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International development agencies and country governments have called for greater resources to be devoted to education. While previous studies highlight the value of investing in education, they do not shed light on which specific educational investments should be pursued. This paper examines both the economics literature and the education literature published from 1990 to 2012 to assess the extent to which specific types of school infrastructure have a causal impact on student learning and enrollment. There is some evidence that school libraries and the creation of new schools leads to improved learning and enrollment. The literature also provides some evidence that toilets improve student learning, and that laboratories and drinking water facilities increase enrollment. Perhaps the main conclusion of this study is that the evidence base is weak, so more high-quality research is needed on the impact of infrastructure on learning and time in school in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Clotho is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of the Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The history of translation in Hispanic America can be segmented into specific historical periods that differ from those found in Europe, namely: encounter and conquest, the colonial period; pre-independence and emancipation; independence and republic; and an ongoing period that started in 1920 (Bastin, 2006). A great deal of work has been done regarding the first three of those periods. Later historical periods, while still receiving some scholarly attention, have not been the focus of as much research (cf. e.g., Montoya, 2014). This paper hopes to provide further insights on translation practices during the Independence and Republic Period by focusing on José Pedro Varela, an educational reformer in 19th century Uruguay. Varela spearheaded the charge for educational reform in his native South American country, and he initiated the reforms that would forever change the DNA of public education in Uruguay. Much has been written about him (e.g. Hentschke, 2016), but relatively little has been said of the fact that a number of his most influential writings were, at least in part, translations. In light of this, the present paper will provide a portrait of Varela, highlighting his status as a popular hero whose role as a translator has faded from the public's view. By pointing out some of his most well-known translations and the role they played in his broader reformist strategies, this paper will also provide some historical perspectives on translation, including how it was conceptualized by some of South America's key intellectuals during the second half of the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to present a general perspective of the actions developed by the Uruguayan Broad Front, which has been defined as an example of the reformed left in Latin America. The Broad Front governed Uruguay between 2005 and 2020. It implemented several alternative and innovative policies. Methodologically, the paper is empirically supported by data and information derived from interviews conducted in Montevideo, as well of the analysis of official documents. Among the results found, it can be highlighting the following samples: 1) innovative programmes focused on most disadvantaged young children and their families like Uruguay Crece Contigo [Uruguay grows with you] have been successfully put in place and scaled up; 2) the institution of the Salary Councils (tripartite councils made up of government representatives, businesses and workers) stimulated the formalization of work and the rise in salaries, as well as the strengthening of unions; 3) the creation of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) as a new centralized social authority, which shares jurisdiction with the Social Security Bank (BPS) and the Ministry of Health; 4) in the face of the failure of the so-called drug war, the regulation of the cannabis market was approved during the term of President José Mujica. Conclusively, it's affirmed, for instance, the Broad Front perspectives and policies it has implemented in Uruguay have instituted a new conception of the left in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anuario de la Sociedad Argentina de Historia de la Educación is the property of Argentinean Society of History of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: this paper aims to describe the first phase of a project whose general goal was to develop a consensus-based set of advanced practice nurse competencies applicable to Latin American countries and, based on these competencies, produce an advanced practice nurse curricular prototype adapted to Latin American countries. The project was framed in a competency-based approach to advanced practice nursing education. The specific aims of the first phase of the project described in this paper were: 1) to identify a set of potential advanced practice nurse competencies that would serve as the template for Core Advanced Practice Nurse Competencies in Latin American countries and 2) to establish consensus for Core Advanced Practice Nurse Competencies in Latin American countries. Method: advanced practice nurse competencies were derived from a comprehensive review of published competencies and informed the development of a survey designed to assess the relevance of advanced practice nurse competencies in Latin American countries. The survey was distributed to nurse leaders and nurse educators. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: consensus for Core Competencies was established. Conclusion: the Core Advanced Practice Nurse Competencies presented can provide a structured framework to build educational programs aligned to the needs of the regional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Desarrollo y Sociedad is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

COPHELA (Cooperation in Quality Assurance for Pharmacy Education and Training between Europe and Latin America), a collaborative project between the European Union (EU) and Latin America, will produce on-line courses for the master degree in pharmacy. The program runs from 2019 through 2021. It is funded by the Erasmus+ program of the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. The partners are EU and Latin American universities. These are accompanied by associated partners from EU and Latin American universities, as well as from governmental and non-governmental organizations, such as pharmacy chambers and educational associations. The project is coordinated by the University of Granada, Spain (first author of this paper). It will produce distance learning master degree courses in a dozen fields of specialized pharmaceutical science education and practice, ranging from patient care to industrial pharmacy. This paper describes the design of the project and is intended to evoke constructive comments. It also represents a call for the recruitment of additional associated partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Gerencia y Políticas de Salud is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Long regarded as a region beset by macroeconomic instability, high inflation, and excessive poverty and inequality, Latin America has undergone a major transformation over the last 20 years. The region has seen improved macroeconomic management and substantial and sustained reductions in poverty and inequality. In this paper, we argue that social policy, including human capital and education, social insurance, and redistribution, need special attention if achievements of the last two decades are to be sustained and amplified. Starting in the mid 1990s, many governments in the region introduced a variety of programs, including noncontributory pensions and health insurance, and cash transfers targeted to the poor. Social spending in Latin America increased sharply. These policies have been widely praised, and we believe they have resulted in substantial improvements in the lives of the poor in the region. However, a more nuanced view shows some worrisome trends. Moving forward, we believe it is necessary to pay much closer attention to the quality of services, particularly in education; to the incentives generated by the interplay of some programs, particularly in the labor market; to a more balanced intertemporal distribution of benefits, particularly between young and old; and to sustainable sources of finance, particularly to the link between contributions and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes three multigrade school reforms in Latin America: (1) Colombia's Escuela Nueva, (2) Guatemala's Nueva Escuela Unitaria, and (3) Chile's MECE-Rural. Each reform endowed primary teachers and students with special training and instructional materials, and encouraged new kinds of instruction in rural classrooms, with the goal of improving student learning. The paper discusses the challenges to evaluating school reforms in a rural context. It then reviews the international literature on each reform, assessing whether reforms were effectively implemented and whether they caused improvement in student outcomes. Even in the best cases, multigrade schools were not fully implemented. There is consistent evidence of positive effects on student achievement. Yet, the causal interpretation of evaluation findings is severely limited, especially in Guatemala and Chile. It concludes with suggestions for improving multigrade evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the prospects of Latin American public universities. Its main assertion is that universities could become important actors of development in Latin America, but prevailing trends point in another direction. The paper focuses on the interactions between, on the one hand, specific traditions and social contexts, and, on the other hand, global trends concerning the role of knowledge and academic changes. The specific traits of the evolution of Higher Education in Latin America are discussed, in order to describe the emergence of an original ‘idea of University’. Changes and continuities during the last decades of the 20th century are summarized. Similarities and differences between developed countries and Latin America concerning current trends in Higher Education are analyzed. Particular attention is given to the interactions between what is happening in Latin American universities and the new insertion of the continent in the global economy. A prospective analysis is attempted, focusing on the social commitment of universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a literature review of research journals in science teaching in Latin America and the Caribbean with the aim of identifying, describing and characterizing the main lines of research. The documentary basis is made up of 15 scientific journals and 490 papers that report work in educational research. From the abstracts of the papers it was possible to identify the problems addressed, which were grouped into five dimensions: learning science, teaching science, the science curriculum, science teachers and students of science teaching. The results show that teaching and learning science is the main problem addressed by most studies conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent research has shown that labor productivity has fallen since 1975 in Latin American countries, a phenomenon that has taken place after countries undertook ambitious economic reforms and when the macro-economy has been stable. Decreasing productivity has adverse repercussions on competitiveness, export growth, salaries and income distribution. There is no consensus on the reasons behind the deterioration in productivity. For this reason, this paper investigates the determinants of labor productivity in a sample of six Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. The analysis rests on the estimation of a Var model with the variables: investment rate, human capital, public consumption, labor productivity, and social variables- self and quality employment, part time employment, and income distribution. The specific contributions of the paper are the inclusion of social variables in the Var estimations and the breakdown of labor market variables by gender. The Var was estimated with 1990-2012 data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. The impulse response functions indicate that labor productivity increases with increasing physical and human capital, with government consumption, quality jobs, and equitable income distribution. The responses are more pronounced for women than for men. An interesting result is that the response of the percentage of national income that is invested by the richest decile of the population has a positive association with the respective country’s average education attainment, indicating that human capital induces private investment. Labor productivity is not dependent on purely economic variables, such as physical capital and technology, but depends on equitable access to social services. When all population groups have access to social services, more individuals will have better skills and better jobs in the official economy, which contributes to increasing labor productivity. Achieving this requires a solid fiscal situation. In other words, increasing labor productivity demands adequate tax revenues to attend to social variables to promote a regimen of equality of opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educación XX1 is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper has two principal aims: (1) to analyze and measure how the demographic variables-mortality, fertility, and immigration- affect the cost of education; (2) to evaluate what possibilities developing countries, such as those of Latin America, have for a rapid educational improvement. The paper relates demographic and educational variables of three different populations: Sweden, 1840-1965; the United States, 1850-1960; and Latin America, 1930-2000. Three educational variables are also cone sidered: (a) school attendance rates by sex and age; (b) distribution of students of same age by grade; and (c) cost of student by grade. Demographic changes in countries such as Sweden and the United States were favorable for the development of education. For the future, unless an increase of fertility occurs, mortality and fertility changes will not have a significant effect on the cost of education in these countries. In current less developed countries the demographic changes during the past were less favorable to educational development. A future reduction of fertility will significantly help them to achieve a higher educational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Sobre Educacion is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the persistent shares of youth that are out of school and out of work in Latin America, with special attention to those in the fifteen-to-eighteen age range. According to our calculations, 18.5 percent of Latin American youth in this age group (9.4 million individuals) are currently neither in school nor working. We present the patterns of the evolution of this group in eighteen countries across the region, identifying the set of microeconomic and aggregate variables that are correlated with their dynamics. We explore the relationship with the household's socioeconomic characteristics and with the structure and evolution of labor markets. We identify the links with the schooling system and school dropout patterns; and we verify whether the group responds to changes in the environment, including overall GDP growth, or to economic shocks. We also explore the possibility that they are simply a transient demographic phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal History of Latin American Education / Revista Historia de la Educación Latinoamericana is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista CS is the property of Rafael Silva Vega and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Etnomatemática is the property of Universidad de Narino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Nomadas (01217550) is the property of Universidad Central and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Advocatus is the property of Universidad Libre Seccional Barranquilla and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents an experience with teachers who participated in an extension course conducted during 2008 entitled: "The movies in teaching history and culture african-Brazilian and African basic education." Guidelines and National Education establish compliance with the Law 10.639/2003 education for ethnic-racial. To discuss and contribute to the education of blackness in Brazil, this paper discusses the potential of film narratives in the classroom for the teaching of history and Afro-Brazilian and African culture. The results indicate the existence of potential pedagogical filmography, even teachers do not know how to exploit their film narratives that help students visualize the "other." We conclude that the use of films as a source of study or as a pedagogical tool requires a critical pedagogical action decoding, interpretation and deconstruction of film narratives to understand the record of human actions depicted on the screen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is the impact assessment analysis of the pilot project Rede@prender carried out in Colombia under the Programme EUROsociAL within the overall context of the Euro-Latin American cooperation. The first part of the paper introduces to, on the one hand, the Euro-Latin American cooperation model and the Programme's overall philosophy, while on the other hand presents the contents of the Colombian policy on education in citizenship competencies within which context the project was carried out. The second part elaborates an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of the pilot project and tries to give account of its impact and achieved results. Finally, the third and inal part of the text contains some considerations on the application of the evaluation criteria, best practices and lessons learned from the project Rede@prender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Scientiarium: Education is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal History of Latin American Education / Revista Historia de la Educación Latinoamericana is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Economía Institucional is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuadernos de Historia is the property of Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of RIE: Revista de Investigacion Educativa is the property of RIE: Revista de Investigacion Educativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Multicultural discourse has reached Latin American higher education in the form of a set of policies targeting indigenous peoples. These policies are strongly influenced by the transfer of European notions of 'interculturality', which, in the Mexican context, are understood as positive interactions between members of minority and majority cultures. In Mexico, innovative and often polemical 'intercultural universities or colleges' are being created by governments, by NGOs or by pre-existing universities. This trend towards 'diversifying' the ethnocultural profiles of students and curricular contents coincides with a broader tendency to force institutions of higher education to become more 'efficient', 'corporate' and 'outcome-oriented'. Accordingly, these still very recently established 'intercultural universities' are often criticised as being part of a common policy of 'privatisation' and 'neoliberalisation' and of developing curricula particular to specific groups which weakens the universalist and comprehensive nature of Latin American public universities. Indigenous leaders, on the contrary, frequently claim and celebrate the appearance of these new higher education opportunities as part of a strategy of empowering actors of indigenous origin or African descent. Going beyond this polemic, this paper presents the first findings of an activist anthropological and ethnographically-based case study of the actors participating in the configuration of one of these new institutions of higher education, the Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural (UVI), located on the Mexican gulf coast. This article examines the way UVI has appropriated the discourse of interculturality on the basis of fieldwork conducted in the four indigenous regions where the UVI offers a B.A. in Intercultural Management for Development. The study focuses on the actors' teaching and learning practices, which are strongly shaped by an innovative and hybrid mixture of conventional university teaching, community-oriented research and 'employability'-driven development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal History of Latin American Education / Revista Historia de la Educación Latinoamericana is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a comparative view of the training of economists in Latin America, analyzing curricula, commonly utilized textbooks, professors' time-commitments, teaching methods, and the use of technologies and computational tools. Also, following the approach of Colander (2005), the paper presents the results of a survey of Economics students, creating a socioeconomic profile of them and examining their attitudes and opinions. Among the regularities found for the five countries, particularly notable is the lack of connection between students' expectations regarding job market demand for economists and the actual demand by employment sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the international community, through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is promoting a global policy of Education for All (EFA), Cuba stands out as a beacon to other developing countries that have so far been unable to achieve their EFA goals. This paper presents a regional quantitative comparison of eleven Latin American and Caribbean countries--Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela--showing that Cuba excels in comparison to her neighboring Latin American and Caribbean countries in a majority of measurable characteristics of education implementation and outcomes. Cuba is also shown to have the highest overall UNESCO EFA ranking among Latin American and non-English speaking Caribbean countries and the only one currently meeting the UNESCO EFA goals. This paper will also show, in contrast, that the government of the United States has published highly detailed and specific plans to appropriate and substantially transform Cuba's education system given the political opportunity. With the changes in Cuba's leadership and apparent anticipation by the United States government of potential political instability in Cuba's foreseeable future, along with inexplicable inconsistencies between Cuba's outstanding education record and the recommendations by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, it is important and relevant to ask the question, "Why does the United States want to interfere in Cuba's education system, and what is potentially to be lost?" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with a summary of the ideas of the small book stated by the author, beginning within the filing of the Freire's thought. This version comes in Portuguese, it deals with the biographic remnants of life span and the thought of the educator Paulo Freire. We also invite the readers of the Rhela to keep a record about life span and thought of the emblematic educator Pablo Nun, who died ten years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the reasons behind the spread of discrimination in the labor markets of Latin America. Latinobarómetro, a primary opinion survey in the region, explored these perceptions for representative samples of the population. Surveys conducted asked Latin Americans why people in their country are not treated equally. Some respondents reasoned poverty as the basis for unequal treatment. They also cited lack of education and lack of connections as the basis for inequality. Interpreting the results, it indicated that Latin Americans consider economic factors more important than social factors in explaining unequal treatment.

Copyright of Theologica Xaveriana is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article discusses external assistance and aid in Latin America in neo-liberal times. A central component of external assistance in educational policy is the proposal for an ethos and model of privatisation in the context of a neo-liberal state though with a prominent role played by neo-liberal international organisations. The drastic changes from a liberal state to a neo-liberal state are analysed theoretically. Some of the key dilemmas and tensions of external aid are also analysed, touching on the roles of the World Bank and the key elements of its lending processes, particularly its research policies. The paper addresses in its last section key ethical and political dilemmas of educational research and planning in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to produce a comparative policy analysis of nine pension systems (Chile, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic) by reviewing four variables of interest and by analyzing in-depth interviews of officials in charge of supervising pension systems. In this evaluation of pension education programs in Latin America, the experiences of Chile and Uruguay stand out. The study also examines social security education, which helps inform people about their rights and obligations under social security systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the evolution of professionalization of public relations in Latin America and the potential influence of three contextual variables – economic performance, political system, and press freedom- in this process. Over 1400 public relations professionals completed online surveys in 2009 and 2015 (674 and 803 respectively), creating two data data sets for analysis. The study used eight measurement items grouped in two dimensions: institutionalization and specialization. Statistically significant improvements were found for five indicators: formal study of public relations in higher-education institutions, ideological and ethical principles that emphasize societal well-being, associative organizations that unite professionals, availability of a formal scientific knowledge, and a system of employment access and promotion. Results show also the influence of economic performance on the levels of professionalization in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers tips for students to complete a graduate degree in biological sciences in Latin America. Topics discussed include the features that underlie the performance of graduate programs around the world, the importance of investigating the graduate program and the adviser, scholarship programs for graduate students, and the need to follow administrative procedures from admission to graduation.

In this paper, we explore the state of the art of public affairs education in Latin America and compare it with the evolution and current character of MPA/MPP education in the United States. In doing so, we are able to identify ways in which there is a Latin American model (or at least identifiable patterns) of public affairs education in sharp contrast to what might be expected in terms of emulation of international programs, particularly from the United States and Europe. As the basis for our analysis, we rely on three main sources of information. We use extensive data gathered from a survey of nearly 50 programs of public affairs in Latin America, which we administered in 2015 in order to identify patterns and trends in public affairs education in the region. Then, we compare our data with two data bases: (1) the Atlas of Public Policy and Management (Carleton University and the University of Toronto), which provides an international profile of programs, and (2) NASPAA's Data Center, which summarizes the characteristics of NASPAA-member programs based on Annual Survey data. This comparison allows us to establish to what degree there is a phenomenon of isomorphism in public affairs education between countries in Latin America and similar programs in North America. We finish this article exploring the implications of such results, for the quality and appropriateness of education in government affairs in Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces the launch of Spanish translations of the abstracts of research papers and other scientific contributions published in the journal.

This paper describes and explains the emergence and development of the concept of educational justice in Iberoamerica. From the comparison of the production among three countries, it suggests various reasons to explain the emergence of this concept and the convergence in its recent development. On the one hand, due to the growing inequalities in society and education; on the other hand, because the conceptualization of educational justice has emerged to change actions and shape future expectations, which, generally, alludes to the equitable distribution of learning or knowledge relevant to contemporary society. Finally, it draws up the internationalization of national discourses, which have led to particular hybrids around the conception and the implementation of educational justice. It is concluded pointing out some convergent trend in speeches, but variation in practices derived from each national tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of an educational project aimed at promoting the development of critical thinking and promote interest in experimental sciences in High Schools and College students is presented. In this paper, we made a compilation of several activities, which ways of integrating information technology and communication (ICT) in various experiments of science, which together can be used to implement a low cost "classroom-laboratory". With ICT we refer to the convergence of computers, software, audiovisual systems, Internet, telephone, and other equipment that integrates with some of these devices. To this end, several projects were developed, that can be transferred to high schools and colleges settings, with limited financial resources, as is frequent in Latin America. The projects highlight the methodological aspects of science and seek to integrate areas such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, art, etc. They aim to answer the questions: how do we know this?, why do we believe in that? These questions illustrate the nature of scientific thought. With the advent of programs such as "One Laptop per Child" that are being implemented in several Latin American countries, it is appropriate to use these resources as a basis to generate low cost laboratories. This contribution may be a useful tool to improve the quality of science learning and to encourage vocations in science and engineering. Furthermore, the development of a critical thinking, along with acquisition of skills in the use of ICT, can be essential in many academic and professional fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]