Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change

Coursework

Prerequisites:
Previous college-level coursework in education, Latin American studies, or development studies. Three recent semesters of college-level Spanish or equivalent and the ability to follow coursework in Spanish, as assessed by SIT.

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The interdisciplinary coursework in the Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change program explores the political, social, and economic factors affecting educational systems and social change in Chile and Argentina. Students examine these effects firsthand through field studies and interactions with urban and rural communities throughout Chile and in Buenos Aires. During the final month of the semester, students leverage their accumulated knowledge and research experience to complete an Independent Study Project or participate in an educational practicum.

The Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change program offers the following courses. These course descriptions can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Education Quality and Equity in Chile - syllabus (PDF)
(LACB 3000 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Coordinated with the Universidad Alberto Hurtado, the course looks at the Chilean educational system in the context of global changes; the relationship between education and society; and the crisis of education in Chile. It pays particular attention to the educational model still in place as a result of a law (LOCE) enacted by the military regime of Augusto Pinochet and the current Ley General de Educación (LGE) which replaced it. Among the critical issues the seminar explores are the construction of new knowledge; intercultural education; social transformation, the quality and equity of education; the teaching process and the legitimating and promotion of particular forms of reasoning.

Bilingual and Popular Education in Chile - syllabus (PDF)
(LACB 3005 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
This course will introduce students to the meaning of intercultural education by focusing on the Chilean and Argentine educational systems. Students will study the issues of equity, human rights, and intercultural and popular educational policies within the framework of current laws. The course examines the tensions among actors relevant to the educational system: students, teachers, and the government. Classes take place during the educational excursion to a Mapuche rural community in the southern part of Chile as well as on excursion to Buenos Aires, Argentina. During the Mapuche rural community excursion, participant observation and lectures about Mapuche history and intercultural education are held at the Chapod, Lago Budi, and Chol Chol elementary schools. Educational activities complement the rural homestay where students learn about the traditional and ancient Mapuche ways of educating during rural and urban excursions to selected schools. On the second excursion to Buenos Aires, Argentina, classes are held with the cooperation of the Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social, IDES; the Education Ministry; the National Teacher Federation, and the University of Buenos Aires. Students visit rural and urban schools and also engage with community groups and social organizations.

Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social Sciences and Education I - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 2000 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social Sciences and Education II - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 2500 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social Sciences and Education III - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 3000 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in intensive intermediate or advanced classes, with further language practice in homestays, lectures, and field visits.

Research Methods and Ethics - syllabus (PDF)
(ANTH 3500 / 3 Credits / 45 class hours)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Serves as an introduction to the Independent Study Project. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; maintaining a work journal.

Independent Study / Practicum Project - syllabus
(ISPR 3000 / 4 credits / 120 class hours)
Students can choose to conduct an Independent Study Project on a topic of their choice related to the program theme or they can participate in a guided, month-long educational practicum in a primary or secondary school in either Chile or the Buenos Aires area of Argentina. In both cases, the local director must approve the project and the student must produce a written paper. Sample topic areas: intercultural education in primary rural Mapuche schools; education and identity in indigenous rural schools; cultural identity through children’s arts expressions; English language practicum in a primary or secondary urban or rural school; the relationship of education with human rights and historic memory; the relationship of education with the economy and society; popular education, social change, and the Penguin Revolution; the 2011 protests and its effects ; ethnicity in child care in marginalized areas of Buenos Aires; gender behavior in female, male, and mixed high schools in Santiago; attachment and national identity in high school students; curriculum, memory, and human rights; popular education and social change.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research

Credits: 16

Duration: 15 weeks

Program Base: Santiago

Language Study: Spanish

Prerequisites: Coursework in education, Latin American studies, or development studies; 3 semesters college-level Spanish. Read more...