Educational trends in Colombia: Approach to reality
Education has always been considered one of the most important sectors in developed countries, the development of their educational systems are aimed at educational quality and human capital training that contributes to the economic growth of their countries. On the contrary, in under -discharged countries, educational policies do not encourage the creation of educational systems focused on the integral training of children and young people; and on the contrary they have created an environment of inequality between the education of the different social and economic sectors of their countries.
In this text, it is intended to highlight the current status of education in Colombia, highlighting fundamental aspects such as access, quality, equity, results of policies implemented, financing, and the impact of international organizations on the education sector Colombian. From these aspects that will be addressed in the text, a position on the reality of education in Colombia will be raised, and reflection on educational trends in the sector based on the situation and policies will be made that have been developed in recent years.
The social factors that benefit a particular population with a quality education are multiple, among the aspects that can be highlighted are: the reduction of poverty (Banerjee and Duflo, 2011), improvement of wages, the health of children, the fertility and innovation rates in various sectors (Glewwe, 2002; Hanushek and Woessmann, 2007) and active participation in society (Sen, 1992; Helliwell and R. PUTNAM, 1999). These aspects that are influenced by educational quality have been considered fundamental factors in social mobility; which has allowed people with limited resources to socially ascend to higher corporate levels. This social mobility has been strengthened by education, because studies reveal that the level of training of parents directly influence labor opportunities, occupation, and the salary level of their children (Barrera F. et al., 2012).
To improve the different standards, it is educational matter, the country has made efforts that have allowed improving coverage and access to education, however international indicators that measure educational quality; They have made the population reflect that there is still a lot to do to be competitive globally. According to data provided by the Technical Bulletin of the National Department of Statistics (DANE), 2017.
For 2016, the proportion of economically active people who had completed secondary education was 32.9%. The distribution of other educational levels in the PEA was as follows: 23.3% had completed primary basic education, 6.0% secondary education, 10.9% professional or technological technical education, 7.7 % university education and 3.3% postgraduate.
The same technical bulletin of the Dane allows us to see how there was an increase between 2010 and 2016 of 3.6% of PEA that culminated their secondary education studies;3.8% Professional or Technological Technical Education studies;and 0.7% University and postgraduate education. On the contrary; There was a reduction in the PEA that culminated lower educational levels, that is, there was a reduction of 3.7% in the population that culminated only primary basic education; 0.5% Secondary Basic Education; and 4.3% who did not study any level of academic training. The data provided above are encouraging, because they show growth in coverage and access to education at the highest levels of academic training, and demonstrate that there are less and less people who have low levels of education. However, the country must work on policies that reduce inequality, because studies reveal that the years of schooling of people are directly related to their socioeconomic stratum, this is how the average year of education of people in the stratum 1He is 5.2 years;And for people of stratum 6 it is 12.7 years (Barrera F. et al., 2012).
The main indicator of educational quality in Colombia is the PISA tests. These tests voluntarily participate the countries belonging to the OECD, and allow comparing the knowledge and competences of 15 -year students in three fundamental areas: mathematics, language, and science. The results are measured at six levels;If a student is classified below level two, it is considered that she is a person who lacks tools to function in daily life activities (Barrera F. et al., 2012). The results obtained by Colombia demonstrate a lag with respect to the other countries, has always been located in the last places in the three areas. Compared to Latin American countries, it has also demonstrated significant differences and considerably minor results, especially with Uruguay, Mexico and Chile that have presented the best results.
The social inequality that occurs in Colombia is considered the main cause of inefficiency in its educational system. The differences in the results of the PISA tests in populations with different socio -economic conditions demonstrate this. The foregoing added to abysmal differences in the results of the state tests Saber 11 (examination that measures the knowledge and competences of students of the last degree of secondary education) among students in urban areas and rural areas;and students of high socioeconomic levels and low socioeconomic levels (Barrera F. et al., 2012). Which shows that the social and cultural conditions in which children develop directly affect their training process.
To improve educational quality, and reduce social inequality among the different populations that participate in the sector, the national government has implemented policies that have not been executed in the expected way to date. These programs have not developed completely in all institutions and has been mainly concentrated in the schools of the big cities. Among the most important policies that can be highlighted are: the unique day, the School Food Program (PAE) and the All to Learn (PTA) program.
In recent years, state financing sources have mainly guaranteed access to education, but their policies have been insufficient to ensure educational quality. Considering the teacher training and their working conditions, fundamental aspects that contribute to the quality of the students (TIMEUB, LEA F, 2007);In recent years in Colombia, some economic benefits for teachers have been obtained (Barrera F. et al., 2012), who have dignified the work a bit;A work that has historically been undervalued by all the lines of society in Colombia and that has been characterized by not having the best conditions for people responsible for imparting education for children and young people.
The results in education that the latest governments in Colombia have obtained have not been expected, despite the fact that an advance in coverage has been achieved, the country is not competitive in terms of educational quality, the Colombian education system is not highlighted, and stillIt is very lagging with respect to many countries even in Latin America. The evidence of what has been said above are the results of the PISA tests for Colombia, which shows that most children still have many difficulties in the three fundamental areas of knowledge.
To achieve the effective implementation of public policies that generate inclusion and are equitable for all, the national government must support international organizations and their projected goals. This is how the UN Sustainable Development Goals propose an adequate scenario for rulers to have significant advances in the coming years in social justice. In the specific case of education, UNESCO in the “2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean ". Formulate clear objectives and goals to meet so that Latin American countries advance in sensitive issues in educational matters such as their infrastructure, technology and connectivity, universal literacy, early childhood development, formal work and access to higher education, inclusion and equity, Improvement in scholarship programs and finally the training of better teachers;In other words, make the teaching profession an attractive profession so that the best professionals choose to develop their career in educational institutions.
According to all the arguments raised in the text, it can be deduced that currently the landscape of the education sector in Colombia is not the best, in many cases teachers do not have enough tools to impart the education required by the 21st century;However, as a society we must demand that the Government provide education with the value that has a fundamental right, that it is a strategic sector in the development plans of our next rulers, that corruption cases are completely mitigated among the leaders thatSo much damage to social investment and that education finally becomes a fundamental pillar for social strengthening and economic growth in our country.
Bibliographic references
- Banerjee, a.;Duflo, e. (2011). Poor Economics. Public Affairs.
- Barrier f., Maldonado d., Rodriguez c. (2012). Quality of education and half in Colombia: diagnosis and proposals. [October 19, 2019] Available at: https: // www.Urosario.Edu.CO/UROSARIO_FILES/7B/7B49A017-42B0-46DE-B20F-79C8B8FB45E9.PDF
- Dane Technical Bulletin (2017). Work Force and Education 2016. [October 19, 2019]. Available at: https: // www.Dane.GOV.CO/FILES/INVESTIGATIONS/BULLETIS/SPECIALS/EDUCATION/BOL_EDU_2016.PDF
- Glewwe, p.;Ilias, n.;Kremer, m. (2003). Teacher Incentives. NBER, Working Paper 9671.
- Helliwell, j.;Putnam, r. (1999). Education and Social Capital. Nber Working Paper 7121.
- Sen, Amartya (1992). INEQUALITY REEXAMined. Oxford University Press.
- TIMEUB, LEA F (2007). Teaching training and professional development against new teaching school challenges. Curriculum and Teacher Training Magazine, Vol. 11, no. 1, 2007, P. 1-23.
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