SEDI - DEC - Department of Education and Culture of the OAS

Studies, Documents and Publications about Education

Civic Participation and Education - A broad view and 20 american expiriences (Spanish only)
Rosa María Torres
Rosa Maria Torres presents the significance and the need to participate in the society, the civil society, the citizenship in education. She empathize that such participation in the decisions and actions of the education is an indispensable condition to sustain, develop and transform the education in the desired directions. Is not only a politic-democratic imperative but of relevancy, efficiency and sustetability of the actions taken. Through the document, civil participation models, concepts and examples are presented about education.

Distinct schools, Different opportunities – The challenges for the equal opportunity in latinamerica
Fernando Reimers (Coord.)
The Latin American schools are facing a cross roads: to reproduce the societies branded by de greater levels of social unfairness of the world or to contribute to a society with more justice and solidarity. To do the second one is essential that the sons of the more humble have access to all the levels of education and their teachers have the competency and the will to let them learn with the levels of excellence the most significant content that will broaden their opportunities in life, and with that be a freer person. The fact that a teachers that teach to the underprivileged kids are qualify to do this depends of the educational politics of each country. This book, written by some of the more recognized Latin-American educational researchers, analyses which are the main challenges to achieve the certainty that the teachers will have academic success with the sons of the underprivileged, and discusses the results of the most recent educational politics, witch purpose has been to support the teaches in their tasks. In a renewing and original perspective, that combines the theory discussion, the careful analysis of the empirical evidence and the pragmatic examination of the possible decisions in educational politics, this book touches one of the hottest and main subjects for the educational reform in Latin-America and in the world: the relationships between the education and the social unfairness. The text will be of interest for: anybody that has to take decisions about educational politics, teachers, and university researchers and for the politicians and citizens interested in letting the education offer a true hope to make the societies more democratic and fair for all.

Strengthening of the Democracy in the Americas through the Civic Education
Dr. Francisco Pilotti
What do young people think about democracy? Do they know how the democratic institutions work? Do they expect to vote and participate in other civic activities when they turn adults? Do they believe in tolerance and practice it? The answers to questions like this, as well as some of the repercussions in the subject of educational politics, are examined in the OAS report made public recently, based in the analysis of the data collected in the international study about civic education in witch Chile, Colombia, and the United States were included. The study analyses the knowledge, the attitude and the civil activities of the 14 to 17 year old students, as well as the confidence in the institutions and the use of the media. The results obtained are relevant for the educational politics in subject such as educational reform, design of the teaching materials, teaching approaches, teacher training, and education about the media, community involvement and democratic environment in the schools. The report is an OAS contribution to the hemispheric effort towards the identification of the best educational practices for the civic formation in the democratic societies
Executive summary of the Empirical Analysis

Diagnosis, challenges and lessons learned in Equality and Quality, Secondary Education and Teacher Training: Basis for discussion about the Educational Priorities in the Hemispheric Projects
This document is a contribution of the Unit for Social Development and Education of the Organization of American States and has the aim to support the hemispheric dialog process for the definitions of the initiatives about Equality and Quality, Secondary Education and Teacher Training for the Ministries of Education assembled in Mexico City, the 11th, 12th, and 13th of august of 2003, for the III Meeting of Ministers of Education in the frame of the CIDI.