DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS IN LATIN AMERICA

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1 DR. MANUEL A. GONZÁLEZ, ASSOCIATE DEAN/DIRECTOR CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION NORTHAMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

2 Status of Education in Latin America As a whole, Latin American countries have made significant progress in improving their education systems, particularly in the last two decades. Governments have increased spending on education, expanded cooperation with the United States, the World Bank, and other donors, and pledged to achieve certain educational milestones established through the Organization of American States Summit of the Americas process. Latin America is close to attaining the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of having universal primary enrollment by 2015, with 97% of students enrolled in primary school.

3 What is an Educational Partnership? we define an academic institutional partnership as a collaboration that can reasonably be expected to have mutual (though not necessarily identical) benefits, that will contribute to the development of both institution al and individual capacities at both institutions, that respects the sovereignty and autonomy of both institutions, and that is itself empowering.... (Samoff and Carrol, 2002, p. 44).

4 Successful partnerships will commit to doing the following: build through consortial and not only single-institution linkages be clear about goals of the partnership work with a deepened understanding of each other commit internal funding to the partnership, not only grant funds build for the long-term seek broad support from both relevant faculty and administrative leaders make decisions collaboratively operate with written agreements have transparency on allocating all funding and other resources

5 Successful partnerships will commit to doing the following: address openly the problems of inequality of resources between the partners have transparency on all issues of power and decision-making be constant in the goals of the partnership be open to conflicts and differences of perspective and understanding and address these directly and promptly build through consortial and not only single-institution linkages agree on and honor ethical and human subjects guidelines in relations among partners and of the partners with communities where research is conducted. actively acknowledge contributions of partners and donors regularly celebrate the creation, successes, and overcoming of difficulties in the partnership.

6 The United States has long supported education programs in Latin America, and has a vested interest in promoting educational progress in the region. In the last 20 years, most Latin American countries have taken significant steps to improve their education systems, but major challenges remain. Those challenges include unequal access to education, high dropout and repetition rates, poor teacher quality, and uneven assessments and accountability systems. Regional and bilateral education assistance programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have sought to help countries address many of those challenges. At the same time, the State Department s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) has supported educational exchange and scholarship programs for Latin American students and teachers.

7 Non-university Tertiary Education The growth in private schools has been accompanied by an increase in the number of nonuniversity tertiary institutions. Such institutions comprise technical schools, teacher colleges, and postsecondary vocational training facilities, generally offering programs of a shorter duration than universities. Currently, there are 3,000 non-university tertiary institutions in Latin America, of which roughly 60 percent are private (Schwartzman 2012). A high proportion of postsecondary students in Latin America is enrolled in one of these institutions. The non-university system accounts for 28 percent of total higher education enrollment in Venezuela, 30 percent in Chile, and 32 percent in Brazil (World Bank 2012a, 2012c).

8 Colombia is one of the leading countries in the Americas. A vibrant and rapidly growing economy, Colombia is a country almost twice the size of Texas with more than 44 million inhabitants, only surpassed in the Americas, in terms of population, by the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. In recent years, the Colombian economy has been rapidly improving and it is poised to become among the top seven largest economies in the Western Hemisphere. Its vast natural resources and its strategic location, make Colombia a natural hub between South America and North America. However, as with other emerging economies, Colombia faces important challenges in its attempts to modernize its economy and society, and to become a more prominent player in the global knowledge-based economy. Not an easy task, considering the economic and political turmoil that is currently buffeting many nations around the world. Colombia has a steep hill to climb: although the Colombian economy is the 29 th largest in the world, its GDP per capita is only 20 percent of the U.S. In Colombia, the general unemployment rate is 12 percent, while unemployment of those years-old reaches 21.7 percent.

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Education Goals in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Compiled by Lorecia Roland LAC Education and Human Resources Technical Services Project

Education Goals in the Latin American and Caribbean Region Compiled by Lorecia Roland LAC Education and Human Resources Technical Services Project 1994 Acknowledgements In preparation for the December