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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.

This scoping review of the international literature published over the last 50 years in educational leadership and management journals provides a thematic exploration of factors influencing pathways at the pre-entry stage of a principal's career. Findings from a thematic analysis of 68 publications show that attention to prospective principals increased after the year 2000 and this was driven by four main concerns: underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities, principal supply and demand, the principalship as a school improvement lever, and the expansion of leadership posts in schools. Selected articles addressed three dimensions of the pathways before a person is first appointed to this post: (a) micro (individual's agency), (b) meso (preparation of prospective principals), and (c) macro (policies shaping access to the post). Across time and countries, pathways to the principalship are resourced by individuals' professional orientations and by contextual factors, formal pre-service preparation may be desirable but not always available or required, and policies frame a conceptualisation of the principalship that shapes the two previous dimensions. The internationalization of research on pathways to the principalship has brought to the forefront normative assumptions that should be critically challenged when considering how to recruit, develop, and support prospective school principals.

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.

Copyright of Cuadernos Médico Sociales is the property of Colegio Medico de Chile (A.G.) 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.)

Abstract Findings We set out to analyse the gene expression profile of pre-osteoblastic C2C12 cells during osteodifferentiation induced by both rhBMP2 and rhBMP7 using DNA microarrays. Induced and repressed genes were intercepted, resulting in 1,318 induced genes and 704 repressed genes by both rhBMP2 and rhBMP7. We selected and validated, by RT-qPCR, 24 genes which were upregulated by rhBMP2 and rhBMP7; of these, 13 are related to transcription (Runx2, Dlx1, Dlx2, Dlx5, Id1, Id2, Id3, Fkhr1, Osx, Hoxc8, Glis1, Glis3 and Cfdp1), four are associated with cell signalling pathways (Lrp6, Dvl1, Ecsit and PKCδ) and seven are associated with the extracellular matrix (Ltbp2, Grn, Postn, Plod1, BMP1, Htra1 and IGFBP-rP10). The novel identified genes include: Hoxc8, Glis1, Glis3, Ecsit, PKCδ, LrP6, Dvl1, Grn, BMP1, Ltbp2, Plod1, Htra1 and IGFBP-rP10. Background BMPs (bone morphogenetic proteins) are members of the TGFβ (transforming growth factor-β) super-family of proteins, which regulate growth and differentiation of different cell types in various tissues, and play a critical role in the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into osteoblasts. In particular, rhBMP2 and rhBMP7 promote osteoinduction in vitro and in vivo, and both proteins are therapeutically applied in orthopaedics and dentistry. Conclusion Using DNA microarrays and RT-qPCR, we identified both previously known and novel genes which are upregulated by rhBMP2 and rhBMP7 during the onset of osteoblastic transdifferentiation of pre-myoblastic C2C12 cells. Subsequent studies of these genes in C2C12 and mesenchymal or pre-osteoblastic cells should reveal more details about their role during this type of cellular differentiation induced by BMP2 or BMP7. These studies are relevant to better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying osteoblastic differentiation and bone repair.

Background: Clinical studies suggest that depressive symptoms could be considered an important risk factor for the future development of cognitive impairment and even Alzheimer's disease (AD). In fact, there is a strong association between depression in later life and AD. The age of onset of AD has been shown to be accelerated in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with a history of depression, and women appear to be particularly more vulnerable to this condition. In addition, individuals with MCI who present with depressive symptoms have an elevated burden of amyloid‐beta (Aβ), the main toxic protein associated with Alzheimer's pathology, and a higher risk of developing AD compared to non‐depressed MCI patients. However, it is unknown whether depression can be considered a risk factor for the development of AD. Although it has been described that some transgenic models of AD can develop signs similar to depression in advanced stages, the induction of Alzheimer's pathology due to a depressive process has not been studied under experimental conditions to emulate late‐life depression as a risk factor for AD. Method: In this study, we induced chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) in P301S tau transgenic mice to determine whether depression is a cause, rather than a consequence, of the development of AD. Result: The results of our study indicate that the induction of CUMS in transgenic animals of the disease give rise to changes in depressive state of the animals. Conclusion: The findings generated in this project could provide evidence of depression as a risk factor for AD, its mechanisms of action, use as early biomarkers, as well as the discovery of new therapies for AD. The objectives proposed in this research have specific funding from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (27565 2018 NARSAD), the B1‐2019_06 of the Own Plan of the University of Malaga, and the UMA20‐FEDERJA‐ 104FEDER Operational Program Andalusia 2014‐2020, as well as the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC‐2017‐21879), all awarded to Dr. Inés Moreno. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 typerestricted improvementbecause at its center is the management of processes that mainly target academic achievement tests; the second isincipient improvement, which is based on changes that restructure the school processes; the third identified trajectory are cases where school improvement ismoving toward institutionalization, while the last are those cases where improvement has been alreadyinstitutionalizedand 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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents an economic decision model for planning in public education, considering the satisfaction of the total demand for education in a municipality and the annual cost involved in the system. Given a set of established schools in a municipality and possible new locations, the aim of the model is to find the optimal supply in terms of which schools should be kept open or closed, which grades (or year levels) should be made available and the number of classes that should be provided within each such grade to meet student demand. The model includes specific information about curriculum requirements in terms of the number of hours per year per subject to be provided for each grade level. The objective function essentially seeks to minimize the total fixed and variable costs to schools, which mainly relate to human resources (principal and direction, teaching, administrative, and support staff). We propose an integer optimization model for solving this problem and we apply it to two large municipalities in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most frequent malignancy and the second cause of cancer death worldwide. Several factors have been postulated to be involved in CRC pathophysiology, including physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary habits, obesity, and the gut microbiota. Emerging data suggest that the microbiome may play a key role in CRC prognosis and derived complications in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. On the other hand, dietary intervention has been demonstrated to be able to induce significant changes in the gut microbiota and related metabolites in different conditions; therefore, the manipulation of gut microbiota through dietary intervention may constitute a useful approach to improve perioperative dysbiosis and post-surgical outcomes in patients with CRC. In this article, we review the role of the gut microbiota in CRC surgery complications and the potential therapeutic modulation of gut microbiome through nutritional intervention in patients with CRC undergoing surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly massified and differentiated postsecondary education systems tend to replicate the stratification and social segregation of previous educational levels, thus maintaining social inequity in their access. In this regard, gaps in academic test scores are frequently perceived to be a fundamental transmission channel of socioeconomic segregation from secondary to postsecondary education. Within this framework, the purpose of this study is to analyze whether and to what degree socioeconomic segregation is reproduced in the transition from secondary to postsecondary education and how much of the socioeconomic segregation is related to academic segregation in the latter. Using a modified Dissimilarity Index to quantify the segregation of three Chilean cohorts, we find that, unlike in secondary education, academic performance is more decisive than socioeconomic background in the distribution of students in postsecondary education, with a notable reduction in the socioeconomic segregation levels in the transition to the latter. However, using a pioneering approach, we also find that less than half of the socioeconomic segregation in postsecondary education is related to academic sorting, suggesting that factors other than academic admission criteria are more relevant in explaining unequal distribution of students from different socioeconomic background in postsecondary education. • Segregation indices are calculated for Chilean secondary and postsecondary education. • Socioeconomic segregation is significantly lower in postsecondary education. • Privileged students are significantly and persistently more segregated at both levels. • Postsecondary education is more segregated in academic than socioeconomic terms. • Less than half of socioeconomic segregation can be attributed to academic segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Internacional de Sociología is the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas 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.)