Los desafíos educativos en Paraguay: la desigualdad socioeconómica como obstáculo clave al progreso educativo

Introducción  

El Paraguay es un país sudamericano que contiene una población muy variada desde un punto de vista étnico y racial.  Numéricamente, más de la mitad de la población es mestiza, el 30 % es blanca, y casi el 3 % es indígena. Estas cifras son importantes para crear políticas que incluyan a todas las personas. 1 Otro factor importante en Paraguay es el papel de la religión en la sociedad. Segundo los datos de Latinobarometro, casi el 90 % de la población paraguaya es católica. Por consiguiente, la religión juega un papel muy fuerte en las decisiones y en el comportamiento ético de las personas. Las decisiones culturales basadas en la religión tienden a definir roles distintos entre los géneros y las razas. La población también se divide entre urbana y rural, con casi el 40 % de población rural y agrícola. Esto genera una diversidad de acciones que acentúan la desigualdad de género y los perjuicios asociados al destino de algunos grupos de la sociedad.  

Marcado por una secuencia de gobiernos autoritarios y complejos procesos de desarrollo,  Paraguay tiene inmensas desigualdades sociales reflejadas en la educación.  Estos factores son relevantes para analizar la situación educativa y los desafíos que el país enfrenta.  

Cuando se le pregunta acerca de la equidad en el acceso a la educación, el 47,5 % declara un acceso “injusto” mientras que el 32 % menciona un acceso “muy injusto”. Esto nos lleva a preguntarnos: por qué el acceso a la educación en Paraguay es considerado muy injusto por la mayoría de la población?   

Desigualdad social y pandemia de Covid-19   

El primer gran problema que afecta la educación es la desigualdad. Datos de 2020 revelan que el debate sobre los problemas en el país está relacionado a la pobreza, a los problemas financieros y a los desafíos educativos. 2 

Esto es algo que afecta no solo Paraguay sino toda la América Latina y el Caribe. Por ejemplo, durante la pandemia de Covid-19, hubo lo que se llama “oscurecimiento educativo.” 3  

A causa del cierre de las escuelas, la educación se llevó a cabo en línea. El problema en esta situación es que el acceso a internet está limitado por el equipo, la calidad de la red y las habilidades digitales. Los datos de la Commisión Económica para América Latina y Caribe (CEPAL) indican que, entre los estudiantes menores de 18 años, alrededor del 60 % no tiene acceso a internet en Paraguay. Esto se ha convertido en un desafío para la educación durante los dos años de educación a distancia. Sin embargo, considerando la realidad en la que vivimos actualmente, esto sigue siendo un problema para el país y la región.  

El acceso desigual a la educación ha afectado los índices educativos mucho antes de la pandemia. En 2019, por ejemplo, al comprobar el desempeño de los estudiantes de escuela primaria, resultó que los estudiantes paraguayos tuvieron niveles de desempeño más bajos en matemáticas. Con respecto al poco avance, el Director de la Oficina Regional de Educación para América Latina y el Caribe (OREALAC) de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO), Claudia Uribe menciona la necesidad de tomar medidas gubernamentales urgentes para lograr la Agenda 2030. 4 La exclusión en la escuela afecta de manera más intensa a algunos grupos. Los estudiantes indígenos, afrodescendientes y migrantes encuentran desventajas.   

Chicas y mujeres indígenas   

La creación del país se basó sobre la exclusión de las poblaciones indígenas. Por esta razón, podemos observar los impactos sociales sufridos por estos grupos hasta el día de hoy. Hay una gran diversidad étnica. El derecho a la participación política y el acceso a la educación son esenciales para mitigar estas desigualdades. Existen avances constitucionales en este sentido, como la Constitución del 1992, que reconoce y garantiza los derechos de los pueblos indígenas en Paraguay:  

ARTICULO 66 – DE LA EDUCACION Y LA ASISTENCIA 

El Estado respetará las peculiaridades culturales de los pueblos indígenas, especialmente en lo relativo a la educación formal. Se atenderá, además, a su defensa contra la regresión demográfica, la depredación de su hábitat, la contaminación ambiental, la explotación económica y la alienación cultural. (Artículos de la Constitución Nacional)5 

Sin embargo, los pueblos indígenas se enfrentan a la exclusión y pobreza. Esto afecta los indicatores educativos de la población indígena, que empeoran cuando se considera la realidad de la población feminina indígena. En Paraguay, la escolaridad gratuita y obligatoria dura nueve años (educación básica). Considerando esto, los hombres indígenas permanecen en la educación poco menos de cinco años, mientras que las  mujeres indígenas aproximadamente 3,5 años. Podemos observar una gran diferencia en la cantidad de educación garantizada. Los datos de la Encuesta Permanente de Hogares Continua (EPHC) muestran las tres principales razones por estos egresos escolares. 

Primero, razones familiares. Alrededor del 20 % de las mujeres indígenas abandonaron sus estudios porque tenían demasiadas actividades domésticas. Segundo, los aspectos económicos. En este caso, más del 25 % de los hombres indígenas abandonaron la escuela porque necesitaban conseguir un trabajo. Tercero, la falta de suficientes institutiones educativas. Specialmente, una educación  en la que se tengan en cuenta su cultura y sus opiniones, como se menciona en el artículo constitucional.6  El modo de vida de muchas comunidades indígenas sigue basándose en las costumbres de caza y recolleción. Una escuela que se adapte a esa realidad es necesaria, y, para ello, el gobierno necesita invertir en este tipo de propuesta más allá de una visión constitucional.7  

Esta es una realidad de desigualdades raciales- étnicas, pero también de desigualdades de género. Una realidad que se ha propagado desde la época colonial, en la que las mujeres indígenas fueron secuestradas por los colonizadores para ocupar puestos de manutención doméstica y para la procreación.  El proceso colonizador ha afectado el sistéma económico de estos pueblos tradicionales, que no es considerado suficientemente productivo.  

El papel de las mujeres indígenas, entonces, cambia dentro de esta realidad. Por lo tanto,  su situación socioéconomica tiene tal impacto en el logro de la educación. Casi el 70 % de la mujeres indígenas son pobres. Muchas de ellas son consideradas “economicamente inactivas” porque solo realizan actividades domésticas.8 Algunos autores mencionan que “ser una mujer indígena” en esta sociedad implica triple discriminación : étnica, de género, y de clase. La garantía del derecho a la educación para esta parte de la población paraguaya es urgente. Aunque se han hechos des avances, es necesario institucionalizar mejor esos derechos. Esto debe hacerse respetando y fortaleciendo la cultura específica de cada grupo indígena.  

Conclusión  

Las lineas de esperanza para mejorar los desafíos educativos que enfrenta Paraguay necesitan estar dirigidas a mitigar la desigualdad socioeconómica. Una estructura escolar más inclusiva, equitativa y segura es necesaria. Sobre todo, la universalización del acceso a la educación secundaria. El uso de la transformación digital en favor del progreso educativo es también urgente ya que es un aprendizaje útil y esencial para la realidad contemporánea en la que vivimos. Invertir en la educación es una de las claves del desarollo sostenible.  

Los efectos de la desigualdad también están relacionados con la realidad de las mujeres indígenas. Sin embargo, más que políticas para mejorar y acciones para combatir esta desigualdad, es necesario darle a estas mujeres el poder de tomar decisiones. Las cuestiones de la pobreza y de la educación son solo algunos de los problemas que enfrenta este grupo. La violencia es alta y muchas mujeres indígenas se están organizando como activistas para combatir la violencia. En este sentido, el activismo y la organización de estos pueblos están avanzando continuamente para luchar por la garantía de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Sin embargo, la acción más adecuada parece ser aumentar las oportunidades de ocupar cargos políticos y situarlos como creadores de específicas políticas públicas .9 

Aunque el derecho constitucional a la educación exista para todo ciudadano paraguayo, es importante señalar la distinción entre la prerrogativa de un derecho y la realidad de una educación de calidad. Para todos.  

Featured image from

Foto: UNESCO warns of a lack of progress in basic learning achievements since 2013 in Latin America and the Caribbean. (2013). Unesco.org. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-warns-lack-progress-basic-learning-achievements-2013-latin-america-and-caribbean  

Traducido en español por Eliana Riggi del artículo en inglés: https://brokenchalk.org/educational-challenges-in-paraguay-socioeconomic-inequality-as-key-to-educational-progress/  

   

  

  

  

 

Educational Challenges in Spain

Written by María Núñez Fontain

“A BOAT WITHOUT A CAPTAIN IS CONDEMNED TO SINK“

Spain is a developed country and member of the European Union, which would give it a clear advantage in terms of educational levels and resources. Nevertheless, taking a closer look at Spain’s educational system, this quickly proves not to be the case.

At first glance, Spain’s most predominant issue seems to be clear: despite numerous attempts to modernise and adapt the educational curriculum, it still seems to be far and detached from the demands of its society.[1] Due to its decentralized State, this also proved problematic when attempting to achieve unity and equality.

As recent as 2021, Spain introduced the LOMLOE,[2] the new law on education that built upon the previous one – LOE – and obliviated the previous legislation, the LOMCE. This new law highlights sustainable development, gender equality, childhood rights, digital transformation and the adoption of a transversal approach to ensure success throughout constant improvement.

DROPOUT RATES

Spanish students tend to obtain low results on the PISA tests, despite being one of the countries that spends most time in classrooms.[3] The PISA is a test which measures 15-year-old´s educational level, and it is taken every three years. These low results reflect Spain´s teaching method, which focuses on memorizing information and not developing one´s autonomy and problem-solving skills. Another issue which may be linked to Spain’s low results is the fact that it currently has the highest school drop out rate of all European Union, as the current teaching methods make it difficult to maintain the student´s motivation and interest.[4] Unfortunately, this apathy also translates onto the teachers, who should be the ones sparking the interest of the students but, at the same time, should be motivated themselves.

The rate of early school dropout reached 14% in 2012, 5% above the EU target for 2030 which is set at 9%. This number makes Spain the second country in Europe with the most amount of people between 18 and 24 years old without basic education and training.[5] This percentage being highest among students whose mothers did not complete their primary education.[6] Ultimately, this reflects the biggest challenge currently facing Spain’s education system: the socioeconomic segregation.

SOCIOECONOMIC SEGREGATION

This is an issue which the European Commission and the United Nations have repeatedly requested Spain to address, and the socioeconomic disparity was also targeted in a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in 2020. Before analysing its content, this article will offer a brief outlook at the socioeconomic situation of Spain with regards to education.

When addressing educational shortcomings, debates often revolve around aspects such as religion as a school subject or the strict use of the State’s official languages.[7] These two issues, while relevant, are far removed from the immediate problem. Spain shows high rates of inequality, scholarly failure, lack of monetary resources and scholarly segregation for socioeconomic reasons.[8]

In Spain, public schools host a high percentage of immigrants and students from low income families, which only increases the correlation between the quality of the education and the monetary resources to afford it – ultimately turning public schools into “guettos” with limited possibilities for their students and teachers.[9]

With the new legislation, the criteria for selecting students into public and private schools will fall on the hands of the public Administration, in what seems as an attempt to bridge this gap. In spite of this, the lack of awareness – or willingness to do so – must be addressed first if any solutions are going to be discussed.

Boy walking with a backpack in Spain. Picture by Jesús Rodríguez (2017)

THE ROLE OF TEACHERS

There is one challenge around which there is – almost – universal consensus: the role of the teachers. As the figures in charge of guiding students from an early age, teachers are often not given the respect they deserve as attending school is seen as a “tedious chore” in Spain. This might be because of the education teachers themselves receive, which is focused on the institutional aspects but does not give them the tools from a pedagogic perspective.[10]

Furthermore, the profession of a teacher presents a high percentage of instability, which prevents them from growing professionally.[11] This is exacerbated by the numerous changes in the educational laws that have taken place during recent times, a common object of concern and condemnation amongst teachers. With education often being used as a political weapon, its legislation changes along with the different governments.

Broken Chalk had the opportunity to interview Raúl Prada, the Head of Language Departments of a school in Spain. His answers will allow the reader to gain a better perspective on the education challenges that Spain currently faces from the perspective of a teacher who, as said by himself, is “in love with his profession”.

Q. What, in your opinion, are the main educational challenges in Spain?

I believe that the main challenges facing education in Spain are an excessive ratio in the classrooms that prevents the teacher from giving personalised attention. With the increase in students with special needs in each classroom, the problem worsens: these students are the most affected by this inability to provide them with special care and, ultimately, it plays a role in moving them further and further away from their integration into society.

Q. Do you think that in Spain there is a problem of socioeconomic segregation when it comes to education? Why? Why not?

Socioeconomic segregation is clearly connected to what was answered above, since the excess ratio at all levels causes students with more personal, social and economic difficulties to see themselves in clear inferiority with respect to those whose families can afford external support. This becomes even more evident in those families who cannot afford for their children to participate in activities during extracurricular hours.

Q. Have you encountered any experiences of socioeconomic segregation?

The aforementioned is a fact that we encounter every day in any classroom in Spain: an excess of students who should have more and better attention and teachers who cannot give more than they do, causing great frustration in them.

Q. How do you think teachers are viewed in the Spanish educational system?

The role of the teacher in Spain has been socially degraded increasingly each year, becoming not very well regarded by some families who question their decisions and, in many cases, far from helping, hinder their work. This is aggravated by the Administration, that increases every year the bureaucratic burden and forgets that the most important objective of the teacher is to educate.

Q. What measures or ideas would you suggest to improve the situation of the teachers?

The main solutions I would recommend based on my personal experience are firstly, to lower the ratio in the number of students per classroom, and secondly, to decrease the bureaucratic burden that exists in education and schools.

Q. Would you like to share any experience – positive, negative or both – about your experience and role as a teacher?

I am a positive person and in love with my profession, so any experience I can contribute with is positive. I always keep in mind what my students share with me while I try to be mindful of their needs. I feel that they appreciate and value it. However, I still always regret not being able to give more to those who need it.

Q. From a personal perspective, how do you feel the educational system has evolved and changed since you first started teaching and why do you think that is?

Unfortunately, the evolution of our educational system in the last 25 years is little or not enough. The reason is that the different governments that Spain has had in these years have made Education a political reason and approved successive laws – 8 different ones in 25 years. In doing so, they have failed to consider whether or not they enjoyed support from the entire political spectrum, rather focusing only on the political value of it. The result is that each party has approved a law tailored to its needs, which has been successively repealed when a party with a different ideology comes to government.

This situation has created great instability in the Spanish educational systems and has prompted some changes with no follow-up. Spain urgently needs an Educational law of general and permanent consensus, although subject to small variations.

Q. Any thoughts, comments or messages you would like to share as a teacher.

As a teacher, I say that the only way to survive on a day-to-day basis is the love for this profession and dedication to your students, and you must put aside the obstacles that grow every day because otherwise demotivation and helplessness will dig in us.

UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

All of the aforementioned concerns – and some more – were crystallized into the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, written during his visit to Spain.[12]

The UN Rapporteur starts by saying that “education and poverty are closely linked”. Indeed, the socioeconomic resources of a family dictate the schools they have access to, and the public schools grow overflooded with low income and immigrant students, whose education cannot be ensured at the level that should be.

This is also due to the lack of public investment in education, which despite being free, shows a reality in which its crucial role does not match the resources thereby attributed.[13] The UN Rapporteur correctly concludes that “school segregation increases grade repetition, failure and dropouts, decreases assessment scores and adversely affects students’ expectations of pursuing university studies”. Finally, the education section rescues a quote from a Save the Children report from 2018, which reads: “concentrating children from the poorest backgrounds in the same schools is no recipe for educational success or overcoming poverty”.[14]

UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in Spain. Picture by Olivier de Schutter (2020)

CONCLUSION

Examining Spain’s educational system, it has become apparent that it presents several flaws. First, not only is the curriculum outdated, but it also fails in motivating the students and in preventing – or at least mitigating – the elevated school dropout rates. Second, Spanish schools do not cater to the needs of the population: not every school has the same resources and not every person can afford to attend any school. Instead of correcting this trend, in the last years it has been exacerbated, making schools a mirror of the social status of the students and their backgrounds. This effectively prevents a system based on equal opportunities.

Additionally, those in charge of actually providing the education are not motivated enough. The stability of their jobs is not ensured, and the lack of resources or their inadequate distribution prevents the teachers from giving individualised attention to the students. This overall contributes to a general environment of apathy which has an impact on both ends (students and teachers). Lastly, as long as education continues being a tool of politics, adjustable to the ideologies of the dominant political party, it will remain as a subdued element instead of a priority, and Spain will continue to suffer from low quality education and the inability to achieve efficient results.

References