"Reform Of Education
Policy"
The Latin American Education Reforms began in 1980’s in four major dimensions which are curriculum reforms, equality of opportunities, academic freedom and evaluation of accountability. Laws act as the bridge politics and realms of education. The educational laws were implemented first in Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile after the end of the military regime. After the establishment of democratic government, the educational reforms came in effect as the outcome of the entire political system including legislators, stakeholders, educational authorities, and experts. The main focus was to bridge the gap between local educational policies and international discourses on education. The reform can be viewed in terms of following dimensions.
Curriculum Reforms
"Curriculum Reforms"
Curriculum and syllabus of the programs at various levels are the keys to educational policy formulated by the legislators. The Latin American governments first began to implement policies both at national and federal levels and gave autonomy to the states for implementing policies according to the need of the respective regions. The curriculum was made fully equipped with systematic bodies of knowledge, scientific research and development, humanities and social sciences and more emphasis on practical learning even at the basic school level.
Equality Of Opportunities
"Equality Of Opportunities"
The legislators emphasized on the policy of equity in education, thus arrangements were made to set up schools, universities and educational institutions of various categories so that the students belonging to various quintiles may have access to educational institutions according to the suitability of their family income. The institutions include public schools and universities, private institutions and public-private joint ventures.
Academic Freedom
"Academic Freedom"
This concept is based on the rights of teachers, students, and parents. The provision for this right states that every state should respect the religious, moral, political beliefs and democratic rights of the students, teachers, and parents while formulating educational policies. Another law was passed to increase participation of students in community programs which can foster the participation in schools and universities. This also provided teachers, greater autonomy in teaching students in a more innovative ways and expert educationists were allowed freedom to suggest and recommend new ideas and creativity to improve curriculum.
Evaluation And Accountability
"Evaluation And
Accountability"
The most vital step was to improve teaching and learning quality for which accountability was a major challenge. The goal of evaluation of accountability was to work on the basis of scientific and reliable statistical data in the field of education for the evaluation the performance of teachers and students.
