Among other
measures, the curricular reform searched to achieve an education that was
“…relevant and attractive, individual and social. We will have quality educational
centers when these offer students pleasant and attractive sessions that are
significant to their lives; and when the learning offered there offer an
adventure, a challenge, and constitutes an opportunity to grow…” (MEP, The Education al Center…2008:13).
This experience,
which is led by the Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica, consists of an
educational reform on the topic of “Ethics, Aesthetics and Citizenship” that
promotes within the assumed pedagogical approach, the ethic, aesthetic and
citizenship values and attitudes that allow students to comprehensively develop
his or her potential by building and rebuilding knowledge from his or her perception
of reality.
In this sense, the
transformative potential of the processes that are physiological, cognitive,
creative and socially inherent to the different musical, artistic and
citizenship practices bothe in the individual and social spheres, are
capitalized.
The
implementation of this reform fosters learning through the development of
projects in which teachers and students have joint responsibilities in the
educational process.
GOALS SOUGHT
This public policy of education transformation seeks to improve
social coexistence in Costa
Rica
WHAT IT INVOLVES
For more than 50 years, education in ethics,
aesthetic and citizenship has been defined as a goal in the Fundamental Law of
Education, Costa Rica Costa Rica
Thereby, many efforts were made to change the
situation and transform a more comprehensive approach. One action to achieve
this was strengthening in syllabuses subjects such as plastic and musical arts,
and in the field of political and citizenship ethics, civic education.
In addition to the curricular changes above-mentioned,
today’s global context and its demands, the transformations associated to
national culture and development’s demands all require rethinking the way this
type of learning is promoted to students, so they may feel enthusiastic,
involved and lead characters of their learning process.
This last statement is relevant
to the extent that this may contribute to prevent school expulsion and increase
school retention rates, which is a constant concern for ministerial authorities
in Costa Rica
A preliminary analysis of the study plans and programs was carried out, which evinced the potential of the subjects of Plastic Arts, Musical Education, Civic Education, Physical Education, Industrial Arts and Home Education for training in ethics, aesthetics and citizenship. Among other findings, it was observed that the Costa Rican education system situated the areas of citizenship, ethics and aesthetics at a second level in relation with other subjects (mathematics, languages, sciences, etc.). Additionally, the pedagogical strategy that had been used until then had not been effective to achieve new behaviors and affections that would allow improving positive action for living together. In the best case scenario, the educational offering in these areas only partially covered the cognitive aspect.
In light of this, the Ministry of Public Education
began to develop in 2006 a collective construction of the current curricular
reform for the following subjects: Civic Education, Musical Education, Plastic
Arts, Physical Education, Industrial Arts and Home Education. These subjects
were selected given that their content is more directly related to key aspects
that improve coexistence.
Attributing more credit to these special subjects
and making them more attractive could motivate students to stay in school,
develop democratic values and awareness for the arts. This could also promote
the enjoyment of the aesthetic as a guaranteed cultural experience and
essential human right.
Inserting these areas as experiences of life, and
therefore as aspects that achieve changes in values, affects and actions, is
essential for the comprehensive development of humans at a social and personal
level and for the construction of a consolidated democracy. For this reason,
the weakness in the areas of citizenship, ethics and aesthetics in the Costa
Rican educational process also represent an obstacle to achieve better levels
of human development, as a process to expand liberties that are effectively
enjoyed by people, and built by people and communities.
Coordinated participation by
the staff from the Ministry of Public Education and external agents that
contributed to develop the theoretical design of the new curricular proposal
was included in the implementation of the process of curricular reform. This
included the definition of the concepts of ethics, aesthetic, citizenship in
light of the learning that must have been promoted among students of the Third
Cycle of the General Basic Education and Diversified Cycle; the identification
of a pedagogical alternative closely related to the national education policy,
but more pertinent for this learning; and the elaboration of programs that will
guide the everyday work of professors teaching these subjects.
National and foreign specialist prepared
theoretical documents to reflect about the teaching of ethics, aesthetic and
citizenship. They also collaborated to find experiences and national and
international education programs that link all three concepts.
Sessions to discuss, analyze and enrich the
documents were also organized. Some were even open to the participation of the
public with a varied professional background and interests in order to have a
technical unit to design the curricular guidelines, both conceptual and
operational, to elaborate new programs.
Specifically, it was agreed
that a first working phase would incorporate the elaboration of a conceptual
framework for each of the areas (ethics, aesthetics, and citizenship), through
two types of actions:
- Elaborating of a preliminary document to prompt discussion, by a specialist hired to this end; and
- Developing a comprehensive process of discussion that would include workshops with specialists, and workshops, discussions and conferences with other groups that work on these topics, and whose results will be incorporated in the final document.
This information was used to
prepare the proposal of curricular, pedagogical and evaluative design.
At the conclusion of this phase, the working teams
composed by advisors of the Ministries and university specialists working in pedagogical
topics and disciplines covered in each of the subjects, began to draft the new
programs, under supervision of the team of curricular design.
By the second semester of 2008, the project
incorporated in its execution, a series of pilots to analyze the behavior and
results of the new curricular proposal. Specific criteria were established for
these pilots to select the educational institutions where the curricular
proposal would be implemented as part of the project on ethics, aesthetics and
citizenship. The pilot also had a series of guidelines to offer a reference
framework to implement the new curricular proposal. This way, the exercise was
regulated, thereby clearly selecting participants and establishing their
responsibilities, as well as the procedures for its development.
Using the approach proposed by this reform, the
implementation of each didactic activity is based on the students’ background;
in other words, who are they, their stage of development or age, their daily
life, their cultural heritage, all which allow that they own, develop and
expand content.
Classes become a “workshop” where participants live,
feel, experiment, observe, contacts, elaborates, cooperates, negotiates, and
“do”, in the fullest sense of the term.
Also, the new methodology allows creating spaces so
students can develop and express their concerns, build knowledge, experience
learning and artistic creation, and become a protagonist in the process of
constructing citizenship.
This is
demonstrated in the following characteristics and input to the curricular
reform:
- Exploration of one’s identity and personality when solving challenges.
- Observation, recognition and exploration.
- Participation in cultural activities within and outsider the institution.
- Direct and indirect impact of the different processes of the community.
- Availability of spaces for artistic expression in the institution.
- Respect for one’s capacities and limitations, as well as those of colleagues.
- Capacity to carry out actions of leadership, cooperative and solidarity work in the organization and development of projects.
- Experiences of correlation with other subjects in the school curriculum.
- Manifestation of the experience and enjoyment throughout the processes.
- Constructive methods are used, in which the teacher acts as a facilitator and guide, while the student builds his or her learning.
- Students have the opportunity to work in flexible environments; not only inside the classroom.
- Collaborative work is promoted.
- Students enjoy the lesson when they express their ideas and share others.
- The teacher takes the role of an expert facilitator.
- The student carries out more research and is more creative.
- The work carried out contributes to strengthening students’ retention in school by offering them spaces to express themselves and enjoy the arts.
- Frequently subjects are integrated with others that share the approach of ethics, aesthetics, and citizenship, especially when working with projects.
- The entire educational community witnesses the process and its results.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The
initiative is targeted at secondary level students of Costa Rica
- 2009: 1,800 teachers (Civic Education and Musical Education), 600 directors of secondary level education centers, 55 regional pedagogical advisors, and 2 national advisors.
- 2010: 2,400 teachers (Civic Education, Musical Education and Plastic Arts), 600 directors of secondary level education centers, 80 regional pedagogical advisors, and 3 national advisors.
- 2011: 4,500 teachers (Civic Education, Musical Education, Plastic Arts, Physical Education, and Home Education), 600 directors of secondary level education centers, 180 regional pedagogical advisors, and 6 national advisors, in the same number of facilities.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The initiative has yielded
positive results of two kinds: (i) achieving education for democratic
citizenship, as a concept an in terms of democratic values, attitudes and
practices is a crosscutting axis in all study programs of other subjects
covered by this curriculum reform; and (ii) Teachers and students have attained
more creative interactions in the subjects and, gradually, there has been an
acceptance of the reform process’s approach and of its capacity to foster new
ways of thinking, coexisting, and pursuing democratic life.
COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
In the design of the reform and, particularly, in
the preparatory activities, the indirect beneficiaries were included in the
discussions of the conceptual framework and in the design and validation of the
study programs. In addition, the direct beneficiaries were also consulted, and they
also participated in the validation and pilot testing of the new study
programs.
All the beneficiaries, both direct and indirect,
are involved in the implementation of this policy.
In the
evaluation effort, school principals, teachers, students, and parents are also
consulted. The national and regional pedagogical advisors also participate in
it.
In following the study programs, students carry out
quarterly projects in which participation within the community is one of the
components. Community members support the development of these projects and/or
participate in the final presentation thereof.
The teachers are
specialized educators in the corresponding subjects, with university degrees;
most of them are assigned to particular schools. The pedagogical advisors are
specialists in the subjects, having previously worked as teachers in them.
Training activities are one
of the central components of the reform, which provides for the implementation
of permanent training activities for the teachers and the pedagogical advisors
or trainers.
The training is intended to
ensure proper implementation of the new study programs; they last for
approximately 40 classroom hours for pedagogical advisors or trainers and
between 24 and 40 hours for teachers. Training is provided for all the subjects
at the end or start of each year, to strengthen or further explore topics with
which problems were met during implementation, including the conceptual
approach, project-based learning, evaluation strategies, and new specific
contents.
Through this reform,
teachers begin to play the role of mentors, mediators and facilitators. In
other words, their function is to guide students to find answers when working
individually or in group, and/or to use questions to stimulate observation,
listening, reflection and discussion when trying and experiencing different
activities and creative processes, providing feedback, and evaluating them. The teacher interacts with his or her students
and works with them in different contexts. Students therefore are no longer
simple viewers, but active participants that explore, execute, observe,
reflect, propose, and evaluate while they develop their own abilities.
A partir de esta reforma, el docente comienza a desarrollar el rol de orientador, mediador
y facilitador; es decir, su función es la de ir guiando al estudiantado a
encontrar respuestas, tanto en el trabajo individual como el colectivo, así
como, al probar o experimentar diferentes actividades, procesos creativos,
darles retroalimentación y evaluarlos, utiliza preguntas para estimular la
observación, escucha, reflexión, y discusión.
INVESTMENT AND FINANCING
The annual
investment amount is approximately four hundred thousand (400,000) U.S.
dollars. The main sources of funding are the Ministry of Public Education of
Costa Rica, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, UNESCO, and the
Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID).
EVALUATION AND RESULTS
In first place, an opinion
survey was carried out, for which the Ministry of Education ,
with the support of an international organization, hired a national consulting
firm. The main findings of this survey were: (i) a high level of
acceptance of the reform among principals, teachers, and students, (ii) highly
favorable opinions were expressed on the ability of the reform process to
attain its objectives, (iii) greater student interest in the reformed
subjects, and (iv) high acceptance of the new mediation and evaluation
strategies.
One of the main challenges identified was the need for additional support for
approximately 25% of the teachers to ensure the proper implementation of the
study programs; although they are implementing them, the expected results are
not being attained.
Following
the survey, a more substantial external evaluation was carried out by a group
of foreign and national consultants hired by the international organization
that funded the preparatory stage of the reform. The positive results of the
more detailed evaluation of the preparatory phase emphasized: (i) the
relevance of the reform process, (ii) a highly favorable organization that
included strong backing from the Minister of Education
and a team of high-level specialists and officers from the Ministry, (iii)
strong institutionalization of the reform process starting at the design stage.
Among the challenges and
areas for improvement, the following needs were identified: (i)
strengthened mechanisms to give the reform greater sustainability, and (ii)
improved communication processes, both internally and with public opinion
regarding the reform process.
For the monitoring and
evaluation of the initiative, opinion surveys are planned to be carried out
every four years. However, no further substantive external evaluations are
planned. The monitoring and evaluation system designed entails interviews and
classroom observations by the regional pedagogical advisors every six months,
and the analysis of the corresponding information to identify shortcomings or
problems in the implementation that need to be corrected.
RISK FACTORS
Since this is
an education reform pursued as a public policy, one of its key risks is
political change, which could undermine its continuity and/or visibility as a
priority on the education policy agenda.
Another
identified risk is related to the possibility of interruptions in or failures
to carry out the planned permanent teacher training process.
Finally, a
third identified risk is related to the possibility of failings arising in the
follow-up and the corresponding technical advice for the implementation of the
reform.
FUTURE PLANS
The consolidation of the
curricular reforms already introduced in the secondary subjects of civic
education, music, plastic arts, physical education and home education will
continue through the permanent training and pedagogical advice processes.
During 2013, the industrial arts subject at the secondary level was reformed,
and progress was made with reforming the curriculum for ethics, esthetics, and
citizenship at the primary level, with the aim of implementing that reform at
all schools as of 2014.
REPLICATION POTENTIAL
Currently in
place at all secondary schools in the country. The reform is also expected to
be applied at the primary-school level.
PERSON IN
CHARGE: José
Jiménez Castro, Ministry of Public Education of Costa
Rica. fabio.jimenez.castro@mep.go.cr; zahira.chavarria.garita@mep.go.cr.
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