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School dropout is a structural problem which permanently penalizes students and society in areas such as low qualification jobs, higher poverty levels and lower life expectancy, lower pensions, and higher economic burden for governments. Given these high consequences and the surge of the problem due to COVID-19 pandemic, in this paper we propose a methodology to design, develop, and evaluate a machine learning model for predicting dropout in school systems. In this methodology, we introduce necessary steps to develop a robust model to estimate the individual risk of each student to drop out of school. As advancement from previous research, this proposal focuses on analyzing individual trajectories of students, incorporating the student situation at school, family, among other levels, changes, and accumulation of events to predict dropout. Following the methodology, we create a model for the Chilean case based on data available mostly through administrative data from the educational system, and according to known factors associated with school dropout. Our results are better than those from previous research with a relevant sample size, with a predictive capability 20% higher for the actual dropout cases. Also, in contrast to previous work, the including non-individual dimensions results in a substantive contribution to the prediction of leaving school. We also illustrate applications of the model for Chilean case to support public policy decision making such as profiling schools for qualitative studies of pedagogic practices, profiling students' dropout trajectories and simulating scenarios.

This paper was the first to analyze the magnitude, temporal evolution, and decomposition of socioeconomic segregation in Chilean higher education, over the period 2009 to 2017, in which relevant policies aimed at strengthening inclusion and equity in the system were introduced. Two segregation indices, the dissimilarity index and the square root index, are used to meet these objectives. The results show high and persistent segregation for high socioeconomic status students, in contrast to the moderate and decreasing segregation levels seen in the low and middle socioeconomic groups. Besides, the decomposition exercise posits the universities as the focus of segregation in this system, where both the institution and the degree program constitute relevant factors in understanding the unequal distribution of high socioeconomic status students. These results invite an in-depth look at the mechanisms that hinder social integration in this area, with a particular emphasis on the segregation of the highest socioeconomic status students, whose place in this system promotes their academic and social differentiation.

The government of Chile mandated a system-wide reform in public school education in 2017. The reform calls for de-municipalization of the public school sector (345 municipal education departments under mayoral control) and the creation of 70 Servicios Locales de Educación Pública (SLEPs) between 2018 and 2025. The reform represents a largescale attempt to improve and save public education in Chile. This analysis is based on case studies of implementation of the first four SLEPs in the first year of the reform. Using Stake's method for multiple case study analysis, the analysis explores how context influences the professional capacity of the SLEPs to provide professional assistance to schools. The study relates to research on the effectiveness of intermediate level agencies in school systems and on contextual influences on organizational innovation and capacity building. The analysis reveals that contextual factors shaping initial professional capacity of the SLEPs reinforced traditional practices of local education agency support to schools in three of the four cases. The differentiating factor centered on the actions of local agency leaders who responded to capacity gaps and lack of direction from government authorities as either constraints on change or as an opportunity for innovation.

This paper explores Chilean early childhood and care (ECEC) principals' pedagogical leadership in the public sector, drawing upon literature regarding ECEC leadership. Following up a qualitative tradition, a purposive sample was used which considered 13 ECEC settings, from the 2 leading providers of public ECEC in Chile: JUNJI (the National Board of Nurseries for its acronym in Spanish) and Integra Foundation. Different techniques were used for data collection: semi-structured interviews with principals, ECEC teachers, teaching assistants, and parents. In addition, a shadowing technique was used to observe principals. Findings show that ECEC principals' leadership is based on limited space to develop a pedagogical leadership due to a high administrative workload, alongside strong ethics of care fostered by principals, which are shared by the educational community -- ECEC teachers, teaching assistants and families. We aim to generate knowledge about ECEC leadership for the Latin American context, particularly for the Chilean case, where we do not have any evidence about this topic.

This study explores the disparate trajectories of students in Chilean higher education and how these alter socioeconomic segregation within this system. The study follows the cohort of students who entered higher education in 2011 for eight years through census-type data. It uses two segregation indexes to make novel comparisons of socioeconomic segregation at the beginning and the end of their passage through higher education. The results show high dropout rates among students of low socioeconomic status, and high mobility between degree programs and institutions across the socioeconomic spectrum, with significant nuances in the type of mobility experienced by different socioeconomic groups. However, dropouts and transfers between degree programs, institutions, and types of institutions do not significantly modify the levels of socioeconomic segregation seven years after entrance. These results indicate that socioeconomic segregation in higher education is set to a large extent upon entrance to this system.

Purpose: This research paper explores the value of collaborative inquiry networks of headteachers and curriculum coordinators to cope with 2020's coronavirus pandemic in Chile. Specifically, the authors describe the main challenges that networks identify in their contexts, the collaborative practices performed by different schools to address these challenges, and the influence of the networks on the innovative responses of teachers in their own schools. Design/methodology/approach: This is a mixed-method study from a complementary stance using different methods and data of a project implemented with a total of 54 headteachers and curriculum coordinators. The data sources were participants' individual reports, the network teams' reports of their collaborative inquiry projects, and a short open-ended questionnaire responded by teachers that did not participate directly in the networks but benefited from their work. The data were analyzed using content analysis, categories were created to organize and describe the main findings. Findings: Participants of the networks reported that their active participation in the collaborative inquiry allows them to share knowledge among different schools and has helped them to support innovative practices in their own schools. Specifically, they have reported that collaborating has permitted them to maintain a pedagogical focus, foster distributed leadership within the school communities, provide them with greater autonomy, and develop skills to favor the emotional containment of their teams. Inquiry teams perform diverse collective practices; they designed and applied virtual surveys, planned and implemented virtual workshops with teachers, and generated meaningful reflection about formative assessment and pedagogical practices. Originality/value: This work offers insights into how the Chilean school system has responded to COVID-19 challenges and shows how despite the negative aspects of the pandemic, it has become an opportunity to recognize and enhance teachers' professional development through the collaboration among different schools. Most headteachers and curriculum coordinators reported that an active collaborative inquiry changed how they used to think about their leadership and strengthened the value of professional relationships to address extremely difficult challenges as a result of the pandemic. These lessons can be taken for the future, to rethink and rebuild educational systems.

A great deal of knowledge has been accumulated on how educational effectiveness and improvement come to be. However, the issue of how these processes behave once they have been achieved has remained relatively unexplored. In this paper, we report on the findings of a multiple case study that delved into the factors and processes explaining different levels of sustainability of educational effectiveness for schools previously identified and studied as highly effective and located in low-income areas. We show that effectiveness is a fragile attainment that is affected by a variety of external and internal processes. Transformations in the local context (demographic changes and the dynamics of the school market), and educational policies and programs are key external factors. In the internal realm, the role of school administrators, principals, and leadership teams, the organization of pedagogical work, and the school culture modulate the sustainability of educational effectiveness in the long term.

This paper is based on a multiple case study of schools which have been identified as improving their performance for about a decade. We proposed different criteria by which to characterize and study these improvement processes and, by applying them to our sample, we elaborated a typology of school improvement trajectories: we identified 4 different trajectories of school improvement. We called the first type "restricted improvement" because at its center is the management of processes that mainly target academic achievement tests; the second is "incipient improvement," which is based on changes that restructure the school processes; the third identified trajectory are cases where school improvement is "moving toward institutionalization," while the last are those cases where improvement has been already "institutionalized" and the schools have achieved high levels of educational effectiveness. We identified challenges that schools face at different stages of school improvement and discussed some related policy issues.

The objective of this study was to identify trajectories of school improvement experienced by Chilean elementary schools over the last decade. Using econometric analysis and controlling for potential confounding factors, we created an index of school performance combining outcome indicators focused on different school dimensions, and estimated the 2002/2010 evolution of school improvement for all Chilean schools with available data. Broadly, we estimated an average increase in the school performance of about 0.19 SD; nevertheless, while 41% of the schools increased their educational performance by at least 0.1 SD, 25% of the schools decreased it during the same period; we also found that improving school effectiveness was more probable among schools with lower student socioeconomic status (SES). Finally, we found that the observed school improvement trajectories tended to be non-linear; thus, we estimated that only 13.4% of the schools improved their performance in a systematic way during the entire decade.

International studies show that the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on learning has increased in a number of countries and that poverty is a risk factor that puts children's academic performance at risk. However, there are students who, despite living in impoverished conditions, achieve solid academic performance. How they do so is a question of central importance. The present study uses the concept of "resilience" as a theoretical framework that can help us to answer it. It investigates various characteristics common to the students, families, and schools of Chile, and places emphasis on understanding resilience as it relates to the academic achievement of students with low SES. Multilevel models and comparisons reveal performance determinants associated with resilience, such as reading engagement and schooling conditions. This study highlights resilience as a framework for addressing the obstacles that face disadvantaged youth in developing educational systems.

To what extent school improvement processes can be initiated and sustained from the outside has been a relevant question for policy-makers seeking to increase quality in education. Since 2008, the Chilean Government is strongly promoting the use of external technical support (ETS) services to support school improvement processes, as part of the Student Priority Voucher programme, a compensatory policy that provides significant additional resource to schools serving the poorest 40% of students. Participating schools and ETS providers negotiate services and prices in a market-like dynamic. In this paper, we describe the Chilean ETS policy, discuss the ETS policy implementation, review the empirical evidence about the effects of ETS services in schools, and critically analyse the ETS policy as an instrument for school improvement. We argue that experts who are knowledgeable in the field of education have the potential to effectively support schools in need of improvement. However, brokers and external consultants providing school support in Chile within a market-oriented framework typically lack the characteristics associated with positive effects; this raises the critical issue of developing professional capacities within schools to produce genuine and sustainable improvement processes.

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the socioeconomic status (SES) school segregation in Chile, whose educational system is regarded as an extreme case of a market-oriented education. The study estimated the magnitude and evolution of the SES segregation of schools at both national and local levels, and it studied the relationship between some local educational market dynamics and the observed magnitude of SES school segregation at municipal level. The main findings were: first, the magnitude of the SES segregation of both low-SES and high-SES students in Chile was very high (Duncan Index ranged from 0.50 to 0.60 in 2008); second, during the last decade, SES school segregation tended to slightly increase in Chile, especially in high schools (both public and private schools); third, private schools--including voucher schools--were more segregated than public schools for both low-SES and high-SES students; and finally, some market dynamics operating in the Chilean education (like privatization, school choice, and fee-paying) accounted for a relevant proportion of the observed variation in SES school segregation at municipal level. These findings are analyzed from an educational policy perspective in which the link between SES school segregation and market-oriented mechanisms in education plays a fundamental role.