|
|
|
Networked Learning
►
Education Overview
■
Technology in Education
■
Recent Education Reforms
■
Comparison with the U.S.
■
Analysis◄
Overview of Venezuelan
Education
As a developing nation, Venezuela has very wealthy and very poor
citizens. Children from
wealthy families have typically had more educational options,
opportunities, and attended
school for a longer period of time than children from poor families,
especially indigenous
families.
Venezuela’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) reports that the
poorest 20% of the population studied for 3.72 years in 1998 and for
4.68 years in 2009, while the richest 20% also increased their
enrolment, though by less. In 1998 they studied for 8.57 years and
in 2009 for 8.82 years.
This reflects an increased attention towards the poorest sectors,
but also shows that inequality as a result of income continues.
The strongest educational program in Venezuela is El
Sistema, which is
officially known as National
System of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela. El
Sistema was founded in 1975 by economist and musician José Antonio
Abreu, which uses musical immersion to buoy the lives of hundreds of
thousands of poor Venezuelan children.
El Sistema's mission is to systematize music education and to
promote the collective practice of music through symphony orchestras
and choruses in order to help children and young people in achieving
their full potential and acquiring values that favor their growth
and have a positive impact on their lives in society.
The State Foundation for the National System of Youth and
Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela (FESNOJIV - Fundación del Estado
para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de
Venezuela) is an organization committed to social development
through an innovative and hope-instilling music education program,
distinguished by its excellence and for having a positive impact on
the communities where it is implemented.
El Sistema performances can be found on YouTube. For instance,
one YouTube video features the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
performing a sizzling, incredibly joyful rendition of Bernstein’s
"Mambo" while orchestra members dance in their seats and twirl
instruments in the air.
These YouTube videos have impressed musicians throughout the
world. Many have traveled to Venezuela to meet the students and
instructors. In fact, a new organization called El Sistema USA has
been formed and based at New England Conservatory. It is dedicated
to importing the principles of the Venezuelan program to this the
United States. In June 2010, they graduated from the group’s
one-year Abreu fellowship alongside eight others in the inaugural
class.
Another El Sistema-inspired program is planned to launch at the
Conservatory Lab Charter
School in Brighton, MA. Their stories are examples of the way the El
Sistema phenomenon is creating what might be called an inspiration
bump, for lifelong music educators like Mark Churchill, the director
of El Sistema USA, and for a crop of new leaders who are gearing up
to start bringing the Venezuelan vision to cities across the United
States.
back to
top
Technology in
Venezuelan Education
Several companies in the United States, seeing the extent of poverty
and lack of resources for educational opportunities, have initiated
programs to contribute to Venezuelan education and economic
prosperity. One such program is Microsoft's "Broadening Horizons
through Technology."In the heart of the Venezuelan Guajira,
Microsoft has sponsored computer centers where young Wayúu Indians
learn to use a computer for the first time in their lives. The
project, "Technology for indigenous girls and boys" is a joint
effort of Microsoft and UNICEF.
Microsoft built two computer centers, with 12 computers each, and
financed training for information and technology professors who
speak the children’s language of Wayuunaiki. In addition to training
more than 1,300 students, the computer centers are also available to
members of the wider community.
Industry Developments In September 2009, the government said that
it would start to assemble its own laptops as part of its
educational programme, Canaima Educativo. The laptops will be
manufactured at two plants in the Paraguana Peninsula, Falcon state,
with production scheduled to start within eight months. The goal is
to distributed 300,000 PCs manufactured under the programme,
starting in September 2010.
Earlier in 2009, Venezuelan President Chavez had announced plans
to supply schools with 350,000 low cost netbooks this year. The
computers are being delivered from Portugal as part of a technology
knowledge transference agreement signed in late 2008. As of the
third quarter in 2009, around 50,000 laptops imported from Portugal
had already been distributed under the plan. The
government-manufactured laptops will come with 100% open source
software.
Venezuelan NGO Aliadas en Cadenes (Allies in Chains) has created
the program Aliadas en Tecnología (Allies in Technology), which sees
in technology a window of opportunity for empowering women affected
by poverty in Venezuela. Through classes and workshops, many women
who saw computers as strange and intimidating objects now find in
them a tool for work, learning and self-fulfillment.
The program recognizes the training of women as one of the main
strategies for overcoming poverty. These "Allies" organize workshops
that spread the use of new technologies, together with other
self-improvement workshops to help fight violence against women and
teach them about the importance of challenging and questioning the
identity that tradition in Venezuela has given women.
While elementary and secondary education in Venezuela is nowa
right that is offered equally to men and women, this was not always
the case. The role of women as mothers and housewives has prevailed
in culture. The basic education women had a right to at the
beginning of the Venezuelan republic framed women as administrators
in the home and underestimated their efforts in the workplace.
back to
top
Recent Educational ReformsOn August 14, 2010, the
Venezuelan government passed the Organic Education Law, which does
the following:
- Makes education secular;
- Expands community participation in schools and universities;
- Establishes participatory democracy across universities;
- Bases the curriculum on socialist and
ecological ethics;
- Connects university graduates with the socialist development
plan of the nation;
- Guarantees free education from primary school to university
graduate level;
- Aims to significantly increase the enrollment of poor people
in the elite universities.
The government says changes to the law - which among other
things, broadens state control over schools and makes the education
system secular - were long overdue.
However, the Catholic Church and university authorities in
Venezuela have opposed the law. Some parents have threatened to take
their children out of school if there is any socialist material on
the new curriculum, while teachers' unions warn that they will
boycott classes, and university students say they will stage further
protests.
On August 23, 2010, Venezuelan police had to fire teargas to stop
thousands protesting against the new education law who were trying
to break past a security cordon in the capital Caracas. Health
officials said dozens of people were treated for minor injuries.
Rallies for and against the law, which passed last week, have
been held for over a week. Earlier protests also met a tough
response from police. Elsewhere in the capital on Sunday, thousands
of Chavez supporters held a counter-rally. They say the new law will
give everyone equal access to education, regardless of their
economic position.
back to top
Education Statistics - A
Comparison with the United States
| Ranking Category |
Definition |
Venezuela Result |
USA Result |
Venezuela Rank |
USA Rank |
| Average years of
schooling of adults |
The years of
formal schooling received, on average, by adults over age
15. |
6.6 |
12 |
43rd of 100 |
1st of 100 |
| Children out of school,
primary |
The number of
primary-school-age children not enrolled in primary or
secondary school. |
235,577 |
1,621,339 |
21st of 126 |
3rd of 126 |
| Duration of compulsory
education |
The number of
grades (or years) that a child must legally be enrolled in
school. |
7 Years |
12 Years |
134th of 171 |
7th of 171 |
| Duration of education
after Primary level |
The number of
grades (or years) in primary education. |
6 |
6 |
102nd of 181 |
26th of 181 |
| Duration of education
after Secondary level |
The number of
grades (or years) in general secondary education. |
5 |
6 |
167th of 181 |
71st of 181 |
| Education enrollment by
level after Tertiary level |
The number of
students enrolled in college or trade school |
983,217 |
16,611,711 |
25th of 150 |
1st of 150 |
| Education, primary
completion rate |
Percent of
students completing primary education requirements/font> |
92% |
N/A |
67th of 148 |
N/A |
| Enrollment ratio after
Secondary level |
The ratio of
the number of children of official secondary school age
enrolled in school to the number of children of official
secondary school age in the population. |
50.40% |
88.10% |
87th of 135 |
21st of 135 |
| Female enrollment share
after Secondary level |
The number of
girls enrolled in secondary school, expressed as a
percentage of the total number of pupils in secondary
school. |
53.60% |
49.00% |
11th of 170 |
91st of 170 |
| Geographical aptitude
results |
Overall score
based upon test results of the Geography Challenge, an
online geography quiz game. |
67.956 |
70.069 |
113rd of 191 |
96th of 191 |
| Library Books |
Number of
books available in the library system |
3,690,000 |
N/A |
24th of 81 |
N/A |
| Literacy Rate - Male |
This entry
includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau
percentages for the total population, males, and females.
There are no universal definitions and standards of
literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on
the most common definition - the ability to read and write
at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual
countries use to assess the ability to read and write is
beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy,
while not a perfect measure of educational results, is
probably the most easily available and valid for
international comparisons. |
93.80% |
99.00% |
74th of 156 |
32nd of 156 |
| Literacy Rate - Female |
See
definition for "Literacy Rate - Male" |
93.40% |
99.00% |
65th of 160 |
25th of 160 |
| Public spending on
education, total > % of government expenditure |
Public
expenditure on education consists of current and capital
public expenditure on education plus subsidies to private
education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. |
17.04% |
15.25% |
37th of 103 |
70th of 103 |
| Public spending per
student after Primary level |
total
reported current spending by the government on primary
education, divided by the total number of pupils in primary
education, expressed as a percentage of per capita GDP. |
2.1 |
17.9 |
121st of 126 |
36th of 126 |
| Pupil-teacher ratio,
primary |
number of
pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of
primary school teachers (regardless of their teaching
assignment). |
18.7 |
14.21 |
118th of 191 |
160th of 191 |
| School life expectancy >
Total |
School
life expectancy and transition from primary to secondary for
school years 1998/99 and 1999/00, published in www.uis.unesco.org |
10.9 Years |
15.2 Years |
64th of 110 |
14th of 110 |
| Spending on teaching
materials |
Primary level
is the amount spent on teaching materials expressed as a
percentage of total public current spending on primary
education. |
0.6 |
N/A |
24th of 29 |
N/A |
| Tertiary enrollment |
Gross
enrolment ratio, tertiary level is the sum of all tertiary
level students enrolled at the start of the school year,
expressed as a percentage of the mid-year population in the
5 year age group after the official secondary school leaving
age. |
28.5% |
72.6% |
55th of 151 |
1st of 151 |
| Women to men parity
index, as ratio of literacy rates, aged 15-24 |
Women to men
parity index, as ratio of literacy rates, aged 15-24 |
1.02 |
N/A |
16th of 155 |
N/A |
back to
top
Analysis
Schools' Access to Information and Communication Technologies:
Venezuelan schools are in Stage
3 of the CID
Framework. Stage 3 is defined as:
Computers can be found at the university level as well as in
primary and secondary schools. Up to 10 to 15 computers can be found
in laboratories for classroom group work, with about four students
per computer.
Computer labs are generally only open for computer studies during
the day and closed after school, or may be open to teachers for
class preparation but closed to students.
Computers tend to be older generation models, such as 486 PCs or
higher, and they may be networked with a file and mail server. There
may be an internal Local Area Network (LAN) in place.
If there are multiple computer labs, they may be connected through
the school network. Where there are stand-alone PCs, they may have a
limited CD-ROM library. The networked lab achieves connectivity
through a dial-up connection to the Internet, which supports limited
World Wide Web access.
The Internet is not readily available throughout the country, and
most computers are the result of special government programs or
through other countries' charitable causes.
Enhancing Education with Information and Communication
Technologies:
The level in which technology is used to enhance education is at Stage
3 of the CID
Framework.
Stage 3 is defined as:
Teachers and students use computers to support traditional work
and study. Teachers who use computers are generally proficient with
word processing applications and may access information offline from
CD-ROMs.
They may employ computers in some basic drill-and-practice
lessons. In
some cases, teachers access and organize information from the World
Wide Web in their work, share information using e-mail, and create
information in electronic format to share with others both inside
and outside the school.
As technology and Internet access become more readily available,
teachers are gaining computer skills and knowledge on instructional
technologies through government-sponsored programs.
Developing the Information and Communication Technology
Workforce:
Venezuelan schools are in Stage
3 of the CID
Framework. Stage 3 is defined as:
Technical classes and programs on ICT-related subjects are
available from a variety of public and private centers. Some limited
online access to training is available. Some employers offer
training in the use of information and communication technologies to
their employees.
Special government-sponsored programs exist for specialized
training. For instance, the
Venezuelan government started the "Mission Sucre," which offers
degrees in plastic arts,
communications, civil construction, law, integral design,
electricity, electronics, nursing,
systems and informatics, aquatic transportation, legal studies,
teaching, geology, mining,
environmental management, hydrocarbons, information and
documentation, community
integral medicine, chemical mechanics, technology of food production
and tourism.
back to top
References
- Click here
back to top
|
|
 |
