CBR-mexico June04 ENGLISH FINAL - OECD · Activities of familiarization with practicum in all the subjets of specialization. Initial preparation for primary education teachers. Syllabus

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION 8 1. THE NATIONAL CONTEXT

Main demographic tendencies 10 Powers of the federal and state authorities 11 Priorities in educational policy 12 Compensatory programs 12

Program to Combat Backwardness in Initial and Basic Education 12 Community Education 12 National Program for the Development of Indigenous Peoples 13 Opportunities Human Development Program 13 National Program to Strengthen Special Education and Educational Inclusion 13 Schools of Quality Program 13

Policies implemented to guarantee quality and transparency in the operation of educational services 14

Social Commitment to Quality in Education 14 National Institute for the Evaluation of Education 14

Spending allocated to educational services 15 Challenges of the National Educational System 15

2. ORGANIZATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEACHING STAFF

Structure of the National Educational System 17 Basic education 17

Pre-school education 17 Primary education 17 Lower secondary education 17 Initial education 17 Special needs education 17 Adult education 17

Upper secondary education 17 Higher Education 18

Characteristics of primary education services 19 General primary 19 Indigenous primary 19 Community courses 19

Characteristics of the lower secondary education services 20 General lower secondary 20 Technical lower secondary 20 Telesecondary 20 Lower secondary for workers 20

Characteristic of the teaching staff in basic education 21 Mexican teachers’ union organizations 22

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3. HOW TO ATTRACT CAPABLE PEOPLE INTO THE EDUCATIONAL PROFESSION Political and national programs to attract capable people into the educational profession 23 Evolution of the registration in the programs of initial training for basic education teachers, from 1970 to 2002 24

4. INITIAL TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GRADUATION OF BASIC EDUCATION TEACHERS

Background and evolution of the initial teacher training 27 National policies for the initial training of basic education teachers 28

Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools 28 First line. Reform of the syllabi and curricula for the initial training of basic education teachers 29

Future curricular reforms for the initial training of basic education teachers 29 Second line. Training and updating of the teaching and administrative staff of normal schools 30

Program for training and updating teachers and administrators of normal schools 30

Third line. Improvement of institutional management 31 Program of Institutional Improvement of the Public Normal Schools 31

Fourth line. Regulation of academic work in the normal schools 32 Fifth line. Evaluation of the normal schools 32

Internal evaluations 32 External evaluations 33 Future evaluations 37

Sixth line. Regulation of the services offered by Normal Schools 37 National policy for the training and professional development of basic education teachers 38

Characteristics of the curriculum for the teachers’ initial training in basic education 40

Initial training for teachers in pre-school education 40 Initial training for teachers in primary education 41 Initial training for teachers in lower secondary education 41 Initial training for teachers in physical education 42 Initial training for teachers in special needs education 42

Extension of practicum in the bachelor’s in pre-school, primary, secondary and physical education 42

Area of activities of familiarization with practicum 42 Area of intensive practice under real work conditions 43

Programs of professional upgrading 43 Graduate programs offered by the Normal Schools 44

Characteristic of the graduate programs in education offered by the Normal Schools 44

Graduate programs in education offered by other institutions of higher education 45 Policies and programs for continuing education 46

National Program of Permanent Updating (Pronap) 46 Evaluation of the actions of Pronap 46

Other institutions that offer the programs of initial training and professional upgrading 47

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Updating Centers for Teachers (CAM) 47 National Pedagogical University (UPN) 48

Policies for teacher certification 48 Promotion system for the teaching staff of basic education 50

National Teaching Career Program [Programa de Carrera Magisterial] 51 Vertical Ladder [Escalafón vertical] 52

Policy initiatives for promotion to administrative and supervisory positions by means of a competition 52 Requirements for graduation in studies of initial training 53 Joint responsibility in designing curricular contents 55 Support programs for admission to teaching 55

5. SELECTION AND ASSIGNMENT OF TEACHERS Policy priorities related to the selection and hiring of teachers 56 Assignment of positions for basic education teachers 56

Newly created positions 56 Positions vacant due to personnel incidences 56

Mechanisms for the selection and hiring of basic education teachers 56 The experience of eleven states that carry out an evaluation process to incorporate new basic education teachers 57

Knowledge exam 58 Psychometric exam 58 Results of the selection process and assignment of positions 59

Policy initiatives for the selection and hiring of basic education teachers 60 Purposes of the evaluation policy, selection and hiring of teachers 60 Phases of implementation of the evaluation policy and teachers' selection 60 Components to be evaluated and evaluation instruments 61 Professional Performance Profile 62

Specific intellectual abilities 63 Mastery of teaching contents 63 Didactic competencies 63 Professional identity and ethics 63 Capacity of perception and answer to the social conditions of the surroundings of the school 63

Requirements for participating in the evaluation process 64 Hiring process 64

6. HOW TO KEEP GOOD TEACHERS IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS Identification of the policy’s main priorities 66 Tendencies in continuance in the profession 66 Leaves of absence, long-term and temporary 67 Evaluation of educational performance 67 Distribution of the teaching load 68 National program for the attention to social problems that affect the teachers’ working conditions 69 Study opportunities for teachers and the second job 70 Conditions for retirement from teaching 71 BIBLIOGRAPHY 72 ABBREVIATIONS 76

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ATTACHMENTS

1. Initial preparation for pre-school education teachers. Syllabus 1999. Curricular chart 78 2.Initial preparation for primary education teachers. Syllabus 1997. Curricular chart 79 3.Initial preparation for lower secondary education teachers. Syllabus 1999.Curricular chart 81 3a. Initial preparation for lower secondary education teachers with specialization in Spanish. Syllabus 1999. Curricular chart 81 3b. Initial preparation for lower secondary education teachers with specialization in Mathematics. Syllabus 1999. Curricular chart 82 4. Initial preparation for phisycal education teachers. Syllabus 2002. Curricular chart 83 5. Activities of familiarization with practicum. Initial preparation for primary education teachers. Syllabus 1997 84 6. Activities of observation and teaching. Initial preparation for primary education teachers. Syllabus 1997 85

7. Activities of familiarization with practicum in all the subjets of specialization. Initial preparation for lower secondary education teachers. Syllabus 1999. 86 6. Activities of familiarization with practicum in all the subjets of specialization. Initial preparation for primary education teachers. Syllabus 1997 87

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TABLES INDEX

1. THE NATIONAL CONTEXT


2.1 Students, teachers and schools by level and by educational service 2002-2003 school year 2.2 Proportion of students, teachers, and schools, by type of support 2002-2003 school year

2.3 Primary education. Students, teachers and schools by type of service. 2002-2003 school year 2.4 Primary Education. Students, teachers and schools by type of support. 2002-2003 school

year 2.5 Secondary education. Students, teachers and schools by type of service. 2002-2003 school

year 2.6 Secondary education. Students, teachers and schools by type of support. 2002-2003 school year 2.7 Teaching staff in basic education, by gender. 2002-2003 school year

3. HOW TO ATTRACT CAPABLE PEOPLE INTO THE EDUCATIONAL PROFESSION

3.1 Regulation of the initial training services and admission to teacher’s colleges. 2004- 2005 school year 3.2 Evolution of the registration of initial training for basic education teachers, supported by the Normal Schools, from 1970 to 2002 3.3 Evolution of the registration of initial training by Bachelor’s program, from 1970 to 2000

and registration handled in 2002


4.1 Students in programs of initial training, by support. 2003-2004 school year 4.2 Composition of the General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor’s of Pre-School Education 4.3 Distribution of students by level of competence reached in the EGP 4.4 Percentage of students at each level of competence by type of support of the Normal School, in EGP 4.5 Teacher Certification. Number of degrees issued through the application of Secretarial Agreements 170, 176 and 252 4.6 Teaching Career Program. Evaluation criteria 4.7 Vertical ladder. Evaluation approaches 4.8 Evaluation instruments and components for promotion to administrative and supervisory posts 4.9 Factors, subfactors and their weighting in the promotion to administrative and supervisory posts 4.10 Functions of the participants in the graduation process of the Bachelor’s degrees in initial training

18 18 19 19 20 20 21 23 25 25 28 36 36 37 49 52 53 53 53 54

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5. SELECTION AND ASSIGNMENT OF TEACHERS 5.1 Mechanisms for hiring basic education teachers in the 32 states 5.2 Aspects evaluated by the knowledge exam, applied in 7 states, and their weighting by

educational level and service 5.3 Applicants registered in the evaluation process 2002-2003 and positions granted, by

educational level or modality 5.4 Proportion of applicants who obtained a position, by educational level 2002-2003 5.5 Applicants registered in the evaluation process and positions assigned at the level of

secondary education, by type of service. 2003-2004 5.6 Components and evaluation instruments 5.7 Components and weighting by application phase

6. HOW TO KEEP GOOD TEACHERS IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS

57 58 59 59 59 61 62

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INTRODUCTION Mexico today is undergoing profound transformations and it is a nation with great diversity, where extreme situations coexist, in both socio-economic and demographic terms; it is a nation that recognizes the importance and impact of the educational function, in the country’s present and future development, so that a great deal of attention needs to be paid to the field of education. Located geographically in North America, it forms a Federal Republic, made up of 32 federative entities (states and a federal district). According to 2003 figures, the Mexican population is 104.2 million (Conapo, 2003), 20% of whom are concentrated in the metropolitan area made up of the Federal District, which is the country’s capital, and the metropolitan municipalities of the State of Mexico. The government of the Mexican Republic is made up of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers, and legally it is governed by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, enacted in 1917, that has been reformed with respect to some of its articles over nearly nine decades, to give it greater validity. The Federal Executive Power, through the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) [Department of Public Education], is responsible for educational administration; the General Education Law and the State Laws represent the legal basis for its application and development. The Third Article of the Constitution is one of the distinctive stamps of the educational system and its essence resides in the fact that the education offered by the State on Mexican territory is national, lay, free of charge, and obligatory. Nowadays it is obligatory for the entire population of the country to study pre-school,1 primary and secondary (junior high) education. Until 1992, most of the processes related to the issue of education were centralized in the national authority, a situation that was modified soon after issuing, that year, an agreement between federal and state authorities called the Acuerdo para la Modernización de la Educación Básica y Normal [Agreement for Modernizing Basic and Normal Education], which mainly resulted in educational decentralization. Since then, federal and state authorities have shared responsibilities in the operation of the Sistema Educativo Nacional (SEN) [National Educational System]. Regarding basic education, and the initial training and continuing education of teachers, three major challenges exist for the country: equal coverage; quality in the educational processes and learning levels; and the formation and functioning of the educational services and authorities. The SEN faces these challenges through different services having regular and special programs. The regular ones include obligatory attention to the school-age population in urban zones, and in rural areas with easy access, ranging from 5 to 16 years of age, and that beginning in 2004 will also cover 3-year-old children. The special programs are made up of modes of attention for the indigenous and bilingual population of the same age range and for the adult population (over 16) that has not studied or completed basic education. SEN services are organized into three major levels: basic education, which includes pre-school, primary and secondary (junior high) education, as well as initial, special and adult education; the upper intermediate level (senior high school); and higher education, which includes the initial training for basic education teachers. By means of these services, the SEN gives service to over 31 million people, in nearly 220,000 educational establishments, with a teaching staff of a million and half teachers.

1 Beginning in the 2004-2005 school year, third year of pre-school education will be obligatory; second year, as of 2005-2006; and first year, as of 2008-2009.

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The greater part of the teaching force, 68%, is concentrated at the level of basic education, and 39% of the national teaching staff is situated at the level of primary school. In education the predominance of women, 63%, with respect to men, is marked; only in secondary school (junior high) is this tendency reversed. Pre-school and primary teachers remain in front of the same group of students during the entire school year, teaching all subjects except for classes in physical education and artistic activities. In secondary (junior high) school, the teachers teach the subjects related to their specialization, or those in which they are considered to have professional competencies, to different groups and grades. Although there are state union organizations, most Mexican teachers and support personnel in basic and normal education, over a million, are affiliated to the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) [National Educational Workers' Union]. There are 457 normal schools distributed throughout the states of the Republic, responsible for training future basic education teachers. The number of these professors comes to 17,000, 70% of whom work in the public service. This teaching staff is made up of 53% men and 47% women. The actions of the national policy oriented toward answering these challenges are: the pedagogical and organizational coordination of basic education; the establishment of the obligatory nature of pre-school education; the overall reforming of secondary education; the definition of standards of progress in evaluating learning; the strengthening of the initial training and the professional development of basic education teachers and of the teacher trainers; measures oriented toward improving the processes of selection, entrance and continuance of teachers in the educational service; as well as training and updating courses for teachers. Regarding the teachers' basic initial training and continuing education, three national policies stand out: the Programa para la Transformación y el Fortalecimiento Académicos de las Escuelas Normales (PTF) [Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools], implemented in 1996; the Programa Nacional para la Actualización Permanente (Pronap) [National Program for Permanent Updating], which began its application in 1995; and the initiative of the Política Nacional para la Formación y Desarrollo Profesional de los Maestros de Educación Básica [National Policy for the Training and Professional Development of Basic Education Teachers], which will be implemented at the end of 2004, and that will give continuity and consolidation to the two previous ones. The description and analysis of topics related to the attraction, development and keeping of good teachers is given in the six chapters of the document:

1. National context. 2. Organization of the National Educational System and characteristics of the teaching staff. 3. How to attract capable people to the teaching profession. 4. Initial training, professional development and graduation of basic education teachers. 5. Selection and assignment of basic education teachers. 6. How to keep good teachers in basic education schools.

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1. THE NATIONAL CONTEXT Main demographic tendencies At the present time, Mexico ranks eleventh among the most populated nations in the world, with about 100 million inhabitants. The demographic analysis carried out in 2000 by the Consejo Nacional de Población (Conapo) [National Council on Population] makes it possible to anticipate two tendencies that will influence the demand for educational services over the next few decades: i) the reduction in the population under fifteen years of age and the increase in the population at a working age, between 15 and 64, as well as of adults over 65; and ii) the increase in the number of small towns, spread across the national territory (SEP, 2003b). From 1970 to the present, the birth rate has dropped markedly, so that the proportion of the group at pre-school age has fallen from 13.6 million in 1995 to 12.9 million in 2000. However, the demand for this educational service will increase as a result of the national act that makes pre-school education for children of three, four and five years of age obligatory.2 Also, the population at an age to attend primary education (6 to 11) also began to fall gradually in the year 2000, so that it is estimated that the maximum figure reached in 2001 of 13.7 million will decline by more than two million over the next fourteen years to reach 11.2 million in 2015, which implies a reduction in demand of 18% during that period among the population at an age to study primary school (Conapo, 2003). The group at an age to attend secondary school (12 to 14) will begin to decline as of 2006, decreasing the potential demand by 12% between 2000 and 2015, and the potential demand for upper intermediate education (senior high school), from 15 to 17 years of age, will drop by 5% beginning in 2009. On the other hand, a remarkable increase is estimated in the demand for higher education (ages 18 to 24). This means that the demand for educational services will reach its maximum in 2004 and will fall beginning in 2015 (Conapo, 2003). The Mexican population is mainly urban; however, with the growth of the cities, a process of dispersion of the rural settlements can be seen. It is estimated that a third of the settlements of fewer than 500 inhabitants are located outside of the area of urban influence and far from a highway, and that more than 77% of the towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants show high and very high degrees of marginalization, which, in turn, is related to geographical conditions that hamper access to these communities and represents an obstacle to providing them with the goods and services necessary for their development. Attention to the educational demand of dispersed groups of population requires differentiated educational modes in order to guarantee opportunities for education (SEP, 2000a). Finally, a topic that we must not neglect to mention is that of the indigenous population in our country. According to the General Population and Housing Census in 2000, this population comes to over 8

2 This refers to the 2002 act by which pre-school education is added to primary and secondary education, to make up the obligatory basic education. In order to universalize the availability of this service throughout the whole country, three terms have bee established: the third year of pre-school will be obligatory starting with the 2004-2005 school year; the second year starting with 2005-2006 and the first year, starting with 2008-2009. At the same time, according to the act, other measures will be developed such as: revision of syllabi, curricula and study materials, and the qualifying of in-service pre-school teachers by means of specialized courses. At the moment pre-school education (3 to 5 year-old population) in Mexico is considered part of basic education, but does not constitute a pre-requisite for entering primary school (6 to 11 year-old population), which is the next educational stage. Therefore it is not obligatory to study it, it being the decision - or problem of economic possibilities - of the parents whether or not the children attend pre-school. The initiative on the obligatory nature of pre-school is intended to establish the bases for formal education and to help children have access to the following educational levels, developing four fundamental areas: language, cognitive (mental concepts), nervous terminals and socialization (listening, sharing), as well as psychomotricity and motor coordination.

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million native people distributed throughout the country’s 32 states, most of them settled in 24 states. There are 62 indigenous towns, where one of the 80 languages and their variants is spoken. The indigenous population from 0 to 14 years of age in the country comes to over two and a half million people. Services of indigenous education are provided in 24 states in this country in order to guarantee that the students reach the goals of the national basic education, are able to express themselves in oral and written Spanish and in their mother tongue, and know and value their own culture. (http://sep.gob.mx/wb2/sep/sep_4413_informacion_basica_g). Powers of the federal and state authorities At the beginning of the 90’s, one of the greatest difficulties faced by the educational system was the excessive centralization of its services. In the area of basic education alone, 74.5% of the more than 154,000 facilities were operated by the Federal Government from the country’s capital, a situation that necessarily obstructed the efficient and easy functioning of its services. The extremes which centralism had reached also discouraged the participation of local governments and society in education. For this reason, the National Agreement for Modernizing Basic Education was signed in 1992,3 by which the services of pre-school, primary, secondary and normal education offered in the different states are now operated by the state governments. This agreement extended the scope of the local authorities’ jurisdiction, and at the present time the building, renovating and equipping of school spaces are also operated in a decentralized manner. The new federalism in education has encouraged a more efficient attention, and has established the bases for a broader participation of society in the task of education (SEP, 2000a). The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States establishes, as guiding principles, that education be free of charge, lay, and of a national nature, and that all Mexicans have access to it. In this regard, it is exclusively the Federal Executive Power’s responsibility, acting through the Department of Public Education, to guarantee the national character of education, regarding basic education - pre-school, primary and secondary - and the initial training and continuing education of basic education teachers, through the following powers:

i. To decide on national syllabi and curricula; to set the national school calendar; to prepare the free text books; and to regulate private institutions.

ii. To regulate a national system of teacher training and updating; to plan and program different

measures in the educational system; to determine the general limits of evaluation and to make evaluations that are coordinated with the states.

It is the state educational authorities’ responsibility to provide, organize, and supervise the basic education and teacher training services mentioned; to propose regional contents to the Department of Public Education; to adjust the school calendar according to local necessities; to evaluate the students’ learning; and to regulate private institutions (SEP, 1999a).

3 The decentralization of the educational system began with the signing of the ANMEB, transferring to the state governments the operation of the federal services of basic education of the pre-school, primary, secondary levels and the normal, indigenous and special education services. The services located in the Federal District were not decentralized, so that they continue to be federal. Thus the national educational system is made up of federal and state services. In the states there are the nationalized or transferred ones, that before the decentralization were federal services, and the state ones, that were already part of the educational system of the respective state (Zorrilla F., M and Lorenza V. L., 2003).

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Priorities in educational policy Education constitutes the fundamental core for the country’s social, cultural, economic and political development, for which reason the Federal Government gives it priority amongst all the public policies. The fundamental objectives towards which national education is oriented at the moment are: to advance toward equity in education, to promote an education of quality appropriate to Mexicans’ necessities, and to encourage educational federalism, institutional administration, and social participation in education. The three major challenges of education are: equal coverage, quality in the educational processes and learning levels; and the formation and operation of the educational system.

i. In spite of the advances achieved so far, unequal development throughout the country has prevented educational benefits from reaching the entire population. The situation is particularly serious in the more marginalized states and regions, and among the most vulnerable groups. For this reason, coverage and equity still constitute the fundamental challenge for the national educational system.

ii. The effectiveness of the educational processes and the level of learning reached by the students are

also unequal and on the average lower than what is specified in the curricula and syllabi. For this reason, the challenge to improve quality also remains very real.

iii. The basic problems of coverage, equity, and good educational quality, besides being consequences

of demographic, economic, political, and socio-cultural conditions, depend on the functioning of schools and of the educational system as a whole. The third challenge for Mexican education is to achieve a better composition and more effective administration, from the standpoint of organizations that learn and adapt to the changing conditions of their environment (SEP, 2001a).

Compensatory programs The National Educational System faces these challenges through the different levels of attention and coverage of teaching services, as well as compensatory and welfare-type programs. Since 1992 national programs have been developed that are aimed at counteracting the lack of equity in the population groups with greater educational backwardness. Some examples of these programs are: Program to Combat Backwardness in Initial and Basic Education. The purpose of these programs consists in reducing the dropout rate, increase attendance, and improve progress at school. To this end measures are being taken to improve the conditions of teachers and schools in initial and basic education by means of didactic resources, training of teachers and administrators, recognition of teaching performance, support for school supervision, infrastructure and equipment, participation of parents in supporting the school administration and institutional strengthening. In the 2002-2003 school year, the program benefited 4.5 million students by providing packages of school supplies; 40,000 schools and over 122,000 teachers were given consultancy; more than 13,000 teachers benefited from the incentive for teaching performance; economic support was given to parent associations in 12,000 kindergartens and 47,000 primary schools; the infrastructure was strengthened through the construction of classrooms; and 500,000 parents were trained to order to improve the initial education of their children in the form of home study. Community Education. Through this program, services in pre-school and primary education are offered to children of small mestizo and indigenous rural towns, with populations ranging from less than 100 up

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to some 500 inhabitants. In 2002-2003, around 128,000 students were provided with community pre-school services, and over 141,000 students with community primary education. National Program for the Development of Indigenous Peoples. Through this model, services in bilingual pre-school and primary education were offered for children who speak an indigenous language. During the 2002-2003 school year, nearly 1,150,000 students were attended to. Text books were printed in 55 variants of 33 indigenous languages. Opportunities Human Development Program. By assigning scholarships, this program supports school access and regular attendance for students under 18 years of age who study from third grade of primary education to the final grade of senior high school. It also provides school supplies to scholarship holders who are studying in primary grades. In 2002-2003 nearly 4 million students in primary and secondary were benefited. This program constitutes one of the Federal Government’s most important initiatives in supporting the inclusion, continuance, and progress in school of children and teenagers in conditions of extreme poverty. National Program to Strengthen Special Education and Educational Inclusion. Its objective is to guarantee an educational attention of quality for children and teenagers with special educational necessities, giving priority to those who have some disability. By means of this program these students are integrated into the basic educational establishments - kindergarten, primary and secondary schools -, applying specific methods, techniques and materials. During the 2002-2003 school year, more than 420,000 students were attended to with this program.4 Schools of Quality Program. The aim of this program is to enhance the capacity of school organization by incorporating into basic education schools a model of self-management based on eight basic principles: freedom in decision-making, shared leadership, team work, flexible teaching practices depending on the diversity of the students, participative planning, evaluation for continuing improvement, responsible social participation, and accountability. (http://www.escuelasdecalidad.net/). During its two years of operation (2001 and 2002), the PEC has benefited almost 10,000 primary schools and telesecondaries with economic resources. The resources come mainly from the Federal Government and from state governments, and to a lesser degree from the private sector. For the year 2006, it is expected that a total of 30,000 schools for the three levels of basic education (pre-school, primary and secondary) will be attended to. It should be pointed out here that with it alone, 20% of the schools would be attended to. Evaluation has been considered a fundamental tool for PEC management, and a necessary element for its continuing improvement and that of the incorporated schools. The results obtained in the evaluations carried out of the PEC are available at: http://www.escuelasdecalidad.net/pub/evaluacion/index.html.

4 As of 1993, as a result of the National Agreement for Modernizing Basic Education, an important process of reorientation and reorganization of the special education services was promoted that consisted in changing the conception regarding the function of the special education services, to encourage educational integration, and to restructure the existing services that attended to children and teenagers with special educational needs, separately from the basic education services (SEP, 2002f).

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Policies implemented to guarantee quality and transparency in the operation of educational services Social Commitment to Quality in Education This is an agreement made in 2002 among representatives of different sectors, educational institutions, and society. Its nature lies in creating a consensus and agreement regarding the measures that are intended to improve the quality of education, which will allow these sectors to monitor them and check they are carried out. The importance of this initiative is the joining of different sectors in a tacit recognition of their responsibility in achieving educational quality. The priorities of the Social Commitment, for whose implementation different commissions have been formed, are the following: the shared responsibility of the sectors, the importance of social participation, the application of contents and focuses constantly being revised, and the conviction that the school is and should be the nucleus of the educational project, which in turn will be in keeping with the needs of the context. Another of its priorities is to consider the school the place where strategies are generated for the teaching-learning process and the constant updating of teachers. National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (INEE) It was created in 2002 by the SEP as a means to weigh the results of the National Educational System with rigorous and reliable mechanisms, disseminate them, and use them in improving the quality of teaching and learning. To achieve this, the INEE works with three types of indicators: the quality of the national educational system and of the state subsystems, learning tests, and the evaluation of schools. It is the responsibility of the SEP to issue guidelines for the evaluations, as well as to assess the results of the Educational System. It is the responsibility of the INEE to make precise diagnoses of the educational situation that would make it possible to establish viable goals and design appropriate strategies for improvement, to create and operate a system of indicators for evaluating the processes related to learning and the teaching function, to promote the culture of evaluation and disseminate its results, to develop training measures, to carry out and encourage educational research, as well as to coordinate international projects in which Mexico would participate and represent it before international organisms. During the first year of operation of the INEE, the following results stand out:

� Analysis of the results of the national progress tests in reading and mathematics (called National Standards) applied by the SEP at the end of the 2002-2003 school year.

� Analysis of the test results of the Latin American Laboratory of Evaluation of the Quality of Education of 1997.

� Two studies on the tests of the TIMSS (Trends International Mathematics and Science Study) applied in Mexico in 1995 and 2000.

� Different analyses of the results of the application of reading and mathematics tests in 1998 and 2002.

As for the PISA tests (Program for International Student Assessment) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the INEE will make a thorough analysis during 2004. The results expressed yearly in the first report of the INEE on the evaluation of the SEN with respect to basic education may be consulted at http://capacitacion.ilce.edu.mx/inee/estadisticas.htm

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Spending allocated to educational services During 2003, the national spending on education, made up of contributions from the federation, state and municipal governments, as well as from the private sector, came to nearly 450,000,000 pesos, an amount that represents 6.8% of the Gross Domestic Product. Although, the aim for 2006 is for the budget allocated to the educational sector to reach 8% of the GDP,5 in the last three years this proportion has remained more or less stable, increasing only 3 percent points with respect to 2001 (SEP, 2003b). Participation of the public sector during 2003 in national spending on education was 81.2%, and that of the private sector, 18.8%. The states and municipalities absorbed one-fifth of the investment made by the public sector and the rest was absorbed by the federation. For 2004, the educational sector continues to be one of the priorities of the federation’s budget; nevertheless, although the resources allocated are greater than those of the previous year, there are limitations to their allocation and they are not enough to meet the goals set. Challenges of the National Educational System Illiteracy among the population from 15 to 19 years of age is less than 2.9%, and the average schooling for the group from 20 to 29 is ninth grade, which is equal to finishing secondary (junior high). More than 92 percent of children between 6 and 14 attended school, and nine out of every 10 teenagers in our country have completed primary school by the age of 15. These figures reflect the expansion of the coverage of educational services and the improvement of the terminal efficiency rates. The SEN has had to face great challenges. It is necessary to point out, first of all, the population growth, from 13.6 million people in 1900 to nearly 100 million in the year 2000. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico was a country where three-quarters of the population inhabited small towns and settlements, far from the urban centers. Most people suffered severe social backwardness that was accentuated as a result of the revolutionary movement, which lasted over seven years. It is estimated that in 1921, the year in which the Department of Public Education was founded, illiteracy affected nearly 70% of the country’s adult population, and the lack of teachers and schools made access to education very limited, for which reason the average schooling was one year (SEP, 2001a). In 1930, the educational system attended to 1.4 million students and 20 years later the registration had increased to more than twice as many. By the second half of the 20th century, the population had quadrupled and the great expansion and diversification of educational services began. Owing in great measure to the dynamics of population growth, the SEN had concentrated on extending the coverage. Now, having overcome such basic problems as providing widespread access to primary education and reducing illiteracy, the SEN faces, among other challenges, a more complex one that consists in making it possible for all children and teenagers to study basic education and to successfully finish this fundamental part of their studies (SEP, 2001c). Other major challenges for the level of the basic education will be to attend to the demand of the age group from 3 to 5, resulting from the implementation of the obligatory nature of pre-school education, and to train the number of teachers that are required by the increase in demand, as well as to strengthen secondary education, because it constitutes a necessary step for people to enter upper intermediate and

5 In 2002 article 25 of the General Law of Education was modified, establishing that the Federal Executive and the government of each state shall contribute to the financing of public education and the educational services. The annual amount that the State dedicates to the spending on public education and on the educational services, cannot be less than 8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (SG, 2002b).

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higher education, and thus to increase their opportunities for personal improvement and work qualifications. It will also be necessary to define standards of progress in evaluating learning and to consolidate the initiatives for initial training and continuing education for basic education teachers, such as: the measures oriented toward improving the selection, admission, and continuance of educators in the educational service; and the training and updating of the teaching force (SEP, 2001c).

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Structure of the National Educational System The Mexican educational system is organized into three major levels: basic education, upper intermediate education, and higher education, which are made up of the following: Basic education This includes pre-school services, primary and secondary school and comprises the greatest number of students registered in the entire educational system. It also includes the services of initial education, special education and adult education. Pre-school education. This attends to children of three, four, and five years of age. It is generally given in three levels. At the present time it is not necessary to have studied it in order to enter primary school. However, beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, it will be obligatory to have studied the third level of pre-school education, the second as of 2005-2006 and first as of 2008-2009. Primary education. This is obligatory, and consists of six grades and is given to children from 6 to 15 years of age. 48% of the student population in the country is located in this area. Persons above 15 years of age may study it in services for adults (because of the particular interests of this international study, the services of primary education will be described later on in greater detail). Lower secondary education. This constitutes the last three years of basic education. Since 1993, it has been obligatory and is given to the 12 to 16 year-old population that has completed primary level. Persons over 16 may take secondary courses for workers or the adult mode (due to the particular interests of this international study, the services of secondary education will also be described later on in greater detail). Initial education. This consists in offering service to children from 45 days to three years 11 months of age, and pre-school education to children from four to five years 11 months of age, who are children of working mothers. It is offered in Child Development Centers (Cendi), which are both public and private institutions. In the 2002-2003 school year, more than 167,000 children were attended to. Special needs education. This is offered to persons who have special educational needs, with or without disability, at an age to be attended to by the initial education services or to study basic education. It is given in pre-school, primary and secondary schools and in other institutions. There are public and private schools and institutions that offer these services, most of them public; all of them apply the current curricula and use some special materials. In 2002-2003 more than 432,000 people were provided with these services. Adult education. This consists in offering services in the teaching of basic literacy, primary and secondary education and job training for persons over 15 years of age. In 2002-2003 more than 175,000 people were taught basic literacy and 471,000 and 635,000 adults were provided with services in primary and secondary education respectively. By means of job training, which is intended to instruct for a skilled job and which does not require any specific prior education, 132,000 adults were attended to. Upper secondary education It is made up of three services: general senior high school, technological senior high school and technical occupational education. Most of these services are given for three years but there are some of two years’

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duration. To study this level, it is essential to have completed secondary education and most schools require the presentation of an admission exam. Higher education The fundamental objective of higher education is to train professionals in the different areas of the sciences, technology, and teaching. For these purposes, this level is divided into: university education, technological education, and normal education. Under this heading are found graduate studies, which include specialization, master’s and doctoral studies. The main purpose of normal education consists fundamentally in the initial training of basic education teachers. As may be observed in table 2.1, by means of different levels and services (without including initial education, basic literacy programs and job training), the SEN attended to almost 30 million people, in nearly 220,000 facilities and with a teaching staff of a million and a half professors. Most of these services are public, although private institutions attended to 3.5 million people, which is to say 12% of total registration.

Table 2.1. Students, teachers and schools by level and by educational service 2002-2003 school year

Educational level Services Registration Teachers Schools

Pre-school education 3 635 903 163 282 74 758

Primary education 14 857 191 557 278 99 463

Secondary education (Junior High School)

5 660 070 325 233 29 749

Basic education

Subtotal 424 153 164 1 045 793 203 970

Technical occupational 359 171 31 683 1 659

Senior High School* 2 936 101 202 161 9 668

Upper intermediate education

Subtotal 3 295 272 233 844 11 327

Higher technical 65 815 7 041 186

Teacher’s college 166 873 17 280 664

University 1 865 816 185 532 2 353

Graduate school 138 287 21 685 1 283

Higher education

Subtotal 2 236 791 231 558 4 486

T O T A L 29 685 227 1 511 195 219 783 *includes general and technological senior high school

Source: DGPPP-SEP, 2003.

Table 2.2. Proportion of students, teachers, and schools, by type of support 2002-2003 school year

Type of support Students Teachers Schools

Public 88% 82% 89%

Private 12% 18% 11% Source: DGPPP-SEP, 2003.

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Characteristics of primary education services By means of the services in primary education, at the moment almost all the population between 6 and 15 years of age is attended to. Nearly 70% of the schools are located in the urban environment and 92% of the total registration at this level is attended to in public primary schools. Primary education is given according to the curriculum established in 1993 and, in order to give the entire population access to it, three types of services are offered: general, indigenous, and community courses. General primary. This attends to 93% of the students registered at this level and is offered in public and private schools. Indigenous primary. All indigenous primary services are public and are given with the same curriculum as the general primary, with adaptations to the regional necessities and by means of a bilingual-bicultural focus. Community courses. They are given in isolated communities with scant population, that lack primary schools. All schools offering this type of service are unitary, that is to say, they are looked after by a single teacher who attends to all grades. The areas taught are: Spanish, mathematics and social and natural sciences. Through community courses, small, dispersed, indigenous populations are also attended to, as well as migrant children; bilingual-bicultural methods are used. As part of the curricular reform in basic education begun in 1993, the focuses and specific contents of primary education were renewed, giving priority to the development of the child’s capacities to think, as well as his possibilities of expression and creative application of what he learns.

Table 2.3. Primary education Students, teachers and schools by type of service. 2002-2003 school year

Students

Service Total Men Women

Teachers

Schools

General primary 13 878 550 7 102 536 6 776 014 506 672 75 662

Indigenous primary 837 296 429 382 407 914 34 062 9 470

Community courses 141 345 72 717 68 628 16 544 14 331

TOTAL 14 857 191 7 604 635 7 252 556 557 278 99 463 Source: DGPPP-SEP, 2003.

Table 2.4. Primary Education

Students, teachers and schools by type of support. 2002-2003 school year

Students Type of support

Total Men Women

Teachers

Schools

Public schools 13 666 361 7 002 102 6 664 259 510 777 92 983

Private schools 1 190 830 602 533 588 297 46 501 6 480


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Characteristics of the lower secondary education services Secondary education is offered according to the plan of studies established in 1993 and it is provided in four types of services: general, for workers, telesecondary and technical. The services are given in public and private schools and they have attended to more than 5.6 million students, that is to say, around 85% of the population from 12 to 15 years of age who have completed primary education. 92% of the students are attended to in public high schools. General lower secondary. 51% of the total students registered at the secondary level are concentrated here. Technical lower secondary. This attends to 28% of the students registered in secondary education. The technical mode consists in training students so that they can work at industrial, agricultural and livestock and fishing or forestry activities. Telesecondary. 20% of the students registered in secondary are concentrated here. It is offered to adolescents in communities where there are no secondary (junior high) schools. Support for this service is given in the form of television programs for each subject that are transmitted simultaneously all over the country. Lower secondary for workers. It is given to the population that, due to being over 16 years of age or being part of the work force, cannot attend other options of secondary (junior high) education. As in the case of primary education, there began in 1993 a curricular renovation of secondary education that at present is in the process of reform; in fact, some materials and syllabuses have already been modified.

Table 2.5. Secondary education Students, teachers and schools by type of service. 2002-2003 school year

Students Service

Total Men Women

Teachers

Schools

General secondary 2 874 294 1 439 432 1 434 862 185 332 9 420

Technical secondary 1 592 633 806 439 786 194 79 978 4 102

Telesecondary 1 146 608 588 996 557 612 54 872 15 871

Secondary for workers 46 535 27 596 18 939 5 051 356


Table 2.6. Secondary education

Students, teachers and schools by type of support. 2002-2003 school year

Students Service

Total Men Women

Teachers

Schools

Public schools 5 211 084 2 642 811 2 568 273 279 764 26 366

Private schools 448 986 219 652 229 334 45 469 3 383


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Characteristic of the teaching staff in basic education In table 2.1, it can be observed that the largest proportion of teachers, 68%, is located at the level of basic education. 36% of the total teaching staff works in primary schools, and 11 and 21% work in the facilities of pre-school and secondary education, respectively. Table 2.2 shows that 80% of the teachers are concentrated in public institutions.

Table 2.7. Teaching staff in basic education, by gender. 2002-2003 school year

Gender Basic education Pre-school Primary Secondary

Men 385,472 10,056 203, 668 171,748

Women 660,321 153,226 353,610 153,485

Total 1,045,793 163,282 557,278 325,233 Source: DGPPP-SEP, 2003.

In the distribution by gender, the quantitative predominance of women, 63%, is marked. Only at the level of secondary education is the proportion of men greater. Chapter 5 describes the most common practices for hiring professors. Among other characteristics of teachers in primary and secondary education, who constitute those of greatest interest for this study, it can be mentioned that in primary school the teachers attend to just one group during the whole school year and, therefore, teach all the subjects for the corresponding grade. On the other hand, in secondary (junior high) school, a teacher gives certain subjects to different groups and grades, so that one characteristic in this type of hiring is the specification of the number of hours, a situation that, together with the fact that on occasions they attend to different groups of students and that many work in different schools, complicates the labor situation in secondary high schools and interferes with the collaborative work of the teachers. One might say that at the moment there are two concepts of the secondary teacher: the traditional concept, which includes the great majority and that it is characterized by being "the teacher of a discipline" (Pacheco, 2004). The second concept is more related to the exit profile outlined in the new curriculum of the Bachelor’s in Secondary Education, 1999 program, in particular with the characteristic that is associated with an "educator of adolescents who teaches disciplinary contents". Although there are no particular studies available on the professional profile of basic education teachers at the national level, in one of the actions of the Integral Reform of Secondary Education that at the moment is in process, a questionnaire was recently applied at the national level to about 300,000 teachers at this educational level. This instrument made it possible to collect data on their academic training; however, the information is still being systematized. According to the results of a partial study conducted on part of the teaching staff for secondary education, the sample of professors is characterized by the heterogeneity of professional profiles, where nearly 70% are university-trained professionals without training in teaching. Of the remaining 30%, part of them are graduates of higher normal schools (that traditionally have been in charge of training teachers for secondary school) and the others are graduates of basic normal school (teacher’s college) (where teachers of pre-school and primary education have been trained) or technicians (Sandoval, 2002).

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Mexican teachers’ union organizations The Political Constitution of the United States of Mexico establishes the right of all workers to organize to defend their common interests for any lawful objective. The Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) [National Union of Educational Workers], created in 1943, is the largest union group in Mexico. Its members include over a million educational workers, which represents almost all of the teachers, principals and administrative personnel and in support of the schools for basic education and institutions for the training of educators, as well as of the personnel working in the federalized and state services of the Department of Public Education. In some states, other union associations exist. Workers of the public sector who have a base, permanent, interim or transitory contract may be union members, as well as pensioners or retired persons who have worked in education and who contribute economically to supporting the organization. For its support, the SNTE deducts for its discretionary use 1% of the wage from the workers belonging to it, a figure that amounts to a considerable quantity when the number of unionized members is taken into account; this has given it great economic and political power (Santibáñez, 2002). The SNTE is headed by a national committee and by state committees. For every state there are two union sections or committees, one for the decentralized workers of the federation and another for the state ones. Also, at the level of union delegations exist at the school level made up of a minimum of 30 members. In the meetings held by this organization, ordinary labor topics are discussed and those they consider necessary to include in the annual lists of demands that are generally presented to the Department of Education two months before May 15 every year, the date on which Teacher's Day is officially celebrated. According to the studies conducted by the Mexican Council of Educational Research into teachers' unions, opinions are polarized regarding the positive and negative aspects of this organization. On the positive side, it is generally recognized that the new union leadership has adapted to the changes in educational policies, while at the same time exerting influence on them. The consequences of this influential power can be positive or negative because the union thus becomes a presence with which the educational authority and the federal government have to negotiate every policy initiative. On the other hand, the union is seen as an obstacle to the application of educational reforms, while at the same time becoming an impediment to achieving a greater professionalization of the teachers (Loyo, A. and A. Muñoz, 2003).

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3. HOW TO ATTRACT CAPABLE PEOPLE INTO THE EDUCATIONAL PROFESSION Political and national programs to attract capable people into the educational profession The lack of national regulations and of strict mechanisms for the selection of new students for the programs of initial training has resulted in applicants who fail to have the appropriate profile for training as basic education teachers, registering in teacher’s colleges. In most states and teachers’ colleges, certain mechanisms and instruments for student admission have been applied, in response to their own requirements. These measures have recently been modified, based on criteria and recommendations issued by the Department of Public Education for regulating the process of admission into teacher’s colleges prior to the state selection processes for the 2003-2004 school year. Some states were able to cover most of the criteria mentioned, and there were even some who had already done so previously; others were only able to meet some of them. Although most states obtained satisfactory results, they still claim there is a need to establish national norms to improve this process and not just issue indications as a recommendation, as occurred in 2003. A national agreement has still not been issued to establish the application of strict selection criteria as obligatory; however, in order to continue to strengthen the regulation processes of initial education services and the admission to teacher’s colleges, the SEP issued a series of national regulations so that they could be applied before beginning the selection process for the year 2004-2005. The following table summarizes these regulations, as well as the complementary information justifying these indications.

Table 3.1. Regulation of the initial training services and admission to teacher’s colleges. 2004-2005 school year

National regulation Justification

To issue only one official announcement for all the institutions for initial training in each state, with clarity of unified criteria and mechanisms for the selection of applicants.

This measure is partially in response to the fact that when each institution issues its own official announcement, on different dates, there are cases of applicants who participate in the selection process of two schools in order to have greater possibilities of admission.

To follow the stages of the selection process in each state simultaneously with all the other institutions of higher education that train other professionals.

Otherwise, the students rejected by the latter, resort to the teacher’s colleges as an option for entering a program of higher education. Cases of students for whom studying a teaching degree represents their second or third course option are common. The results of the General Knowledge Exam for the Licenciatura en Educación Preescolar (EGP) [Bachelor's in Pre-School Education], described in chapter 4, show that the level of preference for taking courses of higher education can be a predictor of better progress levels for the students.

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Table 3.1 (continued)

National regulation Justification To establish a grade of 8 as a minimum average to be obtained by applicants at the upper intermediate level, as a requirement for admission to a teacher’s college, in all states.

Most states have already applied this measure and there are even some whose minimum average established is 8.5 and 9.0;6 in general, it is thought that this regulation has helped to attract the best students; however, there are states that disagree, because they do not consider (senior) high school averages to be a factor that would guarantee the students’ academic achievement. The results of the EGP also show that a better average in (senior) high school can be an indicator of better levels of the students’ competence.

To apply a general knowledge exam selecting between the two existing options or else opting for a similar instrument prepared by a specialized technical team.

One of these exams was prepared by the General Evaluation Branch of the SEP and the other by the National Evaluation Center for Higher Education.7 Most of the public normal schools apply one of these two options; however, an entrance exam is applied in very few private schools.

To apply other additional tests to evaluate the specific features and characteristics of the Bachelor’s degree for initial training to which the applicant wishes to be admitted.

Besides the knowledge exam, some normal schools use other mechanisms to select the new students such as: psychometric exams, introductory courses and interviews.

There is a consensus among the country’s educational authorities, school principals, and teachers, as well as among parents, businessmen, and specialists, as to the importance of designing and applying a national exam for admission to the normal schools. The SEP, in coordination with the educational authorities and state technical groups, will work over a short interval on designing this exam, which will be applied before beginning the 2005-2006 school year. Both the EGP and the tests to be applied in 2004 and 2005, described in chapter 4, will be used as a reference for making up a general knowledge exam to select the new students in the programs of initial training. Evolution of the registration in the programs of initial training for basic education teachers, from 1970 to 2002 During the decade of 1970 to 1980, the number of students registered in normal education increased greatly from one school year to the next. In ten years the registration increased a little over three times, reaching a total of 332,000 students in 1980, the highest figure in the history of these services. The registration began to decline over the next three school years and, beginning with the recognition of the studies in normal education as a Bachelor’s level between 1983 and 1984, the decrease became greater and greater. At the beginning of the last decade, registration reached a total of 109,000 students, a figure that represents a decrease of 67% with respect to a decade earlier.

6 In Mexico, the marking scale is from 1 to 10, with a minimum passing mark of 6. 7 The Centro Nacional de Evaluación para la Educación Superior (Ceneval) [National Evaluation Center for Higher Education] is a civil organization whose object is to contribute toward improving the quality of upper intermediate and higher education by means of external evaluations of learning achieved at any stage of the educational process, independently and in additional to those applied by the educational institutions.

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Table 3.2. Evolution of the registration of initial training for basic education teachers, supported by the Normal Schools, from 1970 to 2002

(Every two school years)

6771757371676260

59575664686965

60 60

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

Público Particular

F uente: DGP P P -S E P , 2003.

Regarding the proportion of students handled, by type of support, the evolution during these three decades shows that public institutions reached the highest level after the educational decentralization, when it was possible to capture more than 70% over six consecutive school years. This proportion began to diminish in 1998, and during the last three years has remained around 60%. For their part, private services reached the highest figure in 1978, handling 64% of the students. In the last three years, they have handled nearly 40% of the students registered.

Table 3.3. Evolution of the registration of initial training by Bachelor’s program, from 1970 to 2000 (every four school years) and registration handled in 2002

Bachelor’s of

education: 1970 1974 1978 1982 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2002

Pre-school 5,716 10,912 22,405 43,453 36,295 15,810 17,898 29,285 30,297 29,175

Primary 47,116 74,673 165,873 140,534 72,128 23,393 29,595 47,563 46,891 42,856

Secondary 20,351 37,311 64,715 136,266 108,990 75,619 52,333 93,720 104,290 77,003

Physical 1,799 3,072 1,670 3,885 4,917 5,904 5,955 9,460 9,867 9,282

Special 4,179 5,950 5,194 8,325 9,586 8,557

Total 74,982 125,968 254,663 324,138 226,509 126,676 110,975 188,353 200,931 166,873

Source: DGPPP-SEP, 2003

In the decade from 1970 to 1980, the greatest increase in registration in normal education was observed in the training of teachers of secondary education and primary education, which increased over six and five times, respectively. After 1984, both areas, as well as studies in pre-school education, declined sharply, and six years later, in 1990, began to recover, growing markedly after 1992. In all three cases, it reached

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the second highest level of these three decades in 1998, though lower than the first one, especially in the Bachelor’s of Primary Education, which was able to handle more than 171,000 students. The implementation of the new syllabuses for the Bachelor’s degrees in pre-school education, 1999 program; primary, 1997 program; and secondary, 1999 program; they have promoted the regulation of registration in the different teacher’s colleges in various states, so that a decrease can be observed in the number of students registered. The decrease has been greater in the Bachelor’s of Secondary Education due to the closing of the modes of home studies (partly classroom-based and intensive courses) that were replaced by the mixed mode as of 1999.

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Background and evolution of the initial teacher training Beginning in the last third of the 19th century, the initial training of basic education teachers has been the responsibility of the Normal Schools (NS). In Mexico, over the last thirty-five years, these institutions have undergone seven curricular reforms, which has affected their nature, organization, academic life, and working conditions. One of the most notable changes was that of 1972, when the teacher’s course was considered equivalent to senior high school, allowing graduates access to higher studies upon finishing. Prior to that year, normal education was studied immediately after junior high school. In 1984, this service was incorporated into the level of higher education, and required senior high school as a pre-requisite. From then on, those NS’s have formally been considered institutions of higher learning. With the establishment of the Bachelor’s degree, NS’s have adopted the university model of academic organization, acquiring different functions for which they were not prepared. The educators attempted to carry out research without having the training and experience required for it, and without the necessary conditions. This meant that the majority of the NS’s simulated a type of organization that did not correspond to the reality, and that the forms of organization and institutional administration underwent only minimal changes. The many changes that these schools have faced since their origin have meant that, in the early 90’s, most of them found themselves debilitated academically and presented serious infrastructure conditions, although some establishments were able to maintain quite an acceptable level of quality. This situation, combined with the reforms of basic education in 1993, have affected the continuity of the educational policy over the last ten years, which was oriented toward the transformation of the normal education subsystem, with a marked tendency in the teacher training toward change. The curricular reform of basic education, implemented in 1993, revealed the necessity to renovate the model of teacher training. The changes in the focuses and the contents of the primary and secondary (junior high) curriculum required particular professional competencies which the curricula in effect for the initial teacher training did not supply. Normal schools are recognized to have fulfilled an important function throughout their history in the consolidation of the National Educational System. But it is also true that many of them have not evolved in the direction of the challenges for teacher training represented by the country, and have not been consolidated as authentic institutions of higher learning. This situation is partly due to two factors: the lack of specific educational policies to facilitate their renovation; and the inertias that exist within the schools making it difficult for them to open up to change, and practice a self-critical dynamic and a continuous improvement. In Mexico there are 457 Normal Schools, 60% of which are publicly supported and 40% privately. 45% of all establishments offer the Bachelor’s in Pre-School Education, 55% in Primary, 33% in Secondary, 14% in Physical Education, and 10% in Special Education. Many offer more than one Bachelor’s program, and there are even institutions that have all programs. The 457 Normal Schools handle more than 169,000 students, 60% of whom are registered in the publicly supported normal schools and 40% in privately supported ones.

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Nearly 39% of all students are concentrated in the Bachelor’s of Secondary Education; little less than one-third of the students registered are in the Bachelor’s of Primary Education program, and almost one-fourth in the Bachelor’s of Pre-School Education. 86% of the total registration is concentrated in these three Bachelor’s programs. 68% of the students are women and 32% are men. Only in the Bachelor’s of Physical Education is the proportion of men (73%) greater than that of women. On the other hand, the percentage of women in the Bachelor’s degree in pre-school, primary, secondary and special education is notably greater: 97, 66, 60 and 87%, respectively.

Table 4.1. Students in programs of initial training, by support. 2003-2004 school year (In Normal Schools)

Bachelor’s in: Total no. of

students Students in public

schools Students in private

schools

Pre-school education 31 973 18 265 13 708

Primary education 47 490 30 880 16 610

Secondary education 65 693 35 564 30 129

Physical education 12 818 7 732 5 086

Special education 9 129 7 710 1 419

Other degrees (Artistic education and initial)

2 099 1 477 622

TOTAL 169 671 102,054 67 617 Source: DGN-SEP, 2004a.

Just over 17,000 professors handle the teaching of normal education. Of these, 70% work in normal schools with public support and 30% in schools with private support. The teaching staff is made up of 53% men and 47% women. National policies for the initial training of basic education teachers There are two national policies concerning the initial training of basic education teachers: The Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools (PTF), which is a program implemented in 1996 and that is still in effect; and the National Policy for the Training and Professional Development of Basic Education Teachers, which gives continuity to and complements the first one, extending its scope of attention to the components related to teacher training, upgrading and updating. This latter constitutes a policy initiative that will be implanted at the end of 2004. Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools (PTF) Since 1992, one of the priorities of the national educational policy has consisted in undertaking intense, relevant actions to consolidate the normal schools and to substantially improve their operation. The National Education Program for 1995-2000 gave continuity to this concern, with the Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools being created in 1996.

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This renovation process continues to be a high priority in government policy, so that the PTF continues to work with some modifications to its original structure derived from the identification of aspects it was necessary to emphasize more. The PTF has an comprehensive outlook regarding the components that determine the operation of a school, and seeks to guarantee a certain consistency between the teacher training and the purposes, contents and practices of basic education, as well as to ensure academic renovation and institutional management in order to favor the training process of the future teachers. In order to carry out these objectives, the PTF establishes six lines of action: i) reforms of syllabi and curricula for the initial training of basic education teachers, ii) training and updating of teaching and administrative staff, iii) improvement of the institutional management, iv) regulation of the teachers’ academic work, v) internal and external evaluation of the establishments, and vi) regulation of the services offered by the NS’s. First line. Reform of the syllabi and Curricula for the Initial Training of Basic Education Teachers Included among the main actions carried out in the first line of the program is the curricular reform for the initial training of basic education teachers carried out between 1997 and 1999. In this period the curricula for the Bachelor’s programs in Pre-School Education, Primary Education and Secondary Education were modified. At the moment, the reform of the Bachelor’s program in Physical Education that began in 2002 is in process.8 Future curricular reforms for the initial training of basic education teachers For the Bachelor’s in Primary Education with an Intercultural-Bilingual Focus and the Bachelor’s in Special Education, the new curricula will start being applied in the 2004-2005 school year.

i. Bachelor’s of Primary Education with an Intercultural-Bilingual Focus. As was pointed out in table 2.3, during the school year 2002-2003 nearly 840,000 students were handled through the services of indigenous primary education. The teachers who work with indigenous students are qualified, after having completed their upper intermediate education, by means of a workshop of introduction to teaching that lasts from three to six months, and later on they are offered possibilities of academic updating and make-up courses while teaching.

Some normal schools located geographically in indigenous areas have incorporated into the courses of study of the Bachelor’s in Primary Education and in Pre-School Education some additional, unsystematic courses, related to language and culture, for the teaching of the indigenous children in the region. Also, in three states, a proposal has been designed, based on national syllabi, incorporating a line of specific training for the study of and attention to the language and culture for the region in which the school is located, in order to enrich the features of the exit profile. These training proposals that have been prepared by the schools are considered experimental and have been very useful in designing the national course of studies for the Bachelor’s in Primary Education with an Intercultural-Bilingual Focus.

The training and academic make-up programs, besides being insufficient, have not helped the indigenous teachers to act efficiently and respond pedagogically to the indigenous students’ educational characteristics and necessities. For this reason, based on the revision of the curricular programs in effect and of the analysis of the purposes, contents and methodologies relevant to an intercultural focus in the classrooms, the Department of Public Education is working on a curricular proposal for the initial training of primary teachers with a bilingual-intercultural focus.

8 These courses of study are described in greater detail on pages 40, 41 y 42.

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ii. Bachelor’s of Special Education. The educational services for attending to people with special educational necessities are insufficient for the size of the population requiring these services, and their distribution is unequal, since it is usually concentrated in urban areas and in the larger municipalities. Only 8% of the schools for basic education benefit from services of special education.

At present, there are 47 normal schools that offer the Bachelor’s of Special Education, handling more than 9,000 students. The Bachelor’s is offered in six areas: learning problems, hearing and language, mental deficiency, neuro-motor disabilities, blindness and visual weakness, and social maladjustment and misbehavior; most students are concentrated in the first two areas, with few teaches being trained in the other areas. This situation, combined with the dissociation* of the current syllabus with the new focuses of basic education limits the appropriate attention to the population that requires these services.

At the moment, the syllabus for the Bachelor’s in Special Education is being reformed in order to train teachers with the competencies required to respond adequately to the special educational necessities of children and teenagers with or without disabilities. The new syllabus will be put into effect starting in 2004-2005.9

Second line. Training and updating of the Teaching and Administrative Staff of Normal Schools The main measures in this line of action have concentrated on offering normal school teachers national, regional and state workshops for updating regarding the focuses and contents of the new curricula. These activities have been reinforced by the publishing and distribution of updated printed materials, the production and transmission of television programs related to curricular contents, and the operation of a Web page that is available to everybody, particularly to the academic personnel of these institutions. By means of the national workshops given by the SEP, about 6,500 teachers have been updated, that is to say, nearly 40% of the teaching staff of the normal schools. These teachers, in turn, have duplicated the actions of updating in regional and state workshops, so that almost all educators have been covered. The national workshops for updating regarding the new courses of study are widely recognized by the academic communities of the normal schools; however, the heterogeneity of the profiles of the participant teachers and the differences in their level of commitment to the educational task, combined with the lack of regulation of academic work, mean that, occasionally, the application of the courses of study are not always the most appropriate. On the other hand, as a result of the deficiencies in organizing academic work and in distributing the load of teaching hours, as well as in the application of the criteria for assigning teachers, cases occur in which teachers give subjects for which they have had no training. Program for training and updating teachers and administrators of normal schools This program is in the process of being designed. The proposal consists in offering a service of systematic, rigorous professional development involving teachers and administrators in permanent learning and collaborative work activities, so that they develop their professional competencies in order to perform efficiently. Some of the actions that will be carried out to this effect are: � Giving workshops for updating, graduate studies and courses for reinforcing professional teaching

and directive abilities, associated with specific problems in basic education and in initial training.

9 This course of studies is described on page 42.

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� Offering options for academic make-up courses for teachers and administrators who do not have Bachelor’s studies in normal school education or who have not graduated.

� Certifying the professional competencies of teachers in normal schools. This evaluation will be done

by means of a national certification exam, evaluation of practicum in front of a group, and the presentation of evidence of systematic improvement of practicum.

� Establishing a network of schools that would encourage the professional development of teachers and

administrators in basic education and normal education, and promote a link and collaborative work between the two sectors.

Third line. Improvement of Institutional Management By means of the actions developed around this line of action it was possible to strengthen the normal schools by rehabilitating the infrastructure; installing computing rooms, language rooms, virtual classrooms and a communications network via satellite; supplying furniture and equipment for teachers and students; equipping classrooms with television and video; as well as providing adequate, modern, high-quality bibliographical collections. Within the environment of the institutional management, favorable changes are recognized in the reinforcement of the collaborative work, institutional planning and evaluation; in a greater participation of the school community in decisions that affect the academic life of the institutions; in the reinforcement of administrative functions; and in encouraging a culture of evaluation and of accountability. However, the results of these actions have differed both among all the normal schools and among the teaching and administrative staff and students, due to the combination of factors that have favored or hindered their development. For that reason, this part of the PTF is focused on reinforcing institutional management and helping to transform the organization processes and operation of the normal schools, such as: collaborative work, planning and institutional evaluation, the leadership of the school administration, linking with basic education, the use of school time and the use of educational resources. One of the most recent actions in this line is the creation in 2002 of the Program of Institutional Improvement of the Public Normal Schools (Promin), in answer to the need to continue promoting the transformation of the organization and operation of these facilities. Programa de Mejoramiento Institucional de las Escuelas Normales Públicas [Program of Institutional Improvement of the Public Normal Schools] Promin is a program of a national nature whose central objective consists in reinforcing the processes of institutional management of public normal schools, based on the improvement of planning and evaluation on the establishments and on the active participation of all sectors in attention to deficiencies that the institutional self-diagnosis mentioned above reveals in order to improve the results of the future teachers' learning. To reinforce the normal schools it is necessary to offer supports of a technical, pedagogical and material nature, but also of a financial nature. So that, by means of Promin, additional economic resources are given to the budget that is alloted annually to these institutions. The total national amount allocated annually to Promin is 75 million pesos, which means an average of 350,000 pesos for each school participating. Receiving the supports granted by this program means that each normal school constructs its own long-term planning, with specific goals to be reached every year.

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The resources are to be allocated to strategic, innovative projects of institutional reinforcement, mainly oriented toward: the application of the syllabi and curricula; the professional development of teachers, and support and administrative personnel; complementary activities for the students’ education; the linking with basic education schools and the improvement of equipment and physical infrastructure. So far, the first two stages of the Promin have been completed. The first one was applied during 2002 and 2003, benefiting 188 public normal schools, and the second, developed in 2003-2004, benefited 207 normal schools. Fourth line. Regulation of academic work in the normal schools The focus of this line consists in modernizing the regulations regarding academic life and work performance in the schools. The main actions developed in this area are the encouragement of educational work as a central activity in the normal schools and the establishment of guidelines for organizing and carrying out collaborative work. Also, the aim is to consolidate the following aspects:

� Admission of teaching staff to NS’s by means of rigorous academic competitions and according to profiles to be established.

� Distribution of academic loads in NS’s according to the type of hiring and the needs of attention to the students, in order to make the best possible use of the resources available.

� Ensure that the incentives to the teaching staff are related to their students’ results. � Establishment of competitions of opposition to fill administrative positions in the NS’s.

Fifth line. Evaluation of the normal schools The actions carried out in this line have been aimed at having evidence as to the development of the processes and to the results obtained as part of the activities of the PTF. Based on the data obtained, it has been possible to reinforce the successful experiences and generate alternatives in order to overcome inadequacies and problems. The evaluations carried out are of an internal and of an external nature. Internal evaluations The internal evaluation has focused on monitoring: the application of the new courses of study, the performance of teachers and principals, the application of academic regulations, and the linking between normal schools and schools of basic education. The evaluations of an internal nature have had two aspects: monitoring of the application of the syllabi and curricula, and the project of monitoring teaching practice, and are described next.

i. Monitoring the application of syllabi and curricula. This project arose back in 1997 when the curricular reform of the initial training of teachers began. It is a systematic project that is carried out by a specialized team of the Department of Public Education and that consists in visiting the normal schools to see the development of academic activities related to the new curriculum, as well as the schools of basic education where the students carry out activities of approaches to practicum and the days of intensive practicum. The information is obtained by the following means:

� Observing the work of the teachers in front of the group in the NS’s. � Observing the teaching work that the students do in basic education schools and the participation

of the basic education group teacher in supporting the student’s activities. � Interviews with administrative staff, teachers and students in NS’s. � Interviews with teachers and students of basic education schools.

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The visits are programmed defining which schools it is important to visit and what subjects are of greatest interest for obtaining specific information. The results of the monitoring actions constitute one of the referents for decision-making in the design and modification of the contents, activities and support material.

ii. Monitoring project and evaluation of teaching practice. This is a recently created project whose purpose consists in backing up the analytical, critical and reflective assessment of teaching practice with information obtained from its development and its results, to promote its improvement in the classrooms, to have an impact on the students’ learning and to raise the quality of the initial teacher training. Its main orientation is for teachers, both individually and collectively, to evaluate their performance and reflect on their own practice in order to improve progressively. For this it will be necessary:

� To identify those aspects of the organization and operation of the school that favor effective

teaching practices and those that block them, in order to generate better conditions for teaching practice.

� To encourage a culture of permanent learning in the normal schools, supported by collaborative work and by the ethical commitment of the teachers, in order to favor the professional development of the teaching group, of the administrative team and of the institution as a whole (SEP, 2004a).

The process to carry out the monitoring and evaluation of the practicum conforms to these three stages:

� To recognize the current state of their own teaching practice and to identify their advances,

achievements and difficulties. � To act, that is to say, to determine, organize and develop actions for change. � To assess the impact that these actions have in improving the teaching practice and the learning of

the students, and to restart the process (SEP, 2004a).

The actions related to this project will be the responsibility of the national team and the state teams responsible for the project of monitoring the application of the syllabi and curricula described above, with the viewpoint that it be assumed by the teaching groups as a permanent professional practice.

External evaluations The evaluations of an external nature have been carried out in order to have a different, objective view of the processes and results of the actions related to the transformation and the strengthening of normal schools, as well as to respond to the proposals of the Social Commitment to Quality in Education. These evaluations include: the Promin evaluation, the curricular evaluation of the Bachelor’s in secondary education and the general exams of knowledge: for the Bachelor’s of Pre-school Education began in 2003 and for the Bachelor’s of Primary Education, in 2004.

i. Evaluation of the Program for Institutional Improvement of the Public Normal Schools. In order to find out the processes developed in the normal schools starting with the implementation of the program, identify the factors that influence them and assess the impact of the actions promoted, and also in order to generate useful information to make adaptations in the successive stages of their application, the first year of operation of the Promin underwent an external evaluation. For this evaluation they took like a sampling of 53 normal schools in nine states.

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In general terms, the results are favorable regarding the dynamism in the academic life of these institutions, in the encouragement of the participation of the school actors, in the attention to material and physical necessities of the establishments, and in the strengthening of leadership ability. Most of the participant schools carried out, with differing degrees of consistency and clarity, a plan for institutional development and an annual work program.

Promin was applied for a second time during 2003 at 2004 in 207 public normal schools. The external evaluation of this stage will be carried out in 50 normal schools in 12 states. The third stage will last from 2004 to 2005 and will be applied in 218 public normal schools.

ii. Curricular evaluation of the Bachelor’s of Secondary Education. The general purpose of this project is

the evaluation of the 1999 syllabus and of the curriculum for this Bachelor’s degree, in its ten specializations. The evaluation included the ten specializations of the Bachelor’s in general and the programs of each course of the ten specializations and of the core training. The analysis was based on curricular documents for the Bachelor’s program, which did not imply carrying out a monitoring of its forms of operation. The most outstanding preliminary results are presented next.

Successes identified in the curricular structure:

� Consistency between the general profile with the profile of each specialization. � Coordination and transition between theory and practice. � Transformation regarding the concept of the secondary teacher, from a disciplinary specialist to

an educator of adolescents who teaches disciplinary contents. � The emphasis on knowledge of teenage development. � The importance in the area of disciplinary contents and the development of specific didactic

competencies for teaching the contents. � The value placed on the practice of future teachers in the junior high schools. It is considered that

the way in which the activities for the approach to practicum during the first semesters and those of intensive practicum in the last year are organized, makes an appropriate transition possible between the general observation of the secondary schools, observation and practicum that are focused more and more on the specialization for which the future teacher is training, and the culmination in practicum in front of the group under real work conditions.

� In the specializations, the division has been overcome between disciplinary contents and general didactics.

Identified successes regarding the features of the profile of abilities outlined in the curriculum

� The criteria of the profile constitute useful orientations for the syllabi and for the organization and

operation of normal schools. � The professional and ethical identity is appropriately fostered through several courses and

confronted with the school reality. � Reading comprehension and oral and written expression are strengthened.

Recommendations for improving the curriculum of the Bachelor’s in secondary education

� Improve the abilities that correspond to the specialization and related to the capacity for response

to the necessities of the environment. � Eliminate from the profile the skills in scientific research that were proposed, since they do not

constitute a necessary competence for the future teacher.

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� Reinforce the development of abilities for inquiry and construction of knowledge in the discipline, so that they can develop these in turn in their students.

� Extend the time dedicated to specific training courses for the specialization; this problem could be solved by reducing the times dedicated to the general training for basic education and the core training common to all specializations.

� Include topics and a bibliography about Mexico’s cultural diversity in the courses intended for core training.

� Include an international perspective, mainly that of Latin America, in the courses on educational problems and policies.

� Provide more concrete examples for developing activities and for evaluating the development of the competencies.

� Strengthen the development of basic skills in each specialization. � Coordinate the observation and practice teaching of the first four semesters with the

specialization. � Redesign the specializations of Spanish, English and Mathematics. � Redesign some subjects in the specializations in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Civics and Ethics,

and telesecondary. � Reduce the number of subjects in the curriculum so that there is more time available for the

treatment of the basic topics and the development of fundamental skills. � Specific recommendations are made on the specific contents that need to be reinforced or

included in some specializations.

The final results of this evaluation, together with the actions of the Comprehensive Reform of Secondary Education,10 will be very useful in redesigning the curricula, reorienting the focus and content of the specializations, and in general reinforcing the curricular structure of the Bachelor’s program, in order to offer an initial training of quality to future teachers of secondary education.

iii. General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor’s of Pre-School Education (EGP). This evaluation is

one of the measures taken in answer to the position of the national policy with respect to the academic transformation of the normal schools in order to make sure the country has the professionals necessary for basic education, the consolidation of the reform of the syllabi and curricula, the improvement of institutional management, the regulation of academic work, and the systematic evaluation of the institutions of initial training for basic education teachers.

In November of 2003 the SEP, with the technical consultantcy of the National Evaluation Center for Higher Education (Ceneval), a specialized institution with experience in preparing instruments for educational evaluation, applied a general knowledge exam to 6,547 students in public and private schools who were studying the seventh semester of the Bachelor’s program in pre-school education. The achievement in professional skills was evaluated for 91% of the future teachers (96% are women) registered in 95% of the normal schools that teach this course. Of the 6,547 students participating, 46% belong to private schools and 54% to public schools. The test was prepared according to the exit profile indicated in the course of study for the Bachelor’s degree and

10 The Comprehensive Reform of Secondary Education is a policy initiative that seeks to achieve the curricular continuity of this school level and to coordinate it in the pedagogical and organizational aspect with pre-school and primary education. The fundamental purposes of this reform are: i) to guarantee, within the shortest term possible, the service of secondary education to all teenagers at an age to study it; ii) to transform secondary school so that it responds to the current social needs and to help all graduated achieve the expected performance levels; and iii) to build a new model of school organization in keeping with the needs and interests of the adolescents in order to eliminate school failure (SEP, 2004). It should be pointed out that at the moment basic education, made up of the services of pre-school, primary and secondary, is not coordinated in the organizational and pedagogic aspects; and that the current course of studies for secondary education, reformed in 1993, has an overload of topics and subjects, in an attempt to reconcile elements of general culture, specialized knowledge and practical aspects, a situation that prevents a more profound study of these areas.

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the programs and contents studied up until the respective semester. The following table indicates the way it was organized.

Table 4.2 Composition of the General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor’s of Pre-School Education

Sections Areas of competency

Basic training

� Purposes of pre-school education � Teaching skills

- Didactic intervention - Knowledge of student

� Perception of and response to the school’s surroundings � Professional identity

Theoretical-practical � Purposes of pre-school education � Teaching skills

- Didactic intervention - Knowledge of student

� Perception of and response to the school’s surroundings � Professional identity

Source: Ceneval-SEP, 2003

The results of the exam make it possible to make a diagnosis of the level of learning reached by the students regarding the fundamental competencies of this Bachelor's course and to know the advances and difficulties in their initial training; it also makes it possible to have data by which to evaluate the performance of the teachers. Four levels of competence were established as a function of the number of correct answers obtained by the students in the test questions.

Table 4.3. Distribution of students by level of competence reached in the EGP

Levels % correct Number of students % of students Insufficient Fewer than 50 1,746 27 Sufficient From 50 to 59 2,188 34 Satisfactory From 60 to 69 1,929 29 Outstanding More than 70 684 10

Source: Ceneval-SEP, 2004.

The data produced will be a guide for policy decisions related to the initial training and the successful professional performance of future teachers; and they will be very useful for the development of measures for strengthening and improvement: modifying the curriculum and teaching practices of the teachers' colleges and identifying the most relevant measures for updating. The main data contributed by this evaluation are: � The overall average of correct answers was 56.4%. The students with the best results attained 86.3%

of correct answers. � 50% of the students in the process of graduating from public normal schools were located at levels of

skills 3 and 4, corresponding to the categories of satisfactory and excellent, respectively. � In the privately-supported normal schools only 26% of the students were located in the levels of skills

3 and 4. � Almost one-third declared not to have chosen the Bachelor's of Pre-School Education as their first

course option.

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� 47% entered the Bachelor’s program with an average of 8 or less in senior high school, while barely 12% reported having marks between 9 and 10 as their overall average for that educational level.

� The situation among the states and the normal schools offering this degree is heterogeneous; while one part has reached undeniable advances, another part has not been able to overcome the backwardness in teaching quality.

� The students of the public schools obtained higher evaluations than the students of private schools.

Table 4.4. Percentage of students at each level of competence by type of support of the Normal School, in EGP

Levels Public schools Private schools

Insufficient 17 39 Sufficient 33 35 Satisfactory 35 22 Outstanding 15 4

Source: Ceneval-SEP, 2003.

The systematizing of the results by state, normal school and student was disseminated to the secretaries of education and state educational authorities, as well as to the administrators of the normal schools evaluated, who will make decisions jointly with the SEP as to the measures needed to reinforce the initial training of teachers in pre-school education. For its part, the SEP will carry out other studies to analyze more deeply the results obtained and to identify the factors that are causing a high proportion of schools and of students to fall below the national average. These studies will contribute data for decision-making regarding strategies for improvement. At the same time, the states and the normal schools evaluated will carry out similar activities to recognize their successes, deficiencies and limitations, and to improve the initial training of future teachers of pre-school education. Future evaluations

i. General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor’s of Pre-School Education. A similar evaluation will be carried out in two stages:

� In 2005 an exam, adjusted and expanded according to the curricular contents and academic

activities of the last semesters in the program, will be applied to students who are about to complete their initial training.

� In 2005 an intermediate exam will be applied, related to the contents of the first half of the program, to the students who have concluded the fourth semester.

ii. General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor’s of Primary Education. It will be applied in November,

2004 to those students who are studying the second-last semester of their program.

These instruments will serve as a basis for making up a general knowledge exam to select the teachers to be admitted to service.

Sixth line. Regulation of the services offered by Normal Schools This line of action is oriented toward ensuring that the services offered by the NS’s attend, appropriately and with quality, to the requirements of basic education in each state. In this regard, the activities have been oriented toward:

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� Ensuring that the institutions that offer programs in initial training have sufficient academic conditions to attend with quality to the training of future basic education teachers.

� Reinforcing the planning of programs in initial training, regulating the supply of these services and if necessary, diversifying it, based on a diagnosis of the school-age population’s high-priority needs and the institute’s academic conditions.

� Defining the quality standards and criteria that should characterize the post-graduate programs intended for basic education teachers and the professors of teachers’ college.

National policy for the training and professional development of basic education teachers In February, 2003 the educational authorities of the federation and of the states agreed to promote a national process to define a policy for teacher training whose strategies would make it possible, on one hand, to strengthen the educational profession by recognizing its important work and the social sense of the work done by teachers, and on the other, to contribute to improving the numbers of students attended to, their progress, and the length of time they remain in basic education school (SEP, 2004b). This initiative arose out of the strategic objectives outlined in the national educational policy to be enforced in 2006 relating to: justice and educational equity, quality in the process and educational achievement and reform of institutional management; as well as of the line of action that expresses the need to reorient and strengthen the initial training, continuing education and the professional development of basic education teachers in order to respond appropriately to the ends that are pursued in the education of children and teenagers. Based on this initiative, a process began that included the analysis of the national situation on the existing training system,11 the documentation and dissemination of national and international studies related to the subject matter, and discussion and consulting regarding achievements and difficulties. The measures related to the process made the following possible: � The participation of the main people involved in the processes of training and professional

development. � The dissemination and communication of the development and results of the process. � A stocktaking of the situation of the system of training for basic education teachers by state.

Based on the analysis and systematizing of the results of these actions, the purposes and focuses of the national policy were defined and a document outlining this policy was prepared. Outside of any changes that this first proposal may have, the focuses of the policy initiative, as well as the purposes and lines of action towards which it is oriented, are the following:

i. Purposes

� To improve the training processes for teachers and administrators in basic education, and for teacher trainers, so that the schools can have educators who possess the essential professional competencies for encouraging the learning and development of children and teenagers in our country’s different socio-cultural contexts.

� To reinforce the organization and operation of the National System of Instruction, Updating,

Training and Professional Upgrading of basic education teachers, based on the identification of

11 There is a National System of Training, Updating, Training and Professional Upgrading for Teachers of Basic Education, made up in turn by state systems that were created at the time of the educational decentralization, in 1992.

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the fundamental challenges in teacher training and performance, and on the determining of specific lines of action to meet them.

� To consolidate a varied, high-quality supply of training options, academic supports and

opportunities for teachers’ upgrading, appropriate to the needs of basic education, in order to improve their performance in educational tasks and contribute to their professional growth. To promote the necessary changes in the current regulations in this area, to encourage the teachers’ training and professional development, and help improve the quality of basic education.

� To encourage the active, organized participation of teachers and administrators in basic education

and of the authorities in teacher training, in measures that are aimed at strengthening the teaching profession and propitiating social appreciation for the tasks carried out by those involved in it.

ii. The policy for training and professional development will be guided by the following criteria. The

nature of the policy is:

� National, because it recognizes and attends to the variety of needs and conditions that characterize the state and regional educational contexts.

� Comprehensive, because it aims at establishing a close relationship with the purposes and

contents of basic education, at working in a coordinated way on the programs and services, and at promoting the coordination between the institutions and authorities responsible for the training and professional development of the teachers; and at attending in a coordinated way to all the aspects related to the teacher’s course: admission of applicants to programs of teacher training, the initial training, admission to the service, continuance and promotion, until retirement.

� Equitable and with an intercultural focus. In the programs and services for the teachers’ training

and professional development, they will be encouraged to acquire the sense of commitment and skills necessary for contributing to the achievement of educational equity. Emphasis will be placed on recognition and appreciation of the personal, socio-cultural and linguistic diversity of the children attending the schools of basic education, in offering an equitable, respectful treatment to the girls and boys, and in offering a high-quality attention to indigenous children and teenagers, to the children of migrant families, to those who live in rural and marginalized urban areas, and to those who show special educational needs whether or not they are linked to some disability.

� School-centered, because the school of basic education will constitute the fundamental referent

for the initial training programs and the focal point for the projects of professional development.

iii. The general lines of action of the national policy are: � To guarantee services of training and professional development for the basic education teachers

that are diversified, appropriate and of a high quality, that will attend to their academic requirements and favor the improvement of their teaching practice.

� To strengthen the organization, operation and coordination of the institutions and authorities offering the services, and to encourage effective administration processes.

� To strengthen the professionalization of the personnel in charge of the teacher’s training and professional development, in order to guarantee an improvement in the services.

� To regulate the admission of applicants to the teaching program by planning the services and establishing requirements and evaluation mechanisms that would make it possible to select those

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who have the academic background and the attitudes necessary for achieving the profile of the future teacher.

� To improve the criteria and mechanisms for admission into service, continuance and promotion by means of evaluation procedures and parameters of quality at each phase of the teaching career.

� To guarantee that the incentives for the teachers coincide with improvement in the educational results and with professional performance.

� To implement evaluation processes, according to standards of quality, in order to guarantee the relevance of programs and services of initial training and continuing education for the training needs of the educators and the requirements of basic education.

� To foster the development of educational research and innovation in training and professional development, and to take advantage of their results as a resource for the design, evaluation and the reorientation of policies, programs and services.

� To regulate the services of teachers’ training and professional development, by updating the regulations, in line with the position outlined in the national policy.

The policy initiative is to be implemented as of October, 2004, although it should be pointed out that some components of the lines of action are already being developed. Characteristics of the curriculum for the teachers’ initial training in basic education As was mentioned in the part referring to the first line of work of the Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of the Normal Schools, the syllabi for the Bachelor’s programs were reformed between 1997 and 1999 in Pre-School Education, Primary, and Secondary; and since 2002 the restructuring of the Physical Education syllabus has been in process. The reform of these syllabuses is based on the definition of the profile that future basic education teachers need to have. This profile corresponds not only to the levels of knowledge and professional skills outlined in the curriculum of the respective educational level and service, but also to the attitudes and values that characterize a good educator. The finishing profile from these four Bachelor’s degrees is grouped into five major fields: specific intellectual abilities, mastery of the teaching contents, teaching competencies, professional and ethical identity, and perceptive ability and response to the social conditions surrounding the school. The four study plans are organized into eight semesters and into three areas of interrelated activities:

� Mainly classroom-based activities, carried out inside the normal school, during the first six semesters.

� Activities of approach to practicum that are also carried out during the first six semesters. � Intensive practicum under real work conditions. These activities occupy most of the last two

semesters. Initial training for teachers in pre-school education The course of studies for the Bachelor’s in Pre-School Education, 1999 program, contains 42 subjects organized into two fields of training: the field common to all the basic education teachers and the field specific to pre-school education (see appendix 1). Practicum is done in pre-school facilities: the approach activities are carried out during the first year of the program in order to become familiar with the characteristics of these schools, their work dynamic and environment; there is observation of the work done by the teacher in charge of a group during the following four semesters, a period in which the future teachers also do some practice teaching; the

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intensive work is developed with a pre-school group in the last two semesters, during periods of continuous work under the tutorship of the teacher responsible for the group. In Mexico, pre-school teachers work with a group during the entire school year, so that the curriculum for the initial training for pre-school teachers includes teaching the focuses and contents of this level. Initial training for teachers in primary education The curriculum for the Bachelor’s in Primary Education, 1997 program, consists of 45 subjects and is organized into two fields of training: one that is common to basic education teachers and the other specific for the construction of skills as a teacher of primary education (see appendix 2). Practice teaching is done in the primary schools: during the first year of the course there is a process of familiarization with these facilities, identifying their characteristics, work dynamic and surroundings; from the third to the sixth semester, the students observe work in the classrooms, the way the teacher attends to the group, the strategies he uses for teaching the various subjects, the relationship with the students and the reaction and work of the children; they also do some practice teaching; in the last year, the future educators work with a group for several consecutive weeks under the regular teacher’s tutorship, dealing with contents of all the subjects of primary teaching (see appendices 5 and 6). Teachers of primary education work with one group throughout the school year; for this reason, the curriculum for their initial training includes all the subjects of this level and their teaching. As was mentioned on page 29, the SEP is working on a curricular proposal for the initial training of primary teachers in the bilingual-intercultural focus that will begin to be applied in the 2004-2005 school year. Initial training for teachers in lower secondary education The curricular map of the Bachelor’s of Secondary Education, 1999 program, has between 45 and 46 subjects, depending on the specialization. The Bachelor’s has 10 different specialties: Biology, Spanish, Geography, Physics, Civic and Ethical training, History, Foreign Language (English), Mathematics, Chemistry and Telesecondary (see appendix 3). Considering the nature of the work in our country’s secondary (junior high) schools, where a teacher can give one or more subjects, according to his specialization, and work with different groups and grades, and seeking to respond to the pedagogic demands that this entails, the curriculum is organized into three different fields:

� General training, for all basic education teachers. � Common training, for all secondary education teachers. � Specific training, related to the specific contents and teaching skills required by each

specialization (see appendices 3a and 3b). The activities of practice teaching are carried out mainly in the secondary (junior high) schools, since during the first semester they visit a primary school and observe the work of a group in the last grade; in this period they also visit secondary establishments of different modes (general, technical and telesecondary); from the second to the sixth semester, the future teachers observe the work and practice teach in different groups in the subject of specialization in which they are training; and in the last year they teach the contents of the subjects that correspond to their specialization in two or three groups of

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secondary education, under the tutorship of the teacher in charge of the group in each subject (see appendix 7 and 8). Initial training for teachers in physical education The contents of the curriculum of the Bachelor’s in Physical Education, 2002 program, are organized to train educators for children and adolescents in the specialization of physical education. The curricular map includes 46 subjects, which are integrated into two fields of training: general training for all basic education teachers and specific training for the physical education teacher (see appendix 4). In addition, the course of studies offers the option of studying a co-curricular pre-specialization with five different fields: sports, physical activity, recreation, therapy and artistic expression. To be trained in one of these pre-specializations, the students should select a field and study six optional subjects altogether, which may be obligatory according to the stipulation of each institution. During the first four semesters of the course the activities of familiarization with practice teaching and of observation in schools of pre-school, primary and secondary education; and in the last year, intensive practicum12 will be developed in a school with any one of these three services, where the student teachers give classes of physical education to different groups, under the tutorship of a physical education teacher. Initial training for teachers in special needs education As was mentioned on page 29, at present the focuses and contents of the Bachelor’s in Special Education are being worked on and it is hoped that the new curriculum will be initiated as of August, 2004. The new syllabus will be organized into eight semesters; it will be taught in four areas: Listening and Language, Intellectual, Motor and Visual, and will be made up of three training areas: general for basic education, common for special education, and specific by area of attention. Extension of practicum in the bachelor’s in pre-school, primary, secondary and physical education Practicum is one of the distinctive elements of the new Bachelor’s degrees and is carried out during the four years of study, beginning in the first semester and finishing intensively in seventh and eighth (see appendix 5). As was mentioned above, the syllabuses are organized into three areas of activities: especially classroom-based, of familiarization with practicum and intensive practice, these last two being where the students’ teaching practice is situated. Area of activities of familiarization with practicum In this area the study of the topics in normal school are combined with the students’ activities of observation and practice teaching in groups of schools of the corresponding educational level. These subjects are studied in the first six semesters of the program, simultaneously with the subjects of the area of activities that are mainly classroom-based. In these six semesters, the student teachers have study activities at the normal school, observe the work of the regular teacher of a group in schools of basic education, and undergo teaching experiences with children or adolescents.

12 The first generation of students taught with the new plan of studies of this Bachelor’s program is studying the third year of the degree, Therefore, they have still not done any activities of intensive practicum.

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Observation enables them to understand that the learning process is not the same for all the children in a group, because each one learns at his own pace and this requires a search for diversified strategies on the part of the teacher. The purpose of observation and practicum is for the students to know children better and better, record relevant data for reflection, recognize the features of an effective teaching practice and, mainly, improve their teaching performance. Area of intensive practice under real work conditions Intensive practice is carried out in the seventh and eighth semesters of the program; to do this, the future teachers receive the tutorship of a normal school teacher and of the regular group teacher at the practice school. During this period the future teachers systematically attend to a group from the school of basic education corresponding to the program they are studying. For several weeks the student teachers apply the knowledge and the teaching skills acquired during the first three years of their program. Practicum aims fundamentally at introducing the student teacher to the real environment where he will conduct his professional work, and has the following characteristics:

� It is systematic, because it is based on clearly defined objectives and on specific topics that are agreed upon with the regular group teacher, and because it is done in an organized way.

� It is reflexive, because the student, besides orienting his activities toward the purposes, must know how to adapt the lesson plan, look for alternatives and apply strategies to attend to the requirements of the students and of the schools where he is doing his practice teaching.

� It is analytical, because the students look for explanations for the difficulties and achievements that occur with the practice group.

In this stage of their training, the students of the public schools receive a support scholarship for the intensive practice and the social service; the satisfactory completion of the activities in the two semesters in front of the group allows them credit for their social service. Programs of professional upgrading Two types of graduate programs exist in education that basic education and normal education teachers and administrators commonly take:

i. Post-graduate courses given by the normal schools and that are particularly oriented to teachers and administrators of basic and normal education. According to the data for the school year 2003-2004, there were 65 normal schools that offered this type of program, with a population of nearly 7,000 students attending. The programs with the greatest concentration of registration were: Education in the Field of Teaching and Research, Pedagogy, Educational Administration, and Educational Orientation, with 500 to 800 students attending each one.

Since 2001, the SEP has asked the state authorities for modernized information of these programs; however, the database formed has so far been considered insufficient to contribute precise figures in this area. That year, by means of a survey that was made in the states of the Republic, data were collected that indicated the existence of 144 Normal Schools that offered this type of program.

ii. The programs offered by different institutions of higher education in the area of education and arts.

According to data for the year 2000, 470 programs were offered and approximately 118,000 students were attended to, including to the units of the UPN and 12 Normal Schools with 1,500 students, a

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figure that represents one-tenth of the number that is estimated as attending these institutions (ANUIES, 2001).

For purposes of classification and analysis, it is possible to distinguish the following types of post-graduate programs in education:

� Oriented toward the professionalization of teaching or of educational management. � Oriented toward the training of teaching researchers. � Oriented toward the specializing their students in the performance of some specific function in

the field of education. � Graduate programs characterized by the vagueness of their objectives (Bayardo, 2003).

The population seeking graduate programs in education is composed basically of:

� Basic education teachers and administrators, with initial training in teaching and who are looking for an option for professional upgrading.

� The professionals with different specialties who are involved in teaching in upper middle and higher education and who opt for these studies in order to become professionalized in teaching.

� Other professionals who through various circumstances were linked to the educational practice or who are simply interested in obtaining the next degree after the Bachelor’s (Bayardo, 2003).

Graduate programs offered by the Normal Schools As was mentioned in the fourth chapter, the studies of initial training in 1984 were raised to the Bachelor’s level, so that, in the late 80’s and early 90’s, there were a considerable number of teachers with Bachelor’s degrees or the equivalent13 who required opportunities and options different from the existing ones for their professional upgrading. Since then, the graduate studies in their levels of specialization, the Master’s and Doctorate, comprise an opportunity for upgrading in-service teachers; of the two, the Master’s programs are the ones in greater demand. The creation of the Teaching Profession Program (CM), in 1993, combined with the needs for teachers’ professionalization, was another factor that influenced the growth in demand and the expansion of these services. Until 1997, the teachers who entered the Teaching Profession (CM) and who had graduate studies in a normal school, were automatically placed at the intermediate levels. In the case of specialization, although it is located within the graduate program, does not have validity in points for CM. Characteristic of the graduate programs in education offered by the Normal Schools Most of the normal schools that offer these services are located in the capitals of the states of the Republic; however, due to the need to attend to those teachers who live in remote places, these institutions have created "branches" where groups of teachers who cannot go to the urban centers are given attention. If not all normal school campuses have optimal conditions - facilities, furniture and equipment, specialized bibliography and teaching staff with the necessary profile - for the operation of these services, then the branches are even less likely to have them. A high percentage of the teachers who attend the graduate courses do not have graduate studies and, if they do have them, they have not obtained the corresponding degree.

13 Before 1984 the studies carried out in the higher normal schools that offered teaching degrees in intermediate education, physical education, and special education were considered equivalent at the higher level, so that their graduate were able to register for graduate studies.

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Only a limited number of graduate programs are oriented toward training professional educators and seek to contribute elements for exercising the educational task responsibly, reflecting on their practice with theoretical and methodological bases, and facing and resolving educational problems (DGN-SEP, 2002). On the contrary, most of these services face significant difficulties due to their own characteristics, from a lack of homogeneous, normative bases and of solid academic support. Some of the main problems identified in these programs are:

� They are centered more on theoretical aspects and give little answer to the teachers’ professional needs.

� They maintain little contact with the national educational problems and with the necessities for basic education.

� Their purposes and exit profiles, in general, are poorly defined. � Many of them focus on training researchers but are very far from developing the competences

that this type of professional requires. � Most are not coordinated with the syllabuses and curricula for the teachers’ initial training.

The criteria for entering this type of study are various. There are institutions for those for whom the payment of registration and tuition is enough, especially private schools; others have an interview to find out the applicant’s reasons for studying these courses, or require at least two years of experience in some educational function or the credit of an introductory course; and the stricter ones, which are at a minimum, apply a knowledge exam. There are other institutions that offer graduate studies and whose main targets are the basic education teachers: the National Pedagogic University (UPN)14 and some Centros de Actualización del Magisterio (CAM) [Centers of Teacher Updating].15 The UPN has a wide, diverse offer of this type of programs, especially specializations and Master's degrees, in modalities of classroom-based, partly home-based, intensive and distance study. In particular, the graduate courses intended for basic education teachers is a topic of great interest and discussion within the national educational policy. The National Program of Education 2001-2006 presents as part of the policy of initial training, continuing education, and the teachers' professional development, the need to regulate the offer of graduate programs aimed at the in-service basic education teachers and at the teacher trainers at the normal schools. On the other hand, the SEP issued limits for the establishment and operation of graduate programs in 1995 and in 1997; and some states have prepared their own normative documents. However, there is still a need to define national and state norms for the regulation of these programs. Graduate programs in education offered by other institutions of higher education As it is the case of some programs that the normal schools offer, the studies offered by other institutions whose main targets are basic education teachers, are characterized by being programs with great

14 The UPN is a desconcentrated organism of the Department of Public Education. It was created in 1978 as an institution that, while not replacing the services offered by the normal schools, still supported the desires for professional promotion of in-service teachers by offering Bachelor’s programs as make-up courses for basic education teachers who had taken their training before 1984, when it was still not considered a Bachelor’s program. From the beginning, it formed part of the Sub-department of Higher Education and Scientific Research, but it underwent several changes in attachment between this Sub-department and that of Basic and Normal Education. As of 2001 the UPN was integrated again into the former. Besides the central unit of the UPN, located in the Federal District, 74 state units and sub-departments of these exist, making up a total of 200 centers in the whole country. 15 The CAM fulfilled a very important social function for the teaching force in the country; they were established in 1951 in order to give make-up courses for teachers who did not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, and to help them graduate, so that a national discussion exists regarding the functions that they should perform, since they were created with a different mission from that which they perform at present.

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flexibility in duration; they are generally given in home study courses or at a distance, on which the student only works on the weekends or for a few weeks during the summer. The wide heterogeneity of those who enter the graduate programs in education, makes their operation more complex and guarantees the quality of these services.

� Those who enter the postgraduate programs have very diverse backgrounds and focuses of professional training and with different interests and motives for taking these courses.

� Many students choose a postgraduate program of this kind because they are generally programs that demand little time and academic rigor to study them.

� Most of the applicants work as teachers with one or two jobs, so that they have little available time, limiting the level of requirements that the institutions wish to apply.

� There are teachers and administrators who only enter in order to obtain points to improve their position in the CM, so that their dedication to their studies is generally low.

Policies and programs for continuing education National Program of Permanent Updating (Pronap) This program started in 1995 with the purpose of permanently offering in-service teachers high-quality training options. Pronap offers a number of training options with different levels of depth, in contact with the reality of the classroom and of the school. By means of this program different support materials are given for the educational function. There are 548 Teacher Centers distributed throughout the whole country. The function of these centers is to offer the teachers a space for their permanent, comprehensive training. There, courses for updating are given and consultancy and orientation is offered to the teachers; they also have a library with specialized, modern materials. Although the combined effort made by state and federal educational authorities to consolidate a basic infrastructure of updating can be considered fruitful, there are deficiencies in the form of operation of Pronap that hinder its full incorporation into state projects for the improvement of educational services: the absence of a dominant state authority to coordinate all the course options means efforts are dispersed and there is lack of consistency between the contents and the teachers’ needs and regional particularities. Nowadays, the updating measures are oriented toward organizing strategies for coordinating efforts shared in all the areas involved, as well as toward the reorientation of the services of the Centers of Teachers which in many cases are considered insufficient, toward the educational communities in which the educator remains and where he faces the problem. Evaluation of the actions of Pronap The actions carried out by Pronap were evaluated qualitatively by an outside authority to the Department of Public Education. The general purposes of the evaluation were: to discover the needs for updating and training of the educators, and to determine the existing degree of knowledge and perception in the PRONAP. The evaluation was applied to five national groups: teachers of primary and secondary in service, technical-pedagogical assistants, school directors, inspectors and heads of disciplines.

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i. The main discoveries of this evaluation are:

� There are important differences regarding the perception that the participants have of themselves and of their attitude toward the topics related to training and updating.

� The teachers are the most committed to the training processes; they perceived themselves as the starting point for all the teaching work and are the participants with the greatest capacity for self-criticism regarding their performance as educators.

� The inspectors and heads of discipline perceive their position as the culmination of their teaching work; there is detected in them the least capacity for self-criticism of all those evaluated.

� The participants evaluated consider that greater attention and encouragement has been given to training and updating over the last few years, especially since the creation of Pronap. They also consider that this is one of the most solid indicators in the process of change and transformation of the educational system.

ii. Those evaluated also point out the problems facing professional training, including:

� Difficulty of application, in the practice of teaching, of acquired methodologies and contents. � Deficiency in educational planning, which limits the impact of the programs and contents. � The prevailing style regarding the evaluation and control of teaching work. The work of most

supervisors is limited to collecting information on teaching practice, on many occasions without coming closer to the school center.

� Certain inequity in this transformation process, because it has not managed to equally impact the different scenarios of basic education.

� In particular, secondary education and the rural areas are the least favored areas. iii. Those evaluated also suggest some topics so that the courses in updating answer to their training

needs. In general the results of the outside evaluation made it possible to identify successes, challenges and needs for the updating of basic education teachers. Other institutions that offer the programs of initial training and professional upgrading In spite of the efforts made to coordinate the services of teacher training, the lack of clarity in their purposes and in the functions of the different institutions that offer them leads to their disorganization; on occasions, the institutions duplicate functions or may even operate with focuses contradictory to the national policy. In this regard, one of the National Policy’s fundamental points for the Training and Professional Development of the basic education teachers consists in coordinating the operation and quality of the authorities, institutions and services of initial training and continuing education for the teachers. Updating Centers for Teachers (CAM) There are 46 Updating Centers for Teachers; 17 offer some of the new Bachelor’s degrees in pre-school, primary, secondary and physical education, others offer the Bachelor’s in Technological Teaching and postgraduate studies for teachers in service.

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National Pedagogical University (UPN) The UPN also offers programs of initial training for basic education teachers and programs for teachers in service. The Bachelor’s degrees that are offered at present are: � Bachelor’s degrees in Pre-School and Primary Education for the Indigenous Environment, 1994

program, which are given in 23 states of the country, in 34 headquarter units and 58 branches; so that there is a possibility of bringing these study opportunities to a broad sector of the teachers. It should be pointed out that this is the first program of a university level, the only one so far,16 aimed at assisting teachers of indigenous education. In the Latin American context, Mexico is the first country to have a program of this type (Castañeda et al., 2003).

� Bachelor's of Education; although the UPN has offered this program since 1994 to catch up the

teachers without Bachelor's studies; teachers who do not have a Bachelor's degree have at least 16 years of service, so that there is less and less demand for make-up programs. Therefore, the registration for this Bachelor's degree is made up mainly of (senior) high school graduates qualified as pre-school and primary teachers to work in the programs of community education mentioned in chapter 2; as well as of teachers who work in private schools and who have different types of training; or of people who attend the basic education services for adults.

� Bachelor's in Educational Intervention, created in 2002, aimed at senior high school graduates and

professionals interested in studying another career. � Bachelor's in the Teaching of French, created in 2002, aimed at teachers in service or at high school

graduates. Two circumstances, over the last 10 years, have led this institution to rethink their academic project and the way it fits into the National Educational System: the exhaustion of the make-up services and the distortion of registration in the Bachelor's in Education; and the relocation of the UPN in the Sub-Department of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Castañeda et al., 2003). Since the fundamental purpose for which this institution was created had almost been exhausted, the functions that it will have in the future are now being revised. Most likely it will focus on offering postgraduate studies for in-service teachers and develop research in the teaching environment. Among the strengths of this institution it should be pointed out that the selection of teaching staff is based on strict regulations, which means the quality of the teaching staff and researchers making up this organism is guaranteed. Policies for teacher certification There are three national agreements established jointly by the SEP and the SNTE to grant a professional degree easily to teachers who have taken courses in initial training and fulfill a series of pre-requisites, so that they can obtain their professional degree on academic merits without following the established procedures of preparation of a thesis for graduation and presenting a professional exam (to defend their thesis). Agreements 170 and 176, issued in 1992 and 1993 respectively, are applicable to graduates of certain institutions, trained with syllabi prior to 1984, when the program became a Bachelor's degree. Agreement

16 The Department of Public Education is working on a curricular proposal for the initial training of primary teachers with a bilingual-intercultural focus (see chapter 4, topic: Reform of the syllabi and curricula for the initial training of basic education teachers).

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252, established in 1999, is applicable to graduates of the Bachelor’s in Technological Teaching, 1984 program. Teachers interested in obtaining their professional title in this way should fulfill some of the following requirements:

� They should have concluded the corresponding studies with a minimum average of 8. � If they are lacking some credits, the options for completing them are: to present exams with a

sufficient level and to prepare research work on a topic related to the courses studied. � To be an active teacher, with a minimum of five years of uninterrupted service. � To present a work paper corresponding to a year of service. � To present the following documentation: an annual performance record with the maximum

number of points, a certificate of studies and proof of service at the corresponding level. � Other requirements that are applied less strictly and that are generally used when the applicant

does not meet any of the previous ones are: substantiation that he has given at least 20 talks related to the courses studies, proof of excellent in-service merits, and to be author of a published work.

There is a national coordinating commission for the process of graduation derived from these secretarial agreements, made up of representatives of the SEP and of the SNTE; as well as an ruling commission that analyzes and validates the applicants’ documentation. Although this resource has allowed a great number of teachers to obtain the degree in the corresponding area (see table 4.5), there are deficiencies in the procedure that require revising, such as: the lack of precision of the agreements regarding the maximum number of credits that the applicants may be missing, as well as the number of subjects that must have been passed. Also, the fulfilling of the requirements indicated above is excluding, that is to say, it is sufficient for the applicant to have covered some of them to be entitled to graduate.

Table 4.5. Teacher Certification. Number of degrees issued through the application of Secretarial Agreements 170, 176 and 252

Year Total no. of degrees 1993 99 1994 3 200 1995 1 620 1996 2 941 1997 2 728 1998 1 272 1999 1 109 2000 497 2001 391 2002 458 2003 415 Total 14 730

In process 394

Source: Comisión Coordinadora de Titulación, 2004.

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Promotion system for the teaching staff of basic education Two national programs exist for the promotion of basic education teachers: Vertical Scale (EV) and Teaching Career (CM). The teachers can be registered in both programs. Although the salary tabulators of CM are more attractive, the program has more requirements for joining it, so that not all teachers can have access to it. National Teaching Career Program [Programa de Carrera Magisterial] The CM, created in 1993, consists in a system of horizontal promotion that allows the teachers mobility and access to a higher income, on a base salary. The operation of the program is under the responsibility of the national SEP-SNTE commission (Secretary of Public Education and National Union for Workers of the Education), as the maximum body authorized to regulate, supervise and evaluate it; there are also 34 Parity State Commissions for deciding on the applicants’ membership and participation, and the School Evaluation Bodies, who register the applicants who fulfill the requirements and qualify the factors of seniority, academic degree and professional performance. In 2003, they were nearly 800,000 basic education teachers registered in the CM. The registered teachers can be evaluated every year but they can only compete for one promotion at another level after haveing spent a certain time at each level. Over a period of three years, they have the opportunity to participate in three evaluations, and at the end of the period the highest score is taken into account in deciding their promotion. For every five years of service the teachers can apply for a small pre-established salary increase. The opportunities for mobility in this system are:

i. From one area to another. When a promotion of this type is authorized, the teachers begin from the initial level, in the new area, and every three years can move to a higher level.

ii. From one level to another within the same area. For both types of mobility there are five levels: A, B, C, D and E, with specific requirements for each one. Table 4.6 shows the weighting of the criteria in determining the promotion of the teaching and administrative staff, supervisors, and of the pedagogical support personnel in basic education. The mechanisms for evaluating the teachers who want to be promoted are:

� The teacher’s supporting documents: certificate of professional studies, resume, substantiation of courses of updating related to teaching, certificate of graduate studies.

� Knowledge exam for the teacher’s students. � Exam to evaluate the teacher’s professional background in methodological, legal, administrative

aspects and those of curricular contents.

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Table 4.6. Teaching Career Program. Evaluation criteria Maxim um score

Criteria

1st factor. Teachers in-

class

2nd factor. School

administrators and supervisors

3rd factor. Technical-

pedagogical support

personnel Seniority 10 10

Academic degree 15 15 15

Professional training 28 28 28

Updating and professional upgrading courses 17 17 17

Professional performance 10 10 10

Student progress 20 -- --

Student performance -- 20 --

Teaching support -- -- 20

TOTAL 100 100 100 Source: Ortiz Jiménez, M., 2003.

The CM program seeks to connect the teachers’ salary to their professional performance. To pass from one level to another, it is necessary to achieve the best scores in each of the factors indicated in table 4.6; however, obtaining results below the scores has no impact on the teacher’s salary and there are no measures to remedy this situation. In general it is thought that these evaluations are not very critical, or do not reflect the true teaching performance. 48% of the points correspond to exams (Santibáñez M. L. et to the., 2002) and the remaining 52% can be obtained with the necessary documents. The program has had national recognition and was appropriately structured for the ends proposed. However, the teaching profession, the educational authorities and the national and state union organizations agree regarding the need to revise it and to modify its form of operation. Among the explicit objectives of the program and its implementation, a gap can be observed; the program does not operate as indicated by the technical guidelines. Among the most serious problems are: lack of clarity in the indicators of seniority; the teachers subject to evaluation have no access to the information that would allow them to identify and overcome their inadequacies; there is great discretionality concerning the recognition of the updating or training courses, which have deficiencies and, in general, they lack theoretical-practical activities; besides there not being any clear norms for their modification (Loyo, A. and A. Muñoz, 2003). In addition, the financing for CM is insufficient and for is reason not all teachers enter who would potentially have the right to do so; the evaluation is not carried out through an autonomous body and so both educational authorities and the National Union intervene in the result. CM has become, instead of a support and upgrading program for educators, a control device (Loyo, A. and A. Muñoz, 2003). In most states in the country, they consider that the highest scores for CM are obtained with the updating courses and graduate studies done by the teacher, and not so much through his professional performance. They also express doubts as to the transparency in the handling of the marks and in the ruling on

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promotion; but the greatest doubt is related to the impact that the program has in improving the quality of basic education.

Vertical Ladder [Escalafón vertical] This system works from 1973, to which incorporate also the teachers of the half superior level, (CM only applies for the basic level). The approaches of evaluation of this system are based on four factors: knowledge, aptitudes, antiquity, and it disciplines and punctuality.

Table 4.7. Vertical ladder. Evaluation approaches

Factor Component % Maximum

score Documentation

Knowledge Training Professional and cultural Improvement

20 25

1 080 Higher academic degree Proof of professional improvement

Aptitude Initiative, industry, efficiency, etc.

25 600 Ladder credit

Seniority Years of service 20 480 Certificate Discipline and puntuality

Order, reliability, etc. 10 240 Ladder credit

Source: Ortiz Jiménez, M., 2003.

Unlike the CM, which applies exams to evaluate training and professional performance, in EV documents validate these items. Another difference is that the teacher can be promoted annually, if he meets the requirements and the commission rules favorably. Promotion in the EV is conditioned by the creation of positions and especially by retirements, resignations or deaths of those who occupy the higher levels. The teacher promoted to administrative functions is forced to give up teaching, so that often the teaching service loses its best, most experienced teachers (Cervantes, 2003). Promotions can occur within the same level, from teaching to administrative, or between teaching levels from primary to secondary. According to the opinion of the main people involved in the processes of training and professional development for basic education teachers, the criteria for promotion in both systems, CM and EV, have counteracted their initial purpose and have only encouraged greater attendance at the programs of continuing education as a way to accumulate points (SEP, 2004b). Policy initiatives for promotion to administrative and supervisory positions by means of a competition This is a policy initiative that is very similar to the one described in chapter 5 on the evaluation, selection and hiring of basic education teachers by means of an entrance exam. Both were recently approved by the federal and state education authorities. It is an evaluation process, made up of components and instruments, that takes into account the components of the Vertical Ladder and incorporates new criteria for selecting administrators, through the application of exercises to the applicants, who will have to demonstrate their possession of the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes necessary for performing this function. The policy consists of an

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obligatory procedure aimed at educators who aspire to an administrative post, and to administrators who aspire to a supervisory post.

Table 4.8. Evaluation instruments and components for promotion to administrative and supervisory posts

Components Instruments

Professional profile - Written exam of knowledge - Exercise of administrative management

Professional performance - Portfolio of substantiation Training, professional and cultural improvement - Substantiating documents

Seniority - Substantiating documents

Discipline and punctuality - Substantiating documents

Source: SEP, 2004b.

Table 4.9. Factors, subfactors and their weighting in the promotion

to administrative and supervisory posts

Factor Subfactores %

Perfil profesional � Exam of knowledge � Practical exercise of administrative management

40 20

Professional performance � Student progress � Technical-pedagogical activities � Activities for improving organization and functioning

of school or zone

6 6 6

Training, professional and cultural improvement

� Academic degrees and studies completed � Updating, training and professional upgrading

activities � Academic work published

3 5

2 Seniority � Years of service 5

Discipline and punctuality (No sub-factors defined) 2

Total 100 Source: SEP, 2004b.

The implementation of this process will be carried out in two stages. It is estimated that the first will begin in 2004 and the second in 2005. Requirements for graduation in studies of initial training The Secretary of Public Education issued the Academic Guidelines for Organizing the Process of Graduation in the Bachelor’s degrees in Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education, whose study plans were reformed. Through these guidelines, the SEP establishes the responsibilities, forms of organization and actions to be developed so that the students who have completed the corresponding studies satisfactorily can graduate. The application of the guidelines is obligatory for all the public and private establishments that offer these Bachelor’s degrees, and it is the responsibility of the state educational authorities to prepare local regulations or even for each teacher’s college.

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In order to obtain the professional degree, besides having credits in all the subjects on the corresponding course of studies, the students should complete their Social Service and prepare a Graduation Document (thesis) to undergo the professional exam (defend the thesis).

i. Social Service. This is done during the last year of the program through activities performed in the courses of Educational Work I and II. During this period, the students offer an educational service to the children, the school and the community, in which they put into practice the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have consolidated in the previous semesters of their training. In this regard, the social service is linked to tasks proper to the profession that the student teachers will practice and ceases to be an additional task unrelated to their future professional performance and that was normally only done to fulfill the administrative requirement.

ii. Graduation document (thesis). This is an essay that the student prepares during the last year of the

program in which he expresses a particular view on a topic, explains ideas or reflections and personal points of view related to his teaching experience that he sustains with arguments. The orientation and revision of this work is the responsibility of the adviser of the EN who also supports the student in activities of teaching practice.

The preparation of the Graduation Document is conceived as a teaching activity and not as an administrative requirement. In order for it to fulfill this function, it is essential that its preparation involve an in-depth analysis and explanation of problems or processes directly related to teaching work, using the knowledge acquired during training, experiences of practicum and autonomous investigation.

iii. Professional exam. This is a learning experience in which the student, before a jury, explains and

bases the content of his graduation document (defends his thesis). The activities and responsibilities that correspond each participant during the graduation process are the following:

Table 4.10. Functions of the participants in the graduation process of the Bachelor’s degrees in initial training

Participants Activities and responsibilities

National educational authority

Issues the limits for organizing the process.

State educational authority Disseminates the national guidelines and establishes and disseminates state regulations.

Director of establishment Verifies knowledge and application of the norms.

Graduation Commission Made up of up to seven members of the teaching staff. It plans, coordinates, follows up and evaluates the actions involved in this process.

Student Presents a graduation document (thesis) and undergoes the professional exam (defends thesis).

Registrars office Takes charge of making up the student’s file and disseminating the results.

Source: SEP, 2002b.

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Joint responsibility in designing curricular contents As was mentioned in the chapter 1, it is the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Executive Power, through the Department of Public Education, to guarantee the national character of basic education - pre-school, primary and secondary - and the initial training and continuing education of basic education teachers. Therefore, the design and publishing of national curricula and syllabi are the responsibility of the SEP. Academic groups who respond voluntarily to the announcements published by the SEP, participate in the design, and the contents are revised by technical teams of the corresponding educational level. The state educational authorities, union sections, teachers, parents and members of the state technical teams may suggest modification or updating of the contents and propose the inclusion of regional topics and optional subjects. Support programs for admission to teaching There are no national support programs in this sense; some states carry out introductory courses, but there is no systematized information available on this subject. Among some of the actions carried out by the Department of Public Education are the General Updating Workshops, prior to the beginning of the school year, by means of which the basic education teachers are sensitized to the corresponding topic and to the priorities of the school project at the school where they will be working. Also, by means of a planning exercise that is carried out in the general workshops, the director of the school obtains data for identifying which of his teachers may require direct consultancy. This constitutes the first support for the new teacher; however, this type of consultancy is not always offered. Most of the teachers who were recently incorporated are hired to cover a temporary position, that is to say, they substitute a regular teacher temporarily on assignment or leave of absence without pay; and only a small proportion are hired as a regular teacher. This form of widespread hiring means that during the first years of their service, the teachers work at different schools, a factor that limits their commitment and educational experience and affects their professional work.

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5. SELECTION AND ASSIGNMENT OF TEACHERS Policy priorities related to the selection and hiring of teachers The National Education Program 2001-2006 establishes that teachers are the most important factor for the development of a high-quality education, so that it is necessary for teachers with the necessary knowledge, abilities and competencies to be incorporated at all levels and in all educational services in order to ensure that the students achieve the educational results expected of them. For its part, the Social Commitment to Quality in Education, described in chapter 1, places emphasis on the teacher as the key factor in encouraging educational quality and in the need to train teachers with appropriate profiles for the performance of their functions. As part of the actions of the National Policy for the Training and Professional Development of Basic Education Teachers, described in chapter 4, 31 state forums of analysis and discussion were held in which one of the topics referred to the processes of admission and permanence of the teachers. Of the main contributions in this respect, important consensuses can be identified between teachers and administrators of teachers’ colleges and basic education schools, as well as between investigators and specialists. Foremost among these are: � Regulating the admission, promotion and continuance of the teachers by establishing rigorous

mechanisms and evaluation processes according to the function performed. � Ensuring that the hiring of teachers responds to the academic and educational necessities, rather than

political questions or group interests. � Implementing, by means of government agreements, the application of an exam as a requirement for

entering service. Assignment of positions for basic education teachers Newly created positions Annually, according to the authorized national budget and with the resources of the states, a certain number of positions are created. In eleven states of the Republic the assignment of the newly created positions is sole responsibility of the educational authority; in three states, only of the union section; and in the remaining 18, each of these two authorities decides the assignment of 50% of the positions. Positions vacant due to personnel incidences In thirteen states, the union sections decide on the granting of the positions that are left vacant due to cases of resignation, retirement or the death of the personnel; in only seven states is the decision in the hands of the state authority, and in the other twelve, each authority designates half of these positions. Mechanisms for the selection and hiring of basic education teachers The following table shows us that, out of the 32 states of the Republic, 13 apply selection mechanisms to incorporate teachers into the service, and 19 apply none.

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Table 5.1. Mechanisms for hiring basic education teachers in the 32 states

Number of

states Hiring mechanisms

8

� Systematically apply exam for entering service.

� The evaluation processes enjoy credibility and have been positive.

� The exam is the main mechanism in obtain the position.

� 100% of the newly created positions and of the positions through incidence are granted in 5 and 4 states respectively, through competitions by opposition.

� In 3 entities, 50% of these positions are granted by competition; the assigning of the remaining 50% is decided by the National Union.

5 Apply tests only for some educational modes and services.

19 Do not apply any evaluation process.

Source: DGN-SEP, 2003b.

The experience of eleven states that carry out an evaluation process to incorporate new basic education teachers In 2003, the SEP carried out a study to find out more precisely about the experiences of eleven of the 13 states that use some selection mechanism. The adoption of these selection policies is in response to similar problems:

� Insufficient positions to hire all graduates of normal schools. � Privilege of certain institutions to hire graduates. � Admission into service of people without the necessary professional profile. � Non-transparent mechanisms and procedures for selection, hiring and assigning of teachers. � Discretionary procedures in granting positions: traffic of influences, commercialization of

positions, the right of those retiring to leave the position to whomever they choose. � Ability granted to the SNTE to decide on 50% of the applicants to occupy vacant posts.

The selection process in these states answers to three basic purposes:

� To contribute to the improvement of the quality of the basic education, incorporating the best teachers into service.

� To make the process of assignment of posts transparent, by means of a reliable, fair mechanism that offers equal opportunities to the teachers in obtaining a position.

� To guarantee a more rational use of the positions that are newly created or a result of personnel incidences.

The main requirements for participating in the selection process are:

� In all states it is essential to have the professional training that corresponds to the educational level at which one aspires to enter, and to have a teaching degree.

� In seven states only graduates of public normal schools can compete. � In five entities it is necessary to be a native or resident of the state in which one wishes to

compete. � In six states the average obtained in the degree program is taken into account.

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As for the aspects that are included in the evaluation, the knowledge exam, together with the average obtained in the Bachelor’s program and the psychometric exam, are the components with greatest weight in the processes of evaluation of these eleven states. In one state, the knowledge exam is the only selection mechanism; in the other seven, this component represents between 50 and 80% of the points; and in only one state this type of test is not applied. In three states, the psychometric exam receives the highest weighting and in four, the average of the Bachelor’s program represents 50% of the final points. Knowledge exam The knowledge exam that seven states apply is designed by the Evaluations Branch (DGE) of the SEP, according to the level and corresponding educational service; the DGE is also responsible for supervision during application of the exam, as well as the grading of the exam. The application is the responsibility of the state educational authority. It is an instrument made up of approximately 80 elements, with closed questions and with optical reader answer sheets. The maximum time for answering it is two and a half hours. The aspects that are evaluated by this test are related to the knowledge, abilities and skills that a teacher should master when in service. The weight that is assigned to each component of the exam is defined by the DGE, with minimal variations among the seven states. The DGE prepares a study guide on the topics that each exam covers to help the applicants prepare for it.

Table 5.2. Aspects evaluated by the knowledge exam, applied in 7 states, and their weighting by educational level and service

Aspects to evaluate and their weighting

Educational level or service

Legislative principles that regulate basic

education

Knowledge of curricular material

Disciplinary contents of level or service

Total

Pre-school 10 60 30 100

Primary 20 35 45 100

General secondary 20 20 60 100

Technical secondary 20 20 60 100

Telesecundary 15 35 50 100

Physical 10 40 50 100

Special 20 30 50 100 Source: DGN-SEP, 2003a.

Most of the states carry out the evaluation process annually, and the application of the exam is carried out simultaneously for all educational services and levels. Psychometric exam In six states a psychometric exam is applied, but two of them only use it as an additional referent to decide if the candidate is suitable for occupying a teaching position; therefore, this test is not representative in the final evaluation. The exam applied by three states is designed and marked by the DGE. It is an instrument made up of 152 questions, with optical reader sheets to record the answers. The maximum time for answering it is an hour and a half. This test combines profile and personality inventory, which makes it possible to evaluate eight

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personality features: origin, responsibility, emotional stability, sociability, caution, originality, personal relationships, and vigor. It is solved using factorial analysis and the technique of forced choice. Results of the selection process and assignment of positions According to the results obtained by the applicants and the established weighting for each component, the educational authority forms a list by level and educational modality, heading the lists those who obtained the highest qualifications. In all states, registration in the selection process has no cost and, except for one, those who were not selected can compete again for a position at another time. In these states, strategies have been developed at the same time to give transparency and legality to this process, thus guaranteeing the credibility and trust of the participants and of the different sectors of society. Tables 5.3 and 5.4 show the high number of teachers who request employment and the shortage of positions for hiring them all: only 24% of the applicants have access to teaching service. This situation is a result of three main factors: the number of positions under the control of the union sections* and that are not assigned by competition; the lack of effective regulation of the registration in the normal schools; and the assignment of double positions for a single teacher.

Table 5.3. Applicants registered in the evaluation process 2002-2003 and positions granted, by educational level or modality

Pre-school education

Primary education

Secondary education

Sum Other modes* Total

2 403 542 3 100 1 044 4 894 963 10 397 2 549 1 730 355 12 127 2 904

*Note: others refers to special education, physical education and indigenous education.

Source: DGN-SEP, 2003a.

Table 5.4. Proportion of applicants who obtained a position, by educational level

2002-2003

Pre-school education

Primary education

Secondary education

Sum Other modes* Total

23% 34% 20% 25% 21% 24%

Note: others refers to special education, physical education and indigenous education.


Telesecondary service is the one that has the greatest number of applications, a situation that is basically owing to the fact that many applicants are not trained as teachers and this is an opportunity to have a position in the educational sector, which in turn limits the opportunities of access to employment to normal school teachers.

Table 5.5. Applicants registered in the evaluation process and positions assigned at the level of secondary education, by type of service. 2003-2004

General secondary Technical secondary Telesecundary

2 403 542 3 100 1 044 4 894 963


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The hiring of teachers selected to occupy a position is regularly carried out immediately upon the publishing of the results. However, in some states the process can take up to one year, depending on the availability of positions. In most states the newly created positions are made permanent at six months. For this, some require the recently incorporated ones to fulfill criteria of punctuality, attendance and good work performance. In others, this depends on the school principal’s and the area supervisor’s evaluation of the teacher’s in-class performance in front of a group. Cases exist in which, due to the impossibility of having newly created positions, only interim positions are assigned to the new teachers, who temporarily occupy a position that belongs to a teacher on leave of absence. When there is a vacant position due to incidence (retirement, resignation or death) they give the position to one of the teachers who is covering a interim position. Policy initiatives for the selection and hiring of basic education teachers Both the contributions of the state forums, indicated above, and the results of the experiences of the eleven states that carry out selection processes of the teachers in order to assign them a position, constitute an important referent in implementing a national policy in this regard. The national policy initiative with respect to the evaluation, selection and hiring of basic education teachers through an entrance exam was recently approved by federal and state educational authorities. Purposes of the evaluation policy, selection and hiring of teachers

i. To contribute toward improving the educational quality, incorporating only teaching staff who fulfill the required profile.

ii. To make the process of assigning positions transparent to the new teachers by means of reliable mechanisms that offer equal opportunities, eradicating discretionary practices.

iii. To establish criteria and procedures that would make it possible to harmonize the labor rights of the teachers with the rights of the children to receive high-quality teaching, which presupposes having competent teachers.

iv. To guarantee a rational use of the newly created positions and vacancies due to incidences of personnel, granting them according to the results of the evaluation process and to the needs of the service.

v. To contribute to the improvement of the processes of educational planning and the opportune assignment of teachers to schools or areas.

This initiative will make it possible to select, by means of a series of specific instruments, those teachers who show they have the knowledge, abilities and skills needed to work in basic education services and to encourage high learning levels among the students. The evaluation process and selection will be an obligatory requirement, to be covered by that every teacher newly graduated from the normal schools, interim teachers or other professionals interested in acquiring a teaching position in the different levels and services of basic education. Phases of implementation of the evaluation policy and teachers’ selection The implementation of this policy will be carried out in two stages:

i. In the first phase, the evaluation and selection of teachers will be carried out through an instrument of basic evaluation: a knowledge exam. The available evaluation instruments will be used for it; in

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particular, the exam designed by the DGE will be applied, which is the same one that seven states already apply.

ii. In the second phase, the evaluation and selection will be carried out through a knowledge exam, the

evaluation of the exercise of practicum, and the presentation of the portfolio of substantiation. For this phase there will already be a proposal of national standards for evaluating competencies that are required to enter the service and with a specially designed exam.

Components to be evaluated and evaluation instruments In addition to the components that may be established at the national level, every state will be able to define others, as well as specific instruments for evaluating them. These options should correspond to the criteria and guidelines specified for this process. Professional performance will be an additional component for in-service teachers who have covered interim positions and are competing to obtain a permanent position. For the design of evaluation instruments an interdisciplinary group will be formed with basic education teachers who are outstanding in their teaching practice, and with specialists of recognized prestige. For the evaluation of the exercise of the practicum and of the portfolio of substantiation, once the performance profiles have been defined, criteria and indicators to be taken into account will be established. The following tables indicate what each instrument consists of, what components each one will evaluate, and what the basic components and their weighting will be, for the two phases of the process application.

Table 5.6. Components and evaluation instruments

Components Instruments Description

Knowledge Written exam

The level of the teachers’ knowledge about what and how to teach will be evaluated; and disciplinary knowledge, and knowledge of focus and of didactic application. The mastery of declarative, conceptual and procedural knowledge derived from the basic education teacher’s professional profile will be examined.

Teaching abilities

Exercise of practicum

Competencies for teaching and abilities to analyze concrete situations in the classroom and the school, and the application of pertinent didactic strategies, will be evaluated. They will be asked to prepare a written work and defend it orally.

Professional performance

Portafolios de substantiations

It will be made up of documents substantiating the educational work, such as: lesson plans, written documents, the students’ evaluations and work, photos, colleagues’ testimonies, parents or the school principal and a video recording of a teaching practicum.

Fuente: DGN-SEP, 2004c

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Table 5.7. Components and weighting by application phase

Weighting (%)

Second phase 2005 Basic components First phase 2004

Recently graduated Interim teachers

Knowledge 80 70 50

Teaching abilities Not applicable 20 20

Professional performance Not applicable Not applicable 20

Subtotal 80 90 90

Additional components 20 10 10

Total 100 100 100

Source: DGN-SEP, 2004c.

In the first phase, for the evaluation of the teachers, basic standards of professional competency will be taken as reference. For the following stages, the evaluation process will be of a criterial type, where each person evaluated should reach a performance level or standard based on the established professional performance profile. Professional Performance Profile The professional performance profiles17 are related to the "exit profile" which is the one that is expected to be produced among the future teachers, and it is established in the new syllabi of the Bachelor’s programs in pre-school, primary, secondary and physical education. They constitute the group of features that the applicant should necessarily show in order to enter service, or in order to continue his in-service career, carry out successfully his educational functions and achieve his purposes at the educational level at which he is incorporated, as well as to contribute to the achievement of the objectives and goals that the institution has outlined for the fulfilling of its purposes (DGN-SEP, 2004b). The professional profiles that any basic education teacher should cover, consist of a series of competencies that are organized into five fields: specific intellectual abilities, mastery of the purposes and contents of basic education, - according to the level and mode of service to which he aspires to be admitted -, didactic competencies, professional and ethical identity, and capacity of perception and response to the social conditions of the school’s environment.

17 The work group of the National Technical Commission, responsible for the definition of performance profiles and standard of evaluation, took as a base the desirable features of the exit profile for the new basic education teacher; for this purpose, it included contributions obtained from experience in the different programs directed towards the teachers at the different levels and in educational modes, as well as of the relative experience to the construction of national and state exams for teachers, and of the analysis of their results. In this section the set of fundamental, common features that were identified, are described.

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Specific intellectual abilities To have skills giving access to knowledge and to do more deeply into it based on experience and systematic study, such as perceptive, analytical reading; oral and written expression; the capacity to formulate and solve problems of different types; to look for, select and use different information and different support resources for teaching. Mastery of teaching contents To know the purposes and have sufficient mastery of the teaching contents of basic education, in particular of the corresponding level or service, as well as to establish the relationship with the contents of other levels; to know the relationships that exist among the contents of the same subject and between this and the other subjects of a specific grade or level, as well as the sequence and the depth with which they should be studied in the different grades or educational levels, taking into account the children’s and adolescents’ developmental characteristics. Didactic competencies To know the focuses proposed for teaching the contents according to the characteristics and cognitive, physical and emotional development, and at different learning paces that children and adolescents demonstrate; to know and apply different didactic strategies so that all students, independently of their personal, social and cultural characteristics, can experience significant learning; to value the learnings achieved by his students in order to fundamentally modify the didactic procedures followed in his teaching practice, which implies applying evaluation procedures that favor the permanent reflection on practicum; to detect children with special educational needs or at risk of failure at school, and to propose specific strategies to assist them or to know how to orient them toward other support services. Professional identity and ethics To possess a set of values and attitudes that allow him to assume his profession as a life work, to carry out his task with responsibility and commitment, to treat his students, the school community and the parents with respect, besides participating actively in improving the school. The teacher’s recognition and appreciation of his profession will allow him to develop it with dignity and look for essential means for his permanent professional training; as well as participating jointly in the preparation of an educational project in the school. Capacity of perception and answer to the social conditions of the surroundings of the school To know the regional, social, cultural and ethnic diversity of the country; to have the capacity of appreciation, respect and attention to the population’s educational necessities and to apply the curricula with the adaptations needed to respond to the local specificities and the diversity of the surroundings*. To recognize the school as a social institution that contributes to the training of the students helping them to act with security in different spheres of society, and also to promote the rational use of natural resources and the care of the environment. For access to a teaching position, the basic education teachers should cover sufficiently well the expected competencies that are group into the five areas, besides the specific ones that are added by level and educational mode: initial education, pre-school, primary, secondary, - general, technical and telesecondary -, physical, special, indigenous, artistic and technological. To do this, the corresponding professiographic profiles will be prepared.

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The evaluation and selection processes carried out with the entrance exam will be based on the preparation of a comprehensive evaluation that considers knowing, knowing how and being a teacher; that is to say, knowledge, skills, competencies, values and attitudes that the candidates are expected to possess in order to occupy an educational position. The performance profile will be evaluated by means of different methods and instruments whose validity and reliability ensure the selection of teachers who have the best competencies for practicing teaching. Requirements for participating in the evaluation process To be an candidate competing for a teaching position the aspirant must meet the following requirements:

� Must be a graduate of a normal school that is officially recognized. Depending on the requirements of the teaching service in each state, the state authority will be able to extend the competition to graduates of other Bachelor’s courses or of other teaching institutions (described in chapter 4).

� Must have a teaching degree and training according to the demands of the educational level and service in which he seeks to be incorporated.

� Must be Mexican. � In the event of having teaching experience, must not have been dismissed from his functions as

state worker or have been disabled in the exercise of his public functions. Hiring process According to the overall score reached by the candidates, the lists of those who are selected will be made up, by educational level and service. The first places of the listings will represent the candidates who have the highest scores. Only those teachers who demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills and aptitudes to teach can be hired. If the number of teachers selected to occupy a position exceeds the number of available positions, these will be assigned to the teachers who head the lists, and the others will remain on the waiting list for whenever there are positions vacant due to incidences of personnel. In case the selected teacher does not accept the assignment given, he will be moved to the last place on the list to wait for a new opportunity for incorporation into service. If the applicants that were not selected are still interested in obtaining a teaching position, they will be able to participate in a new evaluation process. The teachers will be able to occupy available hours or a vacant position, which may be permanent or interim, which consist in the following:

i. Permanent position. The professor will occupy the position permanently. iii. Interim position. One that belongs to another person, but that the candidate will be able to compete

to occupy. There are two type of interim positions:

� Temporary interim positions, which are positions available for a period no longer than six months

� Unlimited interim positions, which are positions whose holders are covering union or other commissions, without pay and without a definite length of time.

iii. Available hours. These cases are more common in the secondary schools. It is possible to compete

for 1 to 19 hours.

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The candidates selected to cover an interim position will be able to compete for a permanent position in subsequent evaluation periods. Once the selected teachers are assigned a permanent or interim position, they will assume the following commitments:

� To help make the learning atmosphere in the classrooms and in the school favorable. This commitment includes the fulfilling of the official school calendar as well as the work day.

� To participate in the activities of professional development of the school or school area, favoring

individual and collective reflection about their teaching practice, evaluation and continuous improvement.

� The professor who obtains a permanent position will remain at least two school years uninterruptedly in the place that was assigned at the time of hiring.

� The teacher who obtains an interim position, either unlimited or limited, will remain in the place

assigned. If in the following year he competes and again obtains a position with the same characteristics, he will be able to remain at the same assigned place or accept a different one.

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6. HOW TO KEEP GOOD TEACHERS IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS

Identification of the policy’s main priorities

The indicators established in the program of the Teaching Profession, described in chapter 4, make it possible to identify teachers that have a good teaching performance; obtaining good scores in this factor, among other things, strengthens the teacher’s overall grade, which is reflected in a possible promotion and raise, and in turn, motivates him to remain in the teaching profession. However, on one hand, the voluntary character of this program limits access to information about a larger number of teachers; and, on the other hand, it is not a guarantee that the teachers incorporated into the program and evaluated as having a good professional performance are the best. Another mechanism for identifying good teachers is by means of the informal evaluation made by the administrators of the school where they work and the supervisors of the zone; in these cases, the educational authorities grant some recognition to outstanding teachers. However, this it is not a general or systematized mechanism, but has rather arisen as an alternative way to evaluate performance. One of the current national policy’s priorities in this regard consists of recognizing the social function of in-service teachers; although this policy is not completely related to the teacher’s performance in front of the group, it establishes measures in that regard, including: the assigning of economic incentives to teachers with the highest grades in the CM program and in the exams of the National Program for Permanent Updating, awards that are given annually by the President of the Republic. In addition, the program "Educators who make the school" was recently created, which consists of awarding computing equipment to teachers who show good performance over five consecutive years of service, and offering them the chance to participate in innovative academic projects. The main interest of these actions lies in settling the teacher at the level where he practices his teaching, which in turn is reflected in the quality of the teaching and learning. Tendencies in continuance in the profession In Mexico it is not very frequent to abandon the profession, unlike what happens in other countries. One of the more influential factors in this regard consists in the fact that, after six months of entering the teaching profession, the teachers generally obtain a permanent contract, so that traditionally, teaching is considered as a lifetime occupation. The lack of certification mechanisms for professional performance has contributed to this. It is common for teachers to have a second job to increase their income, either related to teaching or to another profession, but they keep their in-class teaching job for the job security that it involves. This tendency favors the factor of continuance in the service although, on the other hand, it does not guarantee a quality performance. The mechanisms of CM promotion favor the settling of the teacher at the educational level where he works and his continuance in the teaching profession. Before the implementation of this program, teachers looked constantly for mobility to teaching levels with higher salary incomes; now, the tendency is for teachers incorporated into the program to remain at the educational level where they began their teaching work and obtain promotions within the same level. In fact, there are even cases of teachers having a higher income than the school administrators because of their mobility along the horizontal ladder. Among the national compensatory policies intended to benefit groups with greater educational backwardness, described in chapter 1, is the Program to Combat Backwardness in Initial and Basic

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Education. This program grants economic support to teachers in rural schools who attend regularly, in order to encourage them to settle there, and reduce the high turnover and absenteeism. The Federation and the states were able to give recognition to the teaching performance of more than 48,000 teachers. In spite of the support given by this program, the geographical and socioeconomic conditions of the rural and marginalized areas mean that teacher absenteeism occurs more frequently in schools located in these areas, and make the systematic supervision of school work and the monitoring of the teachers’ continuance more difficult. Besides this program, there are no other national policies for regulating absenteeism and promoting continuance. In some states of the country, preventive and corrective measures have been taken for this type of situation. For example, an action to diminish absenteeism consists in discounting the days not worked. Leaves of absence, long-term and temporary Teachers and workers serving in education have leaves with and without pay. Leaves of absence with pay are the following: � Sick leave for the worker’s illness or that of a near relative is authorized by the official health

authorities; in the second case they are granted for a maximum of eight days. � Union leaves that are granted to those who have obtained a union commission to fulfill a function

in the Sectional* or National Executive Committees of the SNTE. � Leaves for appointment of an administrative function in the national or state educational offices. � There is another type of leave that forms part of a national program called "Commission

Scholarships" and they are granted in order to do graduate studies.

Leaves without pay are a labor right and can last up to six months, after which the worker will be reinstated in his function. Leaves are also granted for positions of popular election for the duration of that function. The granting of sick leaves for reasons of professional illnesses such as stress is not contemplated in the legal provisions for education workers and they are only granted if a doctor prescribes it as a health problem. Due to the increase of this type of situation, some states have implemented measures for the temporary reassignment of in-class teachers to other areas. There are no formal studies in this area; the evidence is taken from the personal experience of people involved in this problem, from reviewing the teachers’ files, and from the result of interviews with them. Evaluation of educational performance Every year the basic education teachers registered in the Teaching Career (CM) program are evaluated. The evaluation includes the factors described in chapter 4, namely: seniority, academic degree, professional training, updating courses date and professional upgrading, professional performance and student progress. The educators not registered in CM are evaluated by means of the Vertical ladder, which allows them to be promoted to a higher category or to another educational level and to increase their salary. However, this mechanism is insufficient for identifying the good teachers, since it only takes into account the teachers’ seniority, academic training and updating, not their performance. Also, under the heading of updating, the courses that qualify are not necessarily related to teaching.

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By means of both ladders, it is possible to partially identify the teachers with good performance; however, this does not affect the teacher’s contract or his economic income if the results of the evaluation are unsatisfactory. In these cases, the teacher fails to receive a promotion or a raise in salary. Generally, when cases are detected of teachers without the necessary training and with an inadequate in-class performance, the educational authority, whether it be the school principal or the supervisor for the zone, reprimands them verbally. If shortly afterwards changes for the better are not observed, the same authority makes a written notification. If there no result is forthcoming to either of these two measures, steps are taken to change the teacher to another work place. In extreme cases, the union representative intervenes in the worker’s defense and the school authority tries to find solutions that will harm neither the teacher nor the school. The parent associations also help to identify these teachers because they observe the performance of their children and the teacher’s relationship with them. Among the national policy’s priorities for improving the quality of education is contemplated the reinforcement of teacher evaluation. Teaching authorities and school communities agree on the need to apply systematic evaluation mechanisms whose results would be used to improve teaching performance, to enhance the students’ learning and find out the impact of educational policies. One of the strategies encouraged to consolidate the teacher evaluation and make society and the different government levels in this activity jointly responsible, is the establishment of the Social Commitment to Quality in Education, described in chapter 1, in which representatives of different sectors, educational institutions and society all participate. Among the purposes and principles of the Social Commitment aimed at supporting the management of the educational system and at improving the quality of teaching and of learning, is one related to the formation of participating organisms to evaluate the educational process comprehensively, considering the diversity in the context and socio-economic situation of students and teachers, as well as the variety of schools. Another of the national measures in this regard is the creation of the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education, also described in chapter 1. The actions of this authority are directed toward the operation of a comprehensive system of evaluation that not only contemplates the indicators of quality on the operation of the educational system, but would also contribute specific results on the schools, teachers, administrators, supervisors and support personnel. Distribution of the teaching load The average number of students per teacher in basic education is 25; in this respect there are many variations, which occur due to some of the factors mentioned in the detection of competent and incompetent teachers. In some schools recognized by parents as having quality, the pressure on them is so great that the authorities of those institutions are forced to increase the number of students per group. Other educational services that also force the administrators to place as many as twice the number of students allowed because of population growth. The opposed case to these situations is in small rural communities where the number of students is very small and the teacher has to attend various grades in the same group; there are sometimes from three to five students per grade. The proportion of the teaching load is not the same for the teacher who is responsible for a group of 25 as for one of 40, or for a teacher of a multi-grade school. Under this heading, what the educational authority has implemented is the payment of a special monthly stimulus for teachers who work in schools located in rural communities.

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National program for the attention to social problems that affect the teachers’ working conditions There is a series of national and state programs of a preventive, corrective and support nature for the most vulnerable social groups. Generally, these programs are coordinated by educational, health and public security authorities.

i. The programs that the educational sector develops are directed at reinforcing values and encouraging students to learn how to face the risks to which they are exposed.

ii. Generally, the programs of the health sector are preventive, against the problem of addictions and

violence; and they are based on the development of strategies for health care. iii. The policies implemented by the public security sector are in answer to the civil population’s

demands in that respect, rather than to needs of a pedagogical nature. They consist in promoting surveillance in the schools and forming committees for the prevention of accidents of all types.

Some of the national programs established in the educational environment to attend to the problems mentioned are: � Prevention of addictions. Support guide for secondary school (junior high) teachers (1998). � Permanent crime prevention program: Thematic guide for secondary school teachers (1998) with the

classification of ten crimes that may be committed inside and outside of the school. � Prevention of child abuse project for the subsystem of primary education, 2000-2001. � Campaign for security, well-being and respect, 2002. � Program of sport activities for students outside of the school schedule.

Some examples of state educational programs are: � Program of prevention and attention to sexual mistreatment and abuse, Federal District. � "Jalisco against drugs" Preventive education plan, 2000. Where the school environment and the

teacher are the main agents in the fight against addictions. � Program of ethical reinforcement* and civic education for secondary students and centers for child

education 2001, Sinaloa. � Program of civic education against corruption and crime for students of secondary school, 2000. Baja

California. There is a proposal for this program to be implemented at the national level. � Education to Prevent Addictions Program, 2001, Nuevo León. � Program of preventive and compensatory attention for secondary schools 1997-1998, Federal

District. It includes attention to problems of dropping out, failing, attention to indigenous and immigrant groups, and behavioral and learning problems.

� The program for strengthening the primary and secondary schools in the Federal District, 1998. To attend to problems of communality, cultural diversity and dropping out, among others.

It is necessary to point out that not all of these are programs, but rather actions which, because of their strong presence in the school environment and influence on public opinion, form policies.

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The national programs that emphasize the educational aspect include: � The inclusion in the curriculum of initial training for basic education teachers of subjects related to

the systematic knowledge of the processes of child and adolescent development, and of the factors of different orders that influence their school learning.

� The syllabus for secondary teacher training contains, in addition to four courses on knowledge and

development of adolescents, a subject on "Educational attention for at-risk adolescents". � One of the specialties for teacher training at this educational level is civic and ethical education.

The specific subjects for this specialty refer to the principles, procedures and values of democracy and to the development of skills in recognizing the significant facts in the classroom environment and the external factors that affect the school.

� The inclusion, in the updating courses for basic education teachers, of contents and didactic

strategies for holding the attention and motivation of the students. The actions promoted in the educational environment have a pedagogical focus, and they seek to promote the reflection of all actors in the educational process, and to foment respect, participation and solidarity. The application of all these actions lacks an appropriate follow-up and an evaluation that could document the relevance of the programs mentioned. The evidence available, derived from reports of school administrators, shows that with the application of these actions, the incidence of these problems is reduced. To have more information on the results, it is necessary to begin formal research in this area (Furlan, et al., 2003). A series of programs that emphasize school security, aimed at preventing and enhancing the security of the students, teachers and community in general, also exists. Study opportunities for teachers and the second job The schools of basic education work in morning and/or afternoon shifts, in workdays of five hours on the average per shift, which allows the teacher to work at another job inside or outside of the area of teaching, attend training or updating courses, or to take on graduate studies. However, the fact that the income received for their teaching activity is considered insufficient, frequently places them in a quandary: whether to make their profession a lifelong occupation and look for options for professional upgrading, or to look for a second job, or to try to combine all three activities, which is more complicated. The Bachelor’s of secondary education, described in chapter 2, in its ten specializations, is also given in a mixed mode that implies classroom-based and home-study activities. This option for studying the Bachelor’s degree is exclusive for in-service, in-class teachers in a school of basic education or in some institution of any educational level. For this reason, the applicants should verify they have a minimum of two years of teaching experience. The course of studies is organized over six years instead of four, and the academic work is structured differently from courses completely involving classroom work, into three types of activities:

i. Class work, which constitutes the classroom part of this mode, is done on Saturdays and during vacation periods.

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ii. Autonomous work, consisting of study activities that the students do at the teaching institution and outside of it, on days and in schedules different from the class work.

iii. The advisory sessions, for individualized work or in groups of up to five students. It is a form of

regular support from the professors of the students’ independent work. Some units of the National Pedagogic University offer Bachelor’s studies for in-service basic education teachers in partly classroom-based and home-study modes. By means of the Bachelor’s programs in pre-school and primary education for the indigenous environment, offered in 23 states of the Republic, the UPN has trained about 15,000 teachers over a 14-year period. The Bachelor’s programs in Education, Educational Intervention and the Teaching of French are other professional options of the UPN for in-service teachers. Many graduate programs, some of dubious quality, operate in the semi-independent mode, working less than three days a week, or in an intensive modality, working on weekends or in vacation periods. To take this type of course, the teachers are entitled to apply for a Commission Scholarship, which is a leave of absence granted for up to four years. Conditions for retirement from teaching Two types of retirement exist: teachers who have federal positions can retire after 28 years of service, in the case of women, and 30, in the case of men. The maximum amount of the monthly pension is 13,000 pesos, even though the salary received at the moment of retirement may exceed this quantity. When the monthly salary is less than this figure, the pension is equivalent to the income. On the other hand, teachers who occupy state positions can retire after 28 years of service, regardless of their age, and with an monthly pension equivalent to their wage, which may be higher than the 13,000 pesos. Retirement conditions associated with the federal plan are variable. In the case of the state positions, variations occur; an exceptional case is what is called the dynamic retirement plan, in which the pensioner receives any improvement that is given to the incomes of in-service teachers (Cervantes, 2003). Beginning in the 80’s a system of savings was implemented for the voluntary retirement of education workers. The system consists of a monthly quantity that is contributed by the corresponding educational authority. At present, there are bills aimed at modifying the system of pensions for the new hiring of workers into state service. However, the union organizations are against modifications that would violate the traditional criteria of the retirement system because the monthly pension could be eliminated, in exchange for receiving a settlement base on years of service and in compliance with the Federal Law of Workers in the Service of the State. In general, the incomes for retirement are very low. So much so that for the teachers it is preferable to extend their function as teachers to the maximum, which has caused an aging of the teaching force, especially in secondary (junior high) schools (Cervantes, 2003).

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ABBREVIATIONS

Name Abbreviation

Centro Nacional de Evaluación para la Educación Superior [National Evaluation Center for Higher Education]

Ceneval

Dirección General de Evaluación [General Evaluations Office] DGE

Examen General de Conocimientos de la Licenciatura en Educación Preescolar [General Knowledge Exam for the Bachelor's in Pre-School Education]

EGP*

Escuelas Normales [Normal Schools] NS*

Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior [National Institute for the Evaluation of Higher Education]

INEE

Programa de Carrera Magisterial [Program of the Teaching Career] TC*

Programa Escuelas de Calidad [Schools of Quality Program] PEC

Programa de Mejoramiento Institucional de las Escuelas Normales Públicas [Program of Institutional Improvement of the Public Normal Schools]

Promin

Programa Nacional de Actualización Permanente [National Program of Permanent Updating]

Pronap

Programa para la Transformación y el Fortalecimiento Académicos de las Escuelas Normales [The Program for the Academic Transformation and Strengthening of Normal Schools]

PTF*

Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación [National Educational Workers' Union]

SNTE

Sistema de Escalafón Vertical [Vertical Ladder System] VL*

Secretaría de Educación Pública [Department of Public Education] SEP

Universidad Pedagógica Nacional [National Pedagogical University] UPN

* These abbreviations were assigned only for purposes of the present document.

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Á

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ctiv

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Inte

nsiv

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actic

e un

der

real

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k co

nditi

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Spe

cifi

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atio

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Act

iviti

es d

evel

oped

with

in th

e te

ache

r pr

epar

atio

n in

stitu

tion

S

peci

fic

prep

arat

ion

for

phys

ical

edu

catio

n te

ache

rs

B

A

ctiv

ities

of

fam

iliar

izat

ion

with

pra

ctic

um

C

I

nten

sive

pra

ctic

e un

der

real

wor

k co

nditi

ons

Sour

ce: S

EP

, 200

2d.

Fir

st

sem

este

r H

ours

Se

cond

se

mes

ter

Hou

rs

Th

ird

sem

este

r H

ours

F

ourt

h se

mes

ter

Hou

rs

Fif

th

sem

este

r H

ours

Si

xth

sem

este

r H

ours

Se

vent

h se

mes

ter

Hou

rs

Eig

hth

sem

este

r H

ours

Phi

loso

phic

al,

lega

l and

or

gani

zatio

nal

basi

s of

the

Mex

ican

E

duca

tiona

l sy

stem

4

Edu

catio

n th

roug

h M

exic

o’s

hist

oric

al

deve

lopm

ent I

4 E

duca

tion

thro

ugh

Mex

ico’

s hi

stor

ical

de

velo

pmen

t II

4

Sem

inar

: Sel

ecte

d th

emes

on

the

hist

ory

of p

edag

ogy

and

educ

atio

n I

4

Sem

inar

: Se

lect

ed th

emes

on

the

hist

ory

of

peda

gogy

and

ed

ucat

ion

II

4 Sc

hool

M

anag

emen

t 4

Pro

blem

s an

d po

licy

of b

asic

ed

ucat

ion

4 T

he b

ody.

St

ruct

ure

and

func

tions

I

4 T

he b

ody.

Str

uctu

re

and

func

tions

II

4 P

hysi

cal A

ctiv

ity

and

Hea

lth I

4

Phy

sica

l Act

ivity

an

d H

ealth

II

4 R

egio

nal S

ubje

ct

4

Wor

ksho

p:

Des

ign

of

dida

ctic

al

prop

osal

s an

d an

alys

is o

f th

e te

achi

ng

prac

tice

I

8

Wor

ksho

p:

Des

ign

of

dida

ctic

al

prop

osal

s an

d an

alys

is o

f th

e te

achi

ng

prac

tice

II

8

Met

hods

for

le

arni

ng a

nd

com

mun

icat

ing

I 4

Pla

y an

d ph

ysic

al

educ

atio

n 4

Intr

oduc

tion

to

spor

ts

4 M

obil

acti

vity

in th

e aq

uatic

med

ium

4

Edu

catio

nal

Spor

t and

T

eena

gers

I

4 E

duca

tion

al S

port

an

d T

eena

gers

II

4

Goa

ls a

nd

cont

ent o

f ba

sic

educ

atio

n I

4 G

oals

and

con

tent

of

bas

ic e

duca

tion

II

4 P

erce

ptiv

e-m

obil

deve

lopm

ent

thro

ugh

ryt

hm I

4

Per

cept

ive-

mob

il de

velo

pmen

t th

roug

h r

ythm

II

4 E

duca

tion

fo

r th

e us

e of

Fr

ee T

ime

I 4

Edu

cati

on

for

the

use

of F

ree

Tim

e II

4

Intr

oduc

tion

to

Phy

sica

l E

duca

tion

4 C

orpo

ral

deve

lopm

ent a

nd

Mob

ility

I

4 C

orpo

ral

deve

lopm

ent a

nd

Mob

ility

II

4

Pla

nnin

g of

In

stru

ctio

n an

d A

sses

smen

t of

Lea

rnin

g I

4

Pla

nnin

g of

In

stru

ctio

n an

d A

sses

smen

t of

Lea

rnin

g II

4

Org

aniz

atio

n of

ph

ysic

al e

duca

tion

ac

tivit

ies

at th

e sc

hool

4

Chi

ld

Dev

elop

men

t I

6 C

hild

D

evel

opm

ent I

I 6

Tee

nage

rs’

Dev

elop

men

t I

6 T

eena

gers

’ D

evel

opm

ent I

I 6

Chi

ldre

n an

d T

eena

gers

livi

ng

in r

isky

co

nditi

ons

6 Sp

ecia

l E

duca

tion

al N

eeds

6

The

sc

hool

an

d it

s’

soci

al

cont

ext

6 O

bser

vatio

n of

the

scho

ol p

roce

ss

6 O

bser

vatio

n an

d T

each

ing

Pra

ctic

e I

6 O

bser

vatio

n an

d T

each

ing

Pra

ctic

e II

6

Obs

erva

tion

and

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

III

6 O

bser

vatio

n an

d T

each

ing

Pra

ctic

e IV

6

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

I 24

T

each

ing

Pra

ctic

e II

24

Hou

rs/w

eek

32

32

32

32

32

32

32

32

Opt

iona

l I

4 O

ptio

nal I

I 4

Opt

iona

l III

4

Opt

iona

l IV

4

Opt

iona

l V

4 O

ptio

nal V

I 4

B

C

AT

TA

CH

ME

NT

4

��

AT

TA

CH

ME

NT

5

A

CT

IVIT

IES

OF

FA

MIL

IAR

IZA

TIO

N W

ITH

PR

AC

TIC

UM

IN

ICIA

L P

RE

PA

RA

TIO

N F

OR

PR

IMA

RY

ED

UC

AT

ION

TE

AC

HE

RS,

SY

LL

AB

US

1997

Sem

este

r/Su

bjec

t V

isit

s to

pri

mar

y sc

hool

s A

ctiv

itie

s pe

rfor

med

by

stud

ents

S

choo

l and

Soc

ial

Con

text

1st.

sem

este

r

Fro

m f

our

to s

ix v

isit

s pe

rfor

med

to

prim

ary

scho

ols

of

dive

rse

soci

al c

onte

xts,

aft

er t

he t

hird

wee

k of

wor

k at

th

e te

ache

r pr

epar

atio

n in

stit

utio

n.

Exp

lora

tion

and

ana

lysi

s of

the

diff

eren

t con

diti

ons

and

met

hods

of

org

aniz

atio

n w

ithi

n pr

imar

y sc

hool

s, a

nd t

heir

rel

atio

n to

the

so

cial

con

text

and

chi

ldre

n’ f

amil

ies.

Tw

o vi

sits

to p

rim

ary

scho

ols:

Dee

peni

ng

of

the

stud

y of

th

e te

achi

ng

prac

tice

an

d th

e ci

rcum

stan

ces

wit

hin

the

clas

sroo

m.

Sim

ple

activ

itie

s ar

e pe

rfor

med

; fi

rst

dire

ct

cont

act

wit

h st

uden

ts

at

the

prim

ary

scho

ol.

The

stu

dent

tak

es p

art

in a

ctiv

itie

s of

sup

port

and

gro

up

orga

niza

tion

.

The

fir

st v

isit

is th

ree

days

long

. O

bser

vatio

n of

teac

hing

act

ivit

ies.

In

trod

ucti

on to

the

Tea

chin

g Pr

actic

e

2nd.

sem

este

r

The

sec

ond

visi

t las

ts f

ive

days

in a

row

. O

bser

vatio

n of

teac

hing

act

ivit

ies.

Pr

acti

ce w

ith

som

e in

itial

act

ivit

ies

in S

pani

sh a

nd M

athe

mat

ics.

Sour

ce: (

SEP,

200

2a).

��

AT

TA

CH

ME

NT

6

AC

TIV

ITIE

S O

F O

BSE

RV

AT

ION

AN

D T

EA

CH

ING

PR

AC

TIC

E

INIC

IAL

PR

EP

AR

AT

ION

FO

R P

RIM

AR

Y E

DU

CA

TIO

N T

EA

CH

ER

S, S

YL

LA

BU

S 19

97

Act

ivit

ies

on t

he f

irst

vis

it

Act

ivit

ies

on th

e se

cond

vis

it

Sem

este

r/Su

bjec

t V

isit

s to

pri

mar

y sc

hool

s O

bser

vatio

n P

ract

ice

Obs

erva

tion

Pra

ctic

e

O

bser

vati

on a

nd

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

I

3r

d. s

emes

ter

Tw

o vi

sits

of

ob

serv

atio

n an

d pr

acti

ce,

each

on

e la

stin

g on

e w

eek.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

with

co

nten

ts o

f S

pani

sh a

nd

Mat

hem

atic

s.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

with

co

nten

ts o

f S

pani

sh,

Mat

hem

atic

s an

d Ph

ysic

al

Edu

cati

on.

O

bser

vati

on a

nd

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

II

4t

h. s

emes

ter

Tw

o vi

sits

of

ob

serv

atio

n an

d pr

acti

ce,

each

on

e la

stin

g on

e w

eek.

Obs

erva

tion

of

te

ache

r’s

wor

k,

payi

ng

spec

ial

atte

ntio

n to

the

str

ateg

ies

used

in

th

e su

bjec

t of

sp

ecia

liza

tion

. O

bser

vati

on

of

atti

tude

s an

d re

lati

onsh

ips

betw

een

chil

dren

.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

w

ith

cont

ents

of

S

pani

sh,

Mat

hem

atic

s an

d P

hysi

cal

Edu

cati

on.

Obs

erva

tion

of

teac

her’

s w

ork,

pa

ying

spe

cial

att

enti

on t

o th

e st

rate

gies

use

d in

the

sub

ject

of

spec

iali

zati

on

that

th

e fu

ture

te

ache

r is

tak

ing

at t

he t

each

er

prep

arat

ion

inst

itut

ion.

O

bser

vati

on

of

atti

tude

s an

d re

lati

onsh

ips

betw

een

chil

dren

. P

ract

ice

perf

orm

ed

wit

h co

nten

ts

of

Spa

nish

, M

athe

mat

ics

and

Phy

sica

l E

duca

tion

. S

ome

acti

viti

es

perf

orm

ed

in

the

area

s of

Nat

ural

Sci

ence

s,

His

tory

, G

eogr

aphy

an

d A

rtis

tic

Edu

cati

on.

O

bser

vati

on a

nd

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

III

5th.

sem

este

r

Tw

o vi

sits

to

a pr

imar

y sc

hool

. T

he f

irst

is

one

wee

k lo

ng,

the

seco

nd

last

s tw

o co

ntin

uous

w

eeks

.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

w

ith

cont

ents

of

S

pani

sh,

Mat

hem

atic

s,

Phy

sica

l E

duca

tion

, N

atur

al S

cien

ces,

H

isto

ry,

Geo

grap

hy

and

Art

isti

c E

duca

tion

.

Bes

ides

th

e su

bjec

ts

they

al

read

y w

ork

wit

h, t

he s

tude

nts

star

t w

orki

ng

wit

h C

ivic

E

duca

tion

and

Eth

ics.

O

bser

vati

on a

nd

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

IV

6t

h. s

emes

ter

Tw

o vi

sits

to

a pr

imar

y sc

hool

. T

he f

irst

is

one

wee

k lo

ng,

the

seco

nd

last

s tw

o co

ntin

uous

w

eeks

.

Obs

erva

tion

of

at

titu

des

and

reac

tion

s of

ch

ildr

en

to t

he a

ctiv

itie

s pr

opos

ed

by

the

futu

re

teac

her.

O

bser

vati

on

of

activ

itie

s an

d re

lati

onsh

ips

betw

een

chil

dren

. In

the

six

th s

emes

ter

ther

e is

ob

serv

atio

n of

th

e te

ache

rs’

acti

viti

es

in

mee

ting

s w

ith p

aren

ts.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

w

ith

cont

ents

of

all t

he s

ubje

cts.

Obs

erva

tion

of

at

titu

des

and

reac

tion

s of

ch

ildr

en

to

the

acti

viti

es

prop

osed

by

th

e st

uden

t. O

bser

vati

on

of

acti

viti

es

and

rela

tion

ship

s be

twee

n ch

ildr

en.

In t

he s

ixth

sem

este

r th

ere

is

obse

rvat

ion

of

the

teac

hers

’ ac

tivi

ties

in

m

eetin

gs

wit

h pa

rent

s.

Pra

ctic

e pe

rfor

med

w

ith

cont

ents

of

all t

he s

ubje

cts.

Sour

ce:

(SE

P, 2

002a

)

��

AT

TA

CH

ME

NT

7

A

CT

IVIT

IES

OF

FA

MIL

IAR

IZA

TIO

N W

ITH

PR

AC

TIC

UM

IN

AL

L T

HE

SU

BJE

CT

S O

F S

PE

CIA

LIZ

AT

ION

INIC

IAL

PR

EP

AR

AT

ION

FO

R S

EC

ON

DA

RY

ED

UC

AT

ION

TE

AC

HE

RS,

SY

LL

AB

US

1999

Vis

its

to s

econ

dary

sch

ools

Sc

hool

and

gra

de v

isit

ed

Act

ivit

ies

perf

orm

ed d

urin

g th

e vi

sits

of

obse

rvat

ion

Sc

hool

and

So

cial

Con

text

1st s

emes

ter

From

fo

ur

to

six

one-

day

visi

ts.

A

sixt

h gr

ade

grou

p of

pr

imar

y sc

hool

is v

isit

ed.

Vis

its

to s

econ

dary

sch

ools

of

diff

eren

t so

cial

co

ntex

ts (

urba

n, m

argi

nate

d-ur

ban,

rur

al)

and

of

seve

ral

mod

aliti

es

(gen

eral

, te

chni

cal,

tele

-se

cond

ary)

D

iffe

rent

gro

ups

of a

ny g

rade

.

Wal

k ar

ound

the

sch

ool

look

ing

at i

ts m

ater

ial

cond

ition

s an

d at

the

act

iviti

es p

erfo

rmed

by

teac

hers

and

stu

dent

s in

th

e di

ffer

ent

phys

ical

sp

aces

of

th

e sc

hool

at

va

riou

s m

omen

ts.

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

acti

viti

es d

evel

oped

by

teac

hers

and

st

uden

ts in

the

clas

sroo

m.

Info

rmal

ch

at

wit

h te

ache

rs,

prin

cipa

ls,

stud

ents

an

d pa

rent

s.

Wal

k by

the

neig

hbor

hood

aro

und

the

scho

ol.

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

Tea

chin

g Pr

actic

e

2nd.

sem

este

r

Thr

ee v

isits

of

obse

rvat

ion,

ea

ch o

ne la

stin

g tw

o da

ys.

In e

ach

visi

t a

diff

eren

t sch

ool

grad

e is

obs

erve

d,

not a

lway

s at

the

sam

e sc

hool

. O

bser

vatio

n of

at

leas

t on

e le

sson

of

the

subj

ect

of s

peci

aliz

atio

n.

Obs

erva

tion

of

th

e st

uden

ts’

beha

vior

, th

eir

inte

rest

s,

pref

eren

ces

and

attit

udes

whi

le t

hey

are

wor

king

in

the

clas

sroo

m.

The

org

aniz

atio

n an

d im

plem

enta

tion

of

teac

hing

act

iviti

es

are

obse

rved

, as

wel

l as

the

role

pla

yed

by s

tude

nts

in th

ese

acti

viti

es.

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

seve

ral

way

s in

whi

ch p

eopl

e w

ithi

n th

e sc

hool

par

tici

pate

in d

iffe

rent

act

iviti

es.

Fuen

te: S

EP,

200

1b

��

AT

TA

CH

ME

NT

8

A

CT

IVIT

IES

OF

FA

MIL

IAR

IZA

TIO

N W

ITH

PR

AC

TIC

UM

IN

TH

E S

UB

JEC

TS

OF

SP

EC

IAL

IZA

TIO

N

INIT

IAL

PR

EP

AR

AT

ION

FO

R S

EC

ON

DA

RY

ED

UC

AT

ION

TE

AC

HE

RS,

SY

LL

AB

US

1999

Act

ivit

ies

of th

e fi

rst v

isit

A

ctiv

itie

s of

the

seco

nd v

isit

G

rade

vis

ited

at t

he s

econ

dary

sch

ool

Obs

erva

tion

Pra

ctic

e O

bser

vatio

n P

ract

ice

O

bser

vati

on

and

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

I 3r

d. s

emes

ter

Fir

st g

rade

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

one

gro

up f

or a

who

le

wee

k

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

one

grou

p, in

one

se

ssio

n (

1 ho

ur)

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

tw

o gr

oups

for

the

who

le s

hift

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

two

firs

t-gr

ade

grou

ps (

6 -

10 h

ours

, de

pend

ing

on th

e su

bjec

t).*

O

bser

vati

on

and

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

II

4th.

sem

este

r

Fir

st

and

seco

nd

grad

es

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

a s

econ

d- g

rade

gro

up

for

a w

hole

wee

k

Pra

ctic

e w

ith a

sec

ond-

grad

e gr

oup

(2

-5

hour

s,

depe

ndin

g on

th

e su

bjec

t).*

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

tw

o gr

oups

for

the

who

le s

hift

.

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

two

grou

ps:

a fi

rst-

grad

e an

d a

seco

nd-

grad

e.

(5-6

-10

hour

s,

depe

ndin

g on

the

subj

ect)

.*

O

bser

vati

on

and

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

III

5th.

sem

este

r

Fir

st.

seco

nd

and

thir

d gr

ades

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

a s

econ

d or

thir

d gr

ade

grou

p fo

r a

who

le w

eek.

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

a se

cond

or

thir

d-gr

ade

grou

p (2

- 5

hou

rs,

depe

ndin

g on

the

su

bjec

t and

gra

de).

*

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

th

ree

grou

ps f

or th

e w

hole

sh

ift.

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

thre

e gr

oups

of

dif

fere

nt g

rade

s (8

– 1

0-

15 h

ours

, de

pend

ing

on t

he

subj

ect a

nd g

rade

)*.

O

bser

vati

on

and

Tea

chin

g P

ract

ice

IV

6th.

sem

este

r

Fir

st,

seco

nd

and

thir

d gr

ades

Obs

erva

tion

of

the

activ

itie

s of

thre

e gr

oups

of

diff

eren

t gr

ades

for

a w

hole

wee

k.

The

fut

ure

teac

her

rem

ains

w

ith

one

grou

p fo

r th

e w

hole

shi

ft.

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

thre

e or

fou

r gr

oups

of

diff

eren

t gr

ades

(8,

10

or 1

5 ho

urs,

de

pend

ing

on

the

subj

ect

and

grad

e)*.

Obs

erva

tion

in th

e sa

me

grou

ps

of th

e pr

evio

us v

isit

for

a w

hole

w

eek.

T

he F

T r

emai

ns w

ith

the

grou

p of

pra

ctic

e fo

r th

e w

hole

shi

ft.

Pra

ctic

e w

ith

the

sam

e gr

oups

of

the

prev

ious

vis

it

(8-1

0-15

hou

rs,

depe

ndin

g on

the

subj

ect a

nd g

rade

)*.

*

The

hou

rs o

f pr

actic

e va

ry d

epen

ding

on

the

hour

s as

sign

ed to

the

subj

ect o

f sp

ecia

lizat

ion

in th

e P

lan

y P

rogr

amas

de

Est

udio

199

3 pa

ra la

Edu

caci

ón S

ecun

dari

a.

Sour

ce: S

EP

, 200

1b