Civic Education and Political Empowerment in Mexico

1. Civic Education and Political Empowerment in Mexico

2. Introduction. • Progression of interests on this topic • Purpose of the study • Context for Civic Education in Mexico • Development of instruments and pretest results • Curriculum of Civic Education. • Our Intervention • Some of the projects Students are developing • Preliminary observations and findings. • Discussion

3. Introduction • Harvard Graduate School of Education • Fletcher School • VIA Educacion • Universidad Iberoamericana • Data Opinion Publica • State Ministry of Education Nuevo Leon • State Ministry of Education Guerrero • Miguel Basanez • Mariali Cardenas • Armando Estrada • Emanuel Garza

4. Progression of interests on this topic • 2004 Paper for Inter American Development Bank, regional meeting of Deputy Secretaries • 2005 Paper for Ministers of Education. • 2006 Creation of Observatory in Colombia. Participation of six latin American countries in third civic education study. Development of regional module. • 2004 Participation in the Culture Matters Project at the Fletcher School. Paper on the role of civic education as a driver of cultural views and competencies backdrop for this study

5. Purpose and Design of the Study • Assess the relative effectiveness of two approaches to civic education among pre-teens. Students in eight grade. • Deliberative Education • Service Learning • 120 Schools. Two States. Three groups. • Pre-Post with observations and follow on

6. Context for Civic Education in Mexico • Reform of 1993 expands basic education from six to 9 grades. • Traditional civic education emphasizes patriotism. • Political Transition 2000. • Role of Federal Electoral Institute • New Civic Education Curriculum since 2006. Curriculum of Culture of rule of law in a few states. • What do we know about how the subject is taught? • No specialization in teacher professional development.

7. Development of instruments and pretest results • Cultural Values • Attitudes towards gender equity • Trust in Public institutions • Trust in people • Perception of Basic rights protected in Mexico for most people • Civic Efficacy of the School • Teaching Civics • Have the following topics been addressed in civics?

8. Development of instruments and pretest results • Cultural Values • I make plans for my life • Studying is important • Folllowing the law is silly when most people don’t • It is good to associate with other people to solve problems • Public officials should be accountable to the public

14. Development of instruments and pretest results • Attitudes towards gender equity

19. Development of instruments and pretest results • Trust in Public institutions and people • Federal Government, Municipal Government, Courts, Police, • Political parties, Congress, Teachers, Parents, Classmates, • Friends • Trust and Tolerance in • Politically active people • Ethnic minorities • Poor people • Rich people • Gays and lesbians • Foreigners • People who live with HIV • People of other religion

22. Perception of Basic rights protected in Mexico for most people • Health, • Freedom of speech, • Fair trial, • Education, • Non violence, • Food

23. Civic Efficacy of the School • To what extent has the school prepared you to? Work in teams, adapt to new situations, solve problems, continuous learning, analize and understand reality, respect others with different views, value cultural and racial differences, value gender equity, develop a sense of purpose, help solve community problems, understand the importance of voting, negotiate and solve conflicts peacefully, recognize and communicate my interests, represent others in a group, challenge discrimination when I witness it, analyze conflicts in the community, analyze conflicts described in newspapers, study community problems, study human rights, cultural practices of diverse groups,

27. Teaching Civics • How frequently does the teacher select the topics of discussion in class, students do research projects, students work in teams, students participate in role playing and simulations, teachers include discussion of conflictive topics, students engage in community activities

31. Have the following topics been addressed in civics? • Discrimination against women, discrimination against indigenous people, discriination against foreigners, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, poverty, street children, violence, citizen participation, gender equity • Civic practices in the school • Student government, student participation in school governance, student participation in academic work, student participation in classroom norms, consistency in the application of norms towards all students, mistreatment of students who break norms

32. Violence in school • Physical violence, bullying, teachers hitting students, teachers ridiculing students, violence in the community, violence towards girls, violence towards ethnic minority students, violence towards religious minorities, violence towards gay or lesbian students • Attitudes towards rule of law • Attitudes towards democracy and democratic practices • Dictatorships in crisis, concentration of power, freedom of the press, independence of congress

35. Curriculum of Civic Education • Civics is taught in grades 8th and 9th, the last two grades of compulsory education (is it also taught at the elementary level?) • Three subjects form the block of social studies in secondary: History, Geography and Civics. The purpose of this block is that students: • Understand the main characteristics of the world in which they live • Know the social problems in the various ambits in which they live • Develop the necessary competencies to process information • Adopt democratic attitudes and values, in particular those that involve respect for other cultures and solidarity towards other people • The program of study describes: • The normative and pedagogical foundations of the subject • The purposes of civic education and ethics • The approach to the teaching of civics. This includes principles and guidelines for classroom work on this subject.

36. Official Program of Study The program of study describes: • The normative and pedagogical foundations of the subject • The purposes of civic education and ethics • The approach to the teaching of civics. This includes principles and guidelines for classroom work on this subject. • The structure and organization of the contents that are part of the subjects of civic education and ethics in grades 8 and 9.

37. General purpose of the Program Understand the main characteristics of the world in which students live Know the social problems in the various settings in which they live Develop the necessary competencies to process information Adopt democratic attitudes and values, in particular those that involve respect for other cultures and solidarity towards other people

38. Focus of the official Program of study of the 8th grade • In the second year (8th grade) the program includes the general aspects of ethics and civic education and democratic citizenships skills. • Part I. Civic and ethical education in social and personal development • Part II. Adolescents and their contexts. • Part III. The civic and ethical dimension of living with others. • Part IV. Principles and values of democracy. • Part V. Identification of ethical commitments

39. Competencies emphasized by the Official Program • Taking care of oneself • Self regulation and responsible exercise of freedom • Respect and value of diversity • Sense of belonging to a community, a nation and humanity • Management and resolution of conflicts • Social and political participation • Legality and sense of justice • Understanding and appreciation of democracy

40. Example of Program Unit: Part I Purposes Topics Expected learning Notes and suggestions

41. Details of Intervention Procedure Challenges Changes in Acapulco Challenges in socio-economic conditions: low income, social disintegration, violence, drugs, presence of gangs, poor infrastructure. Challenges participation of principals and interruption of classes • Implementation in two states of Mexico: • 60 teachers in Guerrero (South) • 60 teachers in Nuevo León (North) • Design of pedagogical materials for teachers • Three experimental groups: Group A. Classroom activities that use a variety of educational resources Group B. Service learning that follows a participatory methodology Group C. Combination of both A and B strategies

42. Group A: Teachers working with deliberative methodologies implement a variety of pedagogies to foster the development of civic and ethical competencies such as: • Participatory Theater • Conceptual Maps • Discussion of Dilemmas • Deliberation • Analysis of examples • Discussion of controversial issues • Research projects with information technologies • Role Playing

43. Group B: Teachers use a participatory methodology to design projects to improve their contexts. • The aim is that students develop and practice: • Democratic deliberation • Critical reflection • Search of common good and justice • Solidarity, respect and emphathy • Tolerance and valuing difference • Communicative skills • Peaceful resolution of conflicts • Dialogue in establishing agreements • Democratic participation

44. Group C: • Teachers work with both components: Classroom strategies and Service-Learning • Teachers implement different pedagogies in addition to implementing a participatory methodology in the design of projects where students can contribute in the improvement of their own contexts.

45. Teacher Professional Development • Teachers were selected in coordination with the Ministry of Education in both States • Creation of treatment groups, the 120 teachers were assigned randomly to one of the three conditions. • Teacher education: • Intensive initial education and 10 sessions of 5 hours each between July 2008 to June 2009 Initial training 3 days, once a month 5 hours, every two weeks visits. • The training includes the understanding of pedagogical foundations related to the teaching and learning of civic education, discussion of the materials, feedback and exchange of experiences among teachers.

46. SOME OF THE PROJECTS STUDENTS ARE DEVELOPING

47. Student projects • The objective is to create participatory projects based on the initiatives of the students so they develop a sense of agency and self-efficacy. • The participatory methodology includes establishing class rules, mapping their environment, identifying a problem through research and democratic means, design an action plan, implement it and evaluate it with the teacher as facilitator. • The results of the projects are important, but the process is the space where civic competencies can be developed.

49. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

50. Preliminary observations The implementation of projects and well thought pedagogical strategies strengthens the development of citizenship competencies. In general, we perceive teachers that are very committed and motivated. We identify a change of paradigm in the teachers: from a traditional conception about teaching to playing a role as a facilitator of a process where the students are the main actors of their own development. The dimension of the projects is connected to the support that they may receive from the school’s principal, who can either foster the development of more ambitious efforts or limit the creative capacity of the students. It has been found that the course of Civics and Ethics has the potential to develop many more civic skills and knowledge.