000)?
http://www.iiz-dvv.de/index.php?article_id=473&clang=3

Que s’est-il passé au Forum Mondial sur L’Éducation (Dakar, 2000)?http://www.iiz-dvv.de/index.php?article_id=473&clang=2


Literacy for All: A United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012): Base Document for the Literacy Decade (2000)
http://www.slideshare.net/RosaMariaTorres2015/base-document-united-nations-literacy-decade-20032012
Alfabetización para Todos: Década de Naciones Unidas para la Alfabetización (2003-2012): Documento Base para la Década (2000)
 http://www.slideshare.net/RosaMariaTorres2015/documento-base-dcada-de-las-naciones-unidas-para-la-alfabetizacin-20032012

GLEACE: Letter to UNESCO on the Literacy Decade (2003-2012)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2012/01/letter-to-unesco-on-literacy-decade.html
GLEACE: Carta a la UNESCO sobre el Decenio de la Alfabetización (2003-2012)
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2012/01/carta-la-unesco-sobre-el-decenio-de-la.html


Lifelong Learning for the North, Primary Education for the South?
Abstract of the presentation at the International Conference on Lifelong Learning “Global Perspectives in Education” (Beijing, China, 1-3 July 2001)
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/11/lifelong-learning-for-north-primary.html
¿Aprendizaje a lo Largo de la Vida para el Norte, Educación Primaria para el Sur?
Resumen de la exposición (en inglés) en la Conferencia Internacional sobre Aprendizaje a lo Largo de la Vida “Perspectivas Globales en Educación”, (Pekín, China, 1-3 Julio 2001)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/04/aprendizaje-lo-largo-de-la-vida-para-el.html


Lifelong Learning in the South: Critical Issues and Opportunities for Adult Education
Sida Studies 11, Stockholm, 2004
http://www.sida.se/Svenska/Om-oss/Publikationsdatabas/Publikationer/2004/november/No11-Lifelong-Learning-in-the-South-Critical-Issues-and-Opportunities-for-Adult-Education3/






Literacy and Lifelong Learning: The Linkages
Invited speaker. Conference and paper presented at the 2006 Biennale of ADEA
(Libreville, Gabon, March 27-31, 2006)
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2012/01/literacy-and-lifelong-learning-linkages.html


Six 'Education for All' Goals (Jomtien/Dakar)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/01/six-education-for-all-goals-seis-metas.html

Seis Metas de la 'Educación para Todos' (Jomtien/Dakar)
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/01/six-education-for-all-goals-seis-metas.html


¿Qué es 'educación básica'?
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2014/08/que-es-educacion-basica.html
What happened to the "expanded vision of basic education"?
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-happened-to-expanded-vision-of.html


Educación para Todos y Objetivos del Milenio no son la misma cosa
Entrevista con la Campaña Latinoamericana por el Derecho a la Educación (CLADE), 2005
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2012/05/educacion-educacion-para-todos-y-metas.html


América Latina: Seis décadas de metas para la educación (1957-2021) | Latin America: Six decades of education goals (1957-2021)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2010/12/america-latina-cuatro-decadas-de-metas_20.html



 La 'Educación para Todos' se encogió
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2014/10/la-educacion-para-todos-se-encogio.html


Adult Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Plans and Goals 1980-2015
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/05/adult-literacy-in-latin-amrica-and.html
Alfabetización de adultos en América Latina y el Caribe: planes y metas 1980-2015
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/06/alfabetizacion-de-adultos-en-america.html


International Initiatives for Education | Iniciativas internacionales para la educación
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/03/international-initiatives-for-education.html


About "good practice" in international co-operation in education
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-would-be-good-practice-in.html


Military spending in education | Gasto militar en educación
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/03/military-spending-and-education-gasto.html


From Literacy to Lifelong Learning: Trends, Issues and Challenges of Youth and Adult Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
prepared for the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education - CONFINTEA VI (UNESCO, Belém, Brazil, 1-4 Dec. 2009). 
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/05/from-literacy-to-lifelong-learning-de.html
 http://www.unesco.org/en/confinteavi/grale/
De la alfabetización al aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida: Tendencias, temas y desafíos de la educación de personas jóvenes y adultas en América Latina y el Caribe
preparado para la VI Conferencia Internacional sobre Educación de Adultos - CONFINTEA VI (Belém-Pará, Brasil, 1-4 diciembre 2009)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2011/05/from-literacy-to-lifelong-learning-de.html


Education First | Educación Primero
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2012/09/educacion-primero-education-first.html


II Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educación para Todos
II Encuentro de firmantes y I Encuentro Presencial de Comunidad Educativa (Buenos Aires, 8-11 septiembre, 2010)
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/p/pronunciamiento-latinoamericano-por-una.html

II Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por uma Educacao para Todos
II Encontro de Signatários e I Encontro Presencial da Comunidad Educativa (Buenos Aires, 8-11 de Setembro, 2010)
 http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/p/pronunciamiento-latinoamericano-por-una.html




¿Renuncia a un mundo alfabetizado?

Giving up to a literate world?
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/11/giving-up-to-literate-world.html
en: DVV, Adult Education and Development, issue 80, December 2013
http://www.dvv-international.de/index.php?article_id=1460&clang=1

El fracaso alfabetizador de la escuela
Presentación al texto de Emilia Ferreiro "La alfabetización de los niños en la última década del siglo"
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2013/05/el-fracaso-alfabetizador-de-la-escuela.html


25 años de Educación para Todos
 http://educacion-para-todos.blogspot.com/2013/03/25-anos-de-educacion-para-todos-25.html
25 Years of Education for All
 http://educacion-para-todos.blogspot.com/2013/03/25-anos-de-educacion-para-todos-25.html


Observatorio: Mitos y metas de la 'Educación para Todos' (1990-2015)
http://educacion-para-todos.blogspot.com/2013/03/25-anos-de-educacion-para-todos-25.html

Observatory: Myths and goals of 'Education for All' (1990-2015)
http://educacion-para-todos.blogspot.com/2013/03/25-anos-de-educacion-para-todos-25.html






Education for All 2000-2015: How did Latin America and the Caribbean do?
http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com/2015/04/education-for-all-2000-2015-how-did.html



1990-2030: Global education goals | Metas globales para la educación (tabla) http://otra-educacion.blogspot.mx/2015/09/1990-2030-global-education-goals-metas.html



No hay comentarios:
Etiquetas: , , , , , , , ,

Now comes PISA for 'developing countries' (PISA-D)

 Rosa María Torres


Some of the concerns raised around OECD's PISA tests (reading, mathematics and science, applied every three years to 15 year olds) refer to their inadequacy for "developing countries". 

Participating Latin American countries systematically occupy some of the lowest places in PISA rankings, far from "developed" OECD countries (in the past few years, Mexico, Chile and Colombia have been accepted as OECD countries; they are also at the bottom). 

PISA tests were developed by and for OECD countries. Later, non-OECD countries  have joined PISA, 10 of them from Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, and Uruguay. (See: list of countries that have participated in PISA)

Issues related to the inadequacy or usefulness of PISA for non-OECD countries include the following:

» the need to contextualize the tests, responding to the great heterogeneity (socio-economic, cultural, etc.) of countries, within the same generic category of "developing";

» many 15 year olds are out of school because they never enrolled or because they dropped out (drop out rates are high in may countries, especially in secondary education);  
» there is no technical capacity in the majority of countries to administer a complex and massive standardized test such as PISA; 
» many countries participate in international tests (such as UNESCO's LLECE tests in the case of Latin America);
» devastating domestic effects in countries getting low results and rankings in PISA tests;

» the enormous attention dedicated by governments to improve scores and rankings in the next PISA test, distracting time and resources from critical structural issues and from learning as such. 

Some of these concerns have been aired in open letters addressed to OECD, such as the one sent in 2013 by Ministers of Education in Latin America (Los Ministros de Educación del MERCOSUR y la prueba PISA) or the one sent in 2014 by 92 academics from the US and other OECD countries (Stop PISA!). Concerns have also been raised in Chile (Bárbara Figueroa critica la Prueba PISA porque mide asuntos 'ajenos a la realidad educativa chilena') and in Ecuador vis a vis this country's decision to join PISA (PISA ¿para qué? ¿El Ecuador en PISA?). (See: Critical Voices of PISA in Latin America).

Responding to these and other concerns, the OECD proposed PISA for Development (PISA-D), an initiative addressed to middle and low income countries. The idea is to expand the participation of non-OECD countries in PISA. Nine countries - from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean - expressed their interest to participate in the pilot project: Bhutan, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal, and Zambia. (See: Technical meeting, June 2013); OECD Call for Tender 100000990, August 2014).
"PISA for Development aims to increase the policy relevance of PISA for developing countries through enhanced PISA survey instruments that are more relevant for the contexts found in developing countries but which produce scores that are on the same scales as the main PISA assessment. The project will also develop an approach and methodology for including out of school children in the surveys. The project’s objectives will be achieved over a 36 month period through a three-way partnership involving the OECD, concerned development partners (DAC members plus the World Bank, UNESCO and other UN bodies and other regional organisations) and partner countries from the developing world".
The OECD sees the following advantages of PISA for Development:
• "A single reference against which to rigorously gauge the degree of progress
made towards targets for educational quality and equity.

• A comparable and robust measure of progress to allow all countries – regardless of their starting point – to establish themselves on an improvement trajectory to achieve targets referenced to common international goals.

• Credible and comparable results: PISA requires participating countries to follow common technical, institutional and administrative standards for the assessment.

• An opportunity to help build institutional capacity. Countries are responsible for overseeing PISA implementation; therefore, participation in PISA can also drive improvements in institutions. This capacity building could be implemented directly with development partners in a way that creates spill-over benefits to other parts of the educational sector."
PISA-D is an OECD strategy for the post-2015 period. 2015 marked the deadline for two major world initiatives: Education for All (EFA, 1990-2000-2015) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG, 2000-2015). In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 2030 Agenda were approved.

International awareness around a "global learning crisis" - millions of children worldwide not learning to read, write and calculate after attending school for four years or more - acknowledges for the first time the precariousness of learning in primary schools in most "developing countries" and is contributing to finally place learning as an explicit and fundamental goal. Unfortunately, that goes also with an emphasis on learning assessment starting now in pre-primary education. In that context, OECD/PISA appear as key global partners.

"Developing a universal measure of educational success" is one of eleven areas in which OECD plans to contribute to the 2030 Agenda (Beyond the MDGs: Towards an OECD contribution to the post-2015 agenda). In other words: the aim is to establish ONE definition of 'educational success' and ONE way to measure it worldwide, in the North and in the South. PISA-D is the strategy and the instrument to incorporate that "other part of the world" still absent from the global education evaluation race.

A big player and evaluation enthusiast such as the World Bank blesses global learning benchmarks and recommends them especially for "developing countries."
"In a global economy the primary benchmark for success is no longer improvement by national standards, but the best-performing education systems internationally. (Having said that, it’s also important for countries to set and measure learning goals that reflect their own national priorities and values.) This usually means participating in one of the many international assessment programs that test the math, science, problem solving or other competencies of students at the same grade or age level in different education systems around the world. Countries – particularly developing and emerging economies – may feel at a disadvantage in this global benchmarking, but should keep in mind that steady improvement over time is the important thing." (Education: Measuring for Success in Today’s World, 9 May 2014).

Issues that may need more focused attention and discussion 

The following issues were mentioned in "The PISA for Development initiative moves forward: Have my wishes been fulfilled?" (2 Feb. 2015):

- A test with questions that 15-year-olds in emerging and developing economies can actually answer.

The OECD’s original plan was to draw solely on their existing pool of 337 PISA questions to create the PISA for Development test. One and a half year later, the OECD started to explore using  questions from other regional and international assessments to supplement the PISA questions. The idea is to make sure 15-year-olds in emerging and developing countries can actually answer.

- A test that emerging and developing economies can afford.

The PISA for Development pilot is about twice as expensive as the regular PISA exercise, since it  involves lots of developmental work, in an effort to adapt the questionnaires to the contexts of these countries and to develop a methodology to include out-of-school students. Donors such as the World Bank have provided financial support to facilitate countries' participation. It is essential, however, to take a hard look at the long-term sustainability of PISA for Development, if countries are expected to cover the costs on their own.

- A test that contributes to learning for all.

The pilot faced the challenge of collecting learning data on the entire 15-year-old cohort in a country, including those who are out of school. This may include youth who never went to school or who are semi-literate.

PISA-D is administered both in and outside of school. Eight countries – Bhutan, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Senegal and Zambia – participated  in the school-based implementation of PISA-D, which was carried out from 2015 to 2018. Six countries administered the out-of-school assessment: Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal and Zambia. 

PISA-D countries can compare their results to the more than 80 countries participating in PISA.

PISA-D results

PISA-D results were released by OECD on 11 December, 2018, in Quito. Results included seven countries: Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Senegal and Zambia. Bhutan is not included since it arrived late.

Cambodia
Ecuador
Guatemala
Honduras
Paraguay
Senegal
Zambia
oe.cd/il/PISA4Dev


Related texts in this blog
Sobre evaluación en educación  | On Evaluation in Education
Artículos sobre PISA  | Articles on PISA
25 Years of Education for All  | 25 años de Educación para Todos

 
No hay comentarios:
Etiquetas: , , , , , , , ,

Escuela Nueva: An innovation within formal education (Colombia)






This article was published by IBE-UNESCO Prospects (1992, No 4). I wrote it while working as a Senior Education Adviser at UNICEF Headquarters in New York, and following a study visit (1991) to the Escuela Nueva (EN) Program with an official delegation from the Ecuadorian government. The article looks at the evolution of EN from its creation in 1975 to the early 1990s, period in which it expanded in Colombia, became a national policy for the rural areas, and a regular program within Colombia's Ministry of Education. We also discuss topics related to the survival, scaling up and replicability of the innovation.
In 1987, the Escuela Nueva Foundation was created by the team that developed EN in the 1970s, in order to help strengthen the program, diversify and adapt it to urban areas (Escuela Activa Urbana), and promote its expansion to other countries. The EN model has been experimented in 16 countries. Over the years, it has received numerous international awards, including a WISE Award in 2009 and the 2013 WISE Prize for Education given to Vicky Colbert, co-creator of the EN model together with Prof. Oscar Mogollón.


INTRODUCTION

Colombia's Escuela Nueva (EN) 'New School' Program has become an international reference. UNESCO, the World Bank and UNICEF have lent their support to the program and promoted it. UNESCO described it as "an experience of unquestionable international value." The World Bank recommends disseminating its lessons among education planners and policy-makers. Study missions visit Colombia to find out more about it. Several countries are interested in replicating it.

What makes EN so special? 1) the fact that it is an innovation within the formal school system; 2) the long time over which it has evolved; 3) the system approach adopted; 4) the focus on the curriculum and pedagogy; and 5) its results.

We examine here these five points and conclude with some considerations about the program's survival and potential for replicability in other contexts.

1. ESCUELA NUEVA: AN ALTERNATIVE WITHIN FORMAL EDUCATION

It is common to associate educational innovation with NGOs, grassroot organizations, out-of-school or non-formal education. Many people think Escuela Nueva is a NGO program, like other primary or basic education programs highlighted by international organizations (such as BRAC's non-formal primary schools in Bangladesh). However, perhaps EN's greatest merit is that it is a transformative innovation within the formal, public, mainstream education system. Colombia's EN shows that systemic innovation is possible within government structures.  

2. ESCUELA NUEVA: FROM LOCAL PROJECT TO NATIONAL POLICY

"Pilot projects" have lost credibility. Many pilot projects remain local experiments. At the same time, we also see massive-scale programs rushing without going through a gradual process. Escuela Nueva has grown from a micro experiment to a national education policy.

UNESCO's Unitary School model (1960s)

EN emerged from the Unitary School model promoted by UNESCO in 1961 at a Ministers of Education meeting held in Geneva and adopted in several "developing countries". The Unitary School was characterized by:

a) presence of one teacher in the school,
b) automatic promotion,
c) active learning, enabling children to learn at their own pace,
d) instructional cards ("fichas") for the teacher to work with various groups at the same time,
e) provision of a complete primary education cycle, and
f) application in disperse areas, with low population density.

In Colombia, the first Unitary School was set up at the Instituto Superior de Educación Rural (ISER) in Pamplona, department of Santander, under UNESCO Project 1 for Primary Education. The teacher in charge of that school was Oscar Mogollón, a public school teacher who would later become Escuela Nueva's National Coordinator at the Ministry of Education (See Note below)
- By the mid-1960s, the small unitary school had multiplied into 150 schools. 
- In 1967, the government adopted the Unitary School methodology for all single-teacher (multigrade) schools in the country. A Manual was published and Departments of Education started to train rural teachers in this methodology.
- In 1975, the Escuela Nueva Program was created on the basis of the Unitary School model and experience. Oscar Mogollón, together with Vicky Colbert and Beryl Levinger, from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), worked on the EN model.
- Between 1975 and 1978, with USAID support, EN was implemented in 500 schools in three departments. Later, with the support of the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), private Colombian organizations such as the Coffee Growers Association, and FES (Foundation for Higher Education), the program expanded to 3,000 schools. 
- Between 1982 and 1986 EN expanded to the Pacific Coast. Learning Guides were adapted for this region, with UNICEF technical and financial co-operation.
- In 1985, the Colombian Government adopted EN as a strategy to achieve universal rural primary education. By then, there were 8,000 EN schools in the country.
- In the late 1970s and early 1980s the government negotiated a loan with the World Bank in order to expand and improve basic education in rural areas. In 1987, a second loan assisted the Universalization Plan. The EN program received educational materials, teacher training, sanitary installations, furniture and school improvements (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990). Investments were expanded until the mid 1990s.
- Since 1987 there was a rapid expansion. The program reached 17,984 schools by 1989.
- In 1990 EN received the Simón Bolívar national award. Internationally, it was chosen by the World Bank as one of the three most important basic education models for rural areas.
- In 1991, 20,000 of the 27,000 rural schools were involved in the program, with an estimated coverage of one million children. 
3. ESCUELA NUEVA: A SYSTEM APPROACH

Escuela Nueva is not a methodology. It is an integrated system that combines four components: (a) curriculum, (b) training, (c) administration, and (d) community. None of these components stands on its own. Their interrelationship is what makes the model both coherent and feasible.

(a) The curriculum
Emphasis is placed on the curriculum. Key features include: active learning, learning materials known as "Learning Guides", Study Corners, School Library, School Government, and Flexible Promotion.

The EN Program was devised for rural areas, primary education (five years in Colombia), and multigrade teaching (one or two teachers in charge of all grades). Children study in small groups using Learning Guides, supplied by the State free of charge. The Guides are organized by subjects (mathematics, natural science, social studies, and language) and by grade (from second to fifth grade; there are no guides for the first grade). They are designed for self-instruction, with graded activities and detailed instructions, so that students can work to a large extent on their own, helping one another. This saves teachers' time, reduces their burden, lessens the need for highly qualified teaching staff, and enables students to progress at their own pace. Teachers are trained to adapt the Guides to the specific characteristics of the children and the local environment -- although they seldom do it.

The Study Corners are arranged by field of study and comprise objects collected or made by the children or provided by the parents and the community.

Each school has a small Library: the idea is to encourage reading among children, teachers, families and the community. The school libraries have a stock of about 70 books, including reference books by subject, reference works (encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases), literature, and materials on community-related topics.

The School Government is a student council responsible for organizing children's school activities. Its purpose is to involve children in school management, initiate them in civic and democratic behavior, and foster attitudes of cooperation and solidarity. The School Government comprises a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Committee Leaders and Assistants for each grade, is elected by the students following democratic procedures, and is renewed periodically to enable all children to gain leadership experience.

Assessment and grade promotion differ substantially from the conventional school system. Its main role is making teachers and students aware of areas needing reinforcement. There is Flexible (not automatic) Promotion. Each child moves on to the next grade when he/she achieves the educational objectives set. This can take more (or less) time than a regular academic year. Any children temporarily absent from school can resume their studies without having to drop out.

The learning environment expands beyond the classroom. EN schools have a vegetable patch and a garden; sports grounds and community facilities form part of the wider school environment. Inside the school, there is space for the study corners, library, kitchen, dining-room and washroom facilities. Teachers often have living facilities for them and their families on the school premises. The natural environment is the main object of study and provides most of the resources for teaching and learning.

(b) Teacher training
EN teachers have a role of facilitators - guiding, directing and evaluating learning - and of  community leaders and organizers. These roles imply major attitudinal changes. Therefore, attitude changes - pedagogical and social - are given emphasis in teacher training.

Initial training (for new teachers) includes three sequential workshops -  initiation, methodology and organization - each of one week's duration, and use of the library. After the first and second workshops, there is a six-month and a three-month interval, respectively, so that teachers put in practice what they learned. Attending the first workshop is a requisite for including the school in the EN program and for teachers to start working with it. The idea is to reproduce in teacher training the methods and real-life situations that the teachers will encounter in their classrooms and in their relations with the students.

In-service training takes place through so-called Rural Micro-Centers, where teachers can exchange, update and upgrade their knowledge and experience on an ongoing basis. They operate with groups of 10 to 15 teachers from neighboring areas.

(c) The administrative component
This is the one that has received least attention. It is a crucial and complex area, involving political and institutional factors that go beyond administrative issues. Administration "has more to do with giving direction than with controlling" (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990), which means that administrative officials, too, must familiarize themselves with the program's objectives and components, and especially with its pedagogical aspects.

EN is a decentralized program. A coordinator and a small team (ten persons in 1991, most of them involved with EN in leadership positions since its inception) are responsible for co-ordinating and designing policies and strategies, and evaluating implementation. At the departmental level, the structure comprises a representative committee, a coordinator and a team of multiplier agents. From 1987 onwards - when the Plan for the Universalization of Rural Primary Education was launched and the EN expansion process began - several changes were introduced in the administrative structure with emphasis on decentralization. Two new structures were created: a universalization committee at national and departmental levels, and educational units (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990).

(d) The school-community relationship
The EN school is expected to operate as an information center and a focal point for community integration. The school-community relationship is one of mutual benefit, with parents and the community joining in school activities, and the school promoting activities to foster local development and improve the quality of life of the population.

In order to facilitate teachers' understanding of the community and the local conditions, EN uses various tools: the Family Record (information about the agricultural activities of the area and its seasons), the Neighborhood Map and the District Monograph. Students, parents and the community participate in their elaboration.

EN tries various ways of involving parents in their children's activities and stimulating children's interest in learning more about their parents and their lives. The library, the school premises and cultural and recreational activities are open to the community. Achievement Days - days when academic results are announced and the school government reports on its activities - are opportunities for sharing school and community activities.

Demonstration Schools, organized in each department where the program operates, are schools in which the four components can be "seen" operating in exemplary conditions. Visiting a Demonstration School is a key strategy for teacher motivation and training.

4. ESCUELA NUEVA: A PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION

Educational innovations often give prominence to organizational aspects and neglect the pedagogical ones. Many innovative experiences are recognized as such for the changes they introduce in management, planning and evaluation, infrastructure, and/or curriculum content. Teaching and learning relationships, approaches and methodologies, the corner-stone of educational change, are often overlooked. The central role of pedagogy and of pedagogical change is one of EN's most remarkable features.

EN combines features of progressive educational theory. The program is based on the philosophy of the Unitary School (derived from the Active School): multigrade teaching, individualized instruction, active learning, educational materials that enable the teacher to work with several groups at once, and automatic promotion.

EN's methodology includes learning by doing, linking theory and practice, individual and group work, study and play, guidance and self-instruction. Children learn to think for themselves, to analyze, investigate and apply what they have learned. Active learning principles are also applied to teachers in their own training and in their daily work in schools. The conventional duties of the teacher-instructor are shared the learning guides (contents and methods), the library (an additional reference source), the study corners (observation and experiment areas), the group of students (who work together and help each another) and the school government (where children learn democratic values and procedures).

Teacher training emphasizes teaching and the capacity to innovate. The micro-centers promote team work, experience sharing and critical analysis of teachers' practice.

EN's slogan "More and better primary education for rural children in rural areas", describes this attempt to reconcile quantity and quality. It is not just a matter of providing children in rural areas with access to education: they deserve and need good education. Departing from conventional teaching practice -- top-down, authoritarian, rote and passive learning -- is a crucial element in EN's development and achievements.

5. ESCUELA NUEVA RESULTS

Comprehensive evaluations of EN have been conducted so far by Psacharopoulos et al. (1992), and Rojas and Castillo (1988). Both utilize data collected in 1987 in 11 Colombian departments.

Psacharopoulos found that EN students achieve higher scores than their counterparts in conventional rural schools (except in fifth grade Mathematics) as well as improved self-esteem, creativity and civic behavior -- co-operation, responsibility and solidarity. EN has increased community participation in school-related activities and has reduced drop-out rate among children completing fifth grade (however, not third grade). Rojas and Castillo found that EN has had a significant impact on adult education, agricultural extension, athletic competitions, health campaigns, and community celebrations.

EN has changed the face of rural education in Colombia. It is proving that it is possible  to design an educational model tailored to the rural context, that includes both quality and efficiency. EN is showing that some of the traditional disadvantages of rural areas can be turned into advantages - ample space, linkages with nature, natural resources, contact with the community, central role played by the school and the teacher in community life, etc.

6. SOME CONCERNS 

As with other acclaimed innovative experiences, there is a tendency to deny or minimize problems and limitations. However, we know there are always discrepancies between the ideal, desired model and its implementation.

A study trip (1991) to see EN operating in the field allowed me first-hand contact with the many EN strengths and also with some of its weaknesses (Torres, 1991). So far I have referred to the former; I shall now refer to the latter.

There is room for improvement in all the components and elements described. In fact, the EN coordinating team is not satisfied with any of them. The Guides require thorough revision (three revisions have been carried out to date), especially in Mathematics and Language. Many contents and activities need to be better adjusted to the circumstances and needs of a rural child. Not many teachers are using the adaptation mechanism built into the Guides. There are limitations in the instructional design, too formal and inflexible for the requirements of do-it-yourself learning materials such as these.

There are shortcomings in teacher training -- coverage and quality. The rural micro-center strategy is not yet fully understood or established in all areas. School governments are not always set up or, where they are, not always as planned. A controlling or paternalistic approach by teachers and adherence to form and ritual may defeat the objective of the school government. The school-community relationship depends to a great extent on the teachers' initiative; their characteristics, training and personal motivation determine the quality of that relationship, which often replicates conventional school patterns.

The teaching of reading and writing - basic skills and the factor which largely determines children's academic future - is still one of EN's main shortcomings. As indicated, there are no Guides for first grade, leaving teachers free to choose the literacy methods and techniques they deem most appropriate. This is an open invitation to the conventional teaching approaches and outdated methods that prevail in literacy education. One of the major challenges facing EN is coming up with new ideas in this area, drawing on the important knowledge and experience gained in the region and internationally.

The teacher-student relationship proposed by EN has yet to be fully owned and applied. While some teachers are moving towards a new teaching role, others continue to apply conventional teaching approaches. Translating EN principles and strategies into practice implies a long and complex process.

EN demands two main roles from teachers: a teaching role and a community role. It is not easy to strike a balance between the two. Demonstration Schools seem to be placing more emphasis on the community relationship than on teaching. 

There is a conflictual institutional issue. Although EN is a government program framed within the Ministry of Education, the relationship is difficult and never fully clarified. From open boycott to passive resistance, EN has often had to swim against the tide or operate on the fringes of the system, looking for the support of international organizations and private Colombian organizations. Its precarious situation within the government structure weakens the program's capacity to consolidate and expand.

A long evolutionary process such as the one EN has witnessed can lead to development and progress, but also to stagnation. Efforts are necessary to rejuvenate it continually. The aging of Escuela Nueva is a recurrent concern among those involved in the program. 

Expansion has brought both an aggravation of old problems and a series of new ones. As stated (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990), the "cost of going for scale" has included "inevitable sacrifices in terms of effectiveness and efficiency" and has resulted in "a reduction in the number of days spent on training workshops or, in some places, a failure to provide the study guides in time for the training sessions. One consequence of these problems is, of course, a weakening of experiential learning in teachers' training, added to teacher apathy and criticism of the program." The new administrative structure that has emerged as a result of the program's expansion has led to conflict with the technical teams, not always consulted, and has caused a sharp rise in the number of administrative officials with training demands that the program has been unable to meet.

Another factor is the proliferation of "demonstration schools" during the expansion phase. Although such schools are considered to be a key strategy to maintain quality, their introduction on a massive scale may have the opposite effect.

6.1. IS ESCUELA NUEVA A MODEL THAT CAN BE REPLICATED?

The combination of innovation and replicability is highly valued, especially by international organizations. Innovative experiences are expected not only to expand, but also to adapt to other contexts. In fact, many would like to find a magic one-size-fits-all formula for primary education in rural areas in "developing countries". A few comments on EN in this regard.

In the first place, the specific nature of EN as it has developed in Colombia must be born in mind. It is a formal, public, rural, multigrade, primary education program. These characteristics must not be overlooked when considering possible adaptations or variants. Nor must it be forgotten that EN is a system organized around four components (curriculum, training, administration, and community), not an assortment of isolated elements.

There are a number of factors of Colombia's EN Program that are unique and not readily available or easily replicable in other contexts. 

"Rural school"  "Rural schools" are very different in different places. Colombian "rural schools" are generally well endowed with infrastructure and equipment (government loans with the World Bank in the late 1970s and in the 1980s improved the physical infrastructure of rural schools in the country). Many EN schools have housing facilities for the teachers and their families. Many have a kitchen, a dining-room, washrooms, running water, electricity, television. This is not the reality of rural schools in many Latin American countries and in most "developing countries". 

Languages  Colombia is a rather homogenous country in linguistic terms. The EN program has a tremendous advantage in dealing with one language: Spanish. In the majority of Latin American countries and throughout the world, multilingualism is the norm. Introducing the EN model in bilingual or multilingual contexts means venturing into entirely new territory.

Teachers' educational background  According to the World Bank study (Psacharopoulos, 1992), most EN teachers have secondary or higher education. Also, compared with other rural schools in Colombia, EN has more teachers living on the school premises. Both factors - teachers' level of education and teachers living in the school - have a positive impact on students (a university education was associated with better cognitive outcomes; teachers residing in the school was associated with better scores in creativity and civic behavior).
 
A long process  EN has made a long and distinctive process. "In Escuela Nueva, the necessary technical conditions have been met, since the program has been designed and put to the test over a period of 15 years. Furthermore, the present government has fulfilled the necessary political conditions. In addition, adequate financial conditions have been assured through the allocation of government funds, a loan from the World Bank and the cooperation of UNICEF, which has lent its support to maintain the quality of the program as it expands" (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990). How many countries and governments can offer such a combination of technical, political and financial circumstances?

Technical capacities  Let us mention only one crucial component of EN: the Learning Guides. As acknowledged by the World Bank, elaborating good textbooks needs highly specialized technical competence that is not easy to find: "Translating curriculum specifications into good textbooks requires considerable expertise. Textbooks must have the appropriate content and reading level; be consistent in approach, method and exposition; be properly sequenced; motivate the students; and finally, be readily taught by less qualified teachers, yet allow good teachers to expand upon them. Throughout the world, few individuals possess the expertise required for writing good textbooks" (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991). How many programs can avail themselves of such human and technical expertise?

Financing  In addition to government funds channeled through the Ministry of Education, EN has been receiving regular financial support from various international agencies - USAID, IDB, UNICEF, the World Bank - and from private organizations. The estimated cost of EN is between 5% and 10% higher than that of conventional schools (Schiefelbein, 1991), while teacher training costs at least three times higher (Psacharopoulos, 1992). Can similar financial support be expected in other countries? Can EN itself expect sustained support to enable it to continue to expand while improving its quality?

Survival  In a world where policies and programs are easily discontinued by government changes or international decisions, EN stands out as an exceptional innovative experience. How has EN been able to survive the political and administrative instability characteristic of Latin America and of Colombia specifically? Someone has attributed EN's success to "a mixture of advertisement, strategic support, academic standing of the developers, and simple luck" (Schiefelbein, 1991). The "luck" factor no doubt covers a wide range of unpredictable, inexplicable and non-reproducible factors.

Leadership  Studies show that one of the characteristics of successful programs and effective schools is the role played by specific individuals with drive, vision, leadership, charisma, and perseverance. This is true in the case of EN. The original team remained relatively stable. Individuals in key positions have had a decisive impact on the program's development, locally and nationally. "Even though Escuela Nueva has been institutionalized in the whole country, the support it receives in some provinces largely depends on the personal preferences of local administrators" (Psacharopoulos, 1992, p. 19).

Ten years elapsed between EN's official establishment as a program in 1975 and its adoption as a national education policy in 1985. The process has followed three stages (Ministry of Education-UNICEF, 1990): (a) learning to be effective (1975-1978), (b) learning to be efficient (1979-1986), and (c) learning to expand (since 1987). Even with the time, resources and planning that went into the program's development, everything indicates that EN was not equipped to cope with its rapid expansion, at least not without jeopardizing its quality. If this happens with a resourceful program such as EN, what can be expected of programs that are required to expand and even achieve universal implementation without having gone through the stages and met the requirements essential to their very survival? Pressure from governments and international organizations to reach big numbers, show results and become successful models in record times does not help real, transformative, sustainable innovation in the educational field.

There is a great deal that Colombia and other countries can learn from EN. There is also a great deal that can be done to consolidate and improve the program, while protecting it from the hazards of fashion and the risks of domestic shifts.

Radical changes required in education today takes second place when concerns continue to focus on access rather than on effective learning. Universalizing access to education without universalizing quality education, is delivering more of the same that produces non-learning, frustration, drop-out, repetition, and wastage of resources.

Transforming formal education is a major challenge. Schools must become less formal and more flexible, relevant, useful, creative, enjoyable, responsive to students' and teachers' needs, respectful of diversity, open to participation by parents and the community and accountable to society. EN is showing a way to do it in Colombia. It is important to know the program better and learn from its many lessons.
 
NOTES

[1] In 1992, professor Oscar Mogollón joined the Academy for Educational Development (AED) - a US-based non-profit -  to work on the design and implementation of the Active School approach in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Equatorial Guinea. He passed away in 2010. See: Oscar Mogollón and Marina Solano de Mogollón, Active Schools: Our Convictions for Improving the Quality of Education, AED, 2011.


REFERENCES

COLBERT, Vicky and Jairo Arboleda, "Universalization of Primary Education in Colombia: The New School Programme", UNESCO-UNICEF-WFP Co-operative Programme, Paris, July 1990. 

COLOMBIA Ministry of Education-UNICEF, El Programa de Escuela Nueva. Más y mejor educación primaria para los niños de las zonas rurales, Bogotá, 1990.

LOCKHEED, M. and VERSPOOR, A., Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries, Oxford University Press, a World Bank publication, Washington, 1991.

PSACHAROPOULOS, George, ROJAS, Carlos, and VELEZ, Eduardo, "Achievement Evaluation of Colombia's Escuela Nueva", in Working Papers, World Bank, Washington, D.C., April 1992.

SCHIEFELBEIN, Ernesto, In search of the school of the XXI century: is the Colombian Escuela the right pathfinder?, UNESCO-UNICEF, Santiago, 1991.

TORRES, Rosa María, Escuela Nueva: Una innovación desde el Estado, Fronesis, Colección Educación Nº 2, Quito, 1991.


Related texts in this blog 
» Rosa María Torres and Manzoor Ahmed, Reaching the Unreached: Non-formal approaches and Universal Primary Education
» Rosa María Torres, Transforming formal education from a Lifelong Learning perspective
» Rosa María Torres, On Innovation and Change in Education
» Rosa María Torres, "Antes, aquí era Escuela Vieja"

No hay comentarios:
Etiquetas: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Suscribirse a: Entradas (Atom)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...