Infancy in Latin America

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Infancy in Latin America
International Programme Coping with Inclusion
in Primary Schools
Carolina Angela Muñoz Lepe Porto, Abril 2007
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Early Infancy in Latin America

• In spite of a lot of international
  agreements,many childrens in Latin America are
  still being refused their rights of economic and
  social equality, as well as their opportunities
  and participation in the society.
• The magnitud of inequality tends to vary
  dramatically not only among every country in the
  region, but also across each of them.

• Even though the region produces three times more
  food than its population needs, approximately one
  of every six children suffers from growth delay
  caused by problems with poor nutrition.
• However, there are some encouraging indicators
  for the region, for example, the presence of a
  decreasing rate of infant mortality.

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Infancy in Latin America Precedents

• Economic and social disparities in Latin America
  and the Carib are certainly the main cause of
  health problems among poor people. For example,
  children who live in the poorest sectors are
  almost four times more likely to suffer from
  underweight diseases than children who live in
  middle-class sectors.
• Mortality rate, disability levels and other
  infant problems follow similar patterns according
  to the social and economic situation.

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Infancy in Latin AmericaPrecedents...

• Economic inequality seems to be a characteristic
  in Latin America. The index of poverty amount to
  50 of the population, and 55 of them are
  children.

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Handicaps in Latin America Precedents

• 80 of these children live in developing
  countries.
• Only in Latin America lives about 85 million
  people who suffer some type of disability.

• According to WHO, about 300 to 500 million people
  in the world suffer from some type of
  disability, and roughly half of them are children
  or teenagers.

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Primary Education in Latin America

• Nowadays the access of the children to primary
  education do not show significant differences.
  However, it is worth to remark that gender parity
  in primary school has become a new phenomenon
  during the last years. Unfortunately, it is far
  from being the reality in the most isolated
  communities.
• A lot of girls, specially from rural
  regions,amerindians communities and afro
  descendants, are still being excluded from the
  primary education.

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Primary Education in Latin America

• Gender disparity in the Carib region is currently
  a big issue for local governments. There are
  definitely more boys than girls dropping out
  school, specially in communities with high
  unemployment and violence rates.

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Secondary Education in Latin America

• A lot of young students face big difficulties
  finding a good- quality secondary education, as
  well as obtaining protection against abuse,
  explotation and violence, and even getting
  access to basic sexual education.

• Approximately one of every three women of the
  region gets pregnant before turning 20 years
  old.
• According to the last UNICEF indicators, only 51
  of girls and 44 of boys, from the region,
  have access to secondary school . .

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Secondary Education in Latin America
The school desertion rate in poors areas is
definitely higher among boys than girls. This is
explained by the fact that boys must take the
responsability to get a job in order to
collaborate with the household living expenses.
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Secondary Education in Latin America

• The early maternity in women force many
  teenagers to drop ot school..
• Looking for measures to prevent that
  situation,for example, in Chile in 2000, was
  promulgated a law which guarantees the right of
  the pregnant teenagers and mothers to remain in
  school. The law demands that a pregnant woman or
  mother teenager cannot be forced to change
  schedules or location of the school due to her
  condition, and forces the schools to facilitate
  the access to all kind of health services during
  the pregnancy and after the childbirth.

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International Agreements

• Especially during the 90s, organizations
  worldwide, like UNICEF, UNESCO and others,
  generated diverse meetings, declarations and
  commitments among countries of the region in
  order to foster the access to education and
  equity, as a way to reduce the inequality and to
  suppress any type of discriminations

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Integration in Chile

• International Programme
• Coping with Inclusion in Primary Schools

Carolina Angela Muñoz Lepe Porto, Abril 2007
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CHILE, some information

• Chile is a Republic governed by a democratic
  government, (President from 2006 Michelle
  Bachelet)
• Population 16. 134. 219
• Language Spanish
• Ethnicity/race95 white and white- amerindian
  ,3 amerindian , 2 others.
• Religions Roman Catholic 89
• Industries copper, others minerals, foodstuffs,
  fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood
  products, transport equipment, cement, textiles.

Torres del Paine
Santiago, the Capital
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Chile
Chile is situated between the Andes Mountains and
the Pacific Ocean in a narrow strech of land that
does not exceed a maximun width pf 350
kilometres. The country extends from its
frontiers with Peru and Bolivia in the north till
the Antartic territories where we have various
military and scientific bases. The maximun
extension of our territories reaches a 4329
kilometres.
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Chile

• Contrast and diversity characterizes our
  geography. In the north, the climate condictions
  the existence of the most ardent desert in the
  worl located in the Atacama region. While in the
  center of Chile, green and fertile valleys
  multiply and provide fruits and vegetables for
  the population and the international markets that
  used to the hight quality of our fruits, wines
  and grapes among others.

• The south of Chile is extreme beauty, with
  ancients forest, and lakes . There are a
  multitude of very good parks and plenty of
  opportunities for fine adventure travel.

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Landscapes
Atacama Desert
Native sculptures from Rapa Nui
Glacier San Rafael
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Chilean Educational system

• According to the Constitution, primary and high
  school are mandatory for all citizens. A free
  public system of education is provided by the
  State in order to assist students who cannot
  afford a private education.

• The levels of education in Chile are
• Preschools education, which is not mandatory and
  mostly privately funded. Nowadays It is in
  process of reform trough the program " Chile
  Grows with You" which seeks to provide every poor
  child, the access to child-cares and pre-school
  establishments on a free way. It is expected to
  be in full-operation by 2009.

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Chilean Educational system

• Primary School, or Enseñanza Básica, from
  children from 5-6 to 12-13 years old, divided en
  8 grades. Private or Public schools.
• Secondary School, or Enseñanza Media from 13-14
  to 17- 18 years old,divided un 4 grades and,
  additionally, divided in Science- Humanities
  approach and Technical one, intended to deliver
  some working special abilities.
• Superior education , which is divided in two
  systems a traditional one which selects students
  through a University Selection Test, or PSU and
  a private system with a unique admission system
  for each establishment

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International agreements of protection to the
infancy

• Some recent agreements signed by Chile are
• Convention on Children Rights, on 1989
• World conference on Education for All UNESCO 1990
• Salamancas Statements, and framework for action
  on special needs education, on 1994
• Inter-American convention for the Elimination of
  the Discrimination in Disability OEA 1998
• And others

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Chile, some precedents

• Even though Chile shows better economic
  indicators compared to other countries of the
  region, it must face similiar social and
  educational problems than the rest of Latin
  America.

• Chile is usually it is considered as an open
  economy, decentralized, in process of
  modernization and carrying out important reforms
  in social issues..
• In absolute terms, the poverty levels in Chile
  has decreased over the last year. However high
  levels of disparity still remain.

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Chilean indicators

• The literacy rate amount to 96,5 (evenly men
  and women)

• 99 of students only complete 5th degree in
  elementary education of primary education.
• The desertion rate in primary education amount
  to 1,4 and 7,3 . in secondary education (1994
  - 2004)
• School desertation is between 4 and 6 times
  bigger in public schools (than in private).

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Integration in Chile

• The integration in regular schools of students
  with special educational needs associated with
  some disability, is a relatively recent
  phenomenon in Chile.
• During the 60s, Chile, as well as other countries
  in the region, initiated an educational reform
  with the purpose of extending the coverage of the
  educational system to respond to the
  universalization of basic education for the
  whole population in school age.

• In the 70s, to give content to children with
  disabilities that they were not benefiting of the
  regular education, was created a modality of
  special education. In this way a parallel system
  were consolidate. The special schools were
  organized concerning certain diagnostic
  categories.

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Integration in Chile

• The influence of the principles of normalization
  and educational integration, were perceived in
  Chile on 80s. On that period beginning the
  incorporation of concepts as educational special
  needs. From this approach begins the
  incorporation of pupils with sensory disability
  in regular school.

• This period (decade 80) was characterized by the
  start of punctual experiences of school
  integration, rather isolated and slightly
  systematic and frequently product from individual
  wills from publish like privately institutions.

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Integration in Chile

• In 90s, with the advent of a democratic system
  there happen a series of events that realize
  major political will in this direction.
• Its provided a legal frame that makes possible
  the acces, permanency and progress of pupils with
  disabilities in the regular education, including
  state subsidy for every pupil integrated into a
  public schools.
• In 1994, the goverment created FONADIS (National
  Funds for the Disability) entity that subminister
  technical and economic supports for the
  development of favouring projects of integration.

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Educative Centers and Educational Special Needs

• The current educational system contemplates
  different options to give response to the
  educational special needs . Its necessary to
  mention
• Special schools and centers of training. It is
  the modality with more path and the most chosen
  by the parents. They have different studies
  programs for each deficit, wich are, in major or
  minor degree different from those of the regular
  education.

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Educative Centers and Educational Special Needs

• b) Regular Schools
• With a Integrations Proyect Schools that
  have elaborated a Project and expire with a
  series of conditions. They can choose to getting
  a state subsidy extra for every integrated pupil.
• - With differential groups Schools that receive
  pupils with educational special needs "to rest
  them on their educational process ". They can
  meet on transitory or permanent form. This
  schools do not consider necessarily modifying
  their educational programs.

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Educative Centers and Educational Special Needs

• c) Schools and Hospitable Classrooms modality
  that allows "compensatory" education to pupils
  with healths problems, who must remain in
  hospitable centers for a minimum of three months.

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Modalities of integration

• The Chilean regulation, identifies 4 modalities
  of school integration
• 1) Integration and Participation for the pupil
  in the totality of the schools activities with a
  regular course
• 2) Courses segregated inside the regular
  school, in many cases
• without social contact because they have
  deferred playtime.
• 3) 80 of participation in the common classroom
  and the remnant in special units inside or out of
  the school (20 )
• 4) 50 of participation in the common classroom
  and other one 50 in special units inside or
  outside school.

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Integration in Chile, some results

• The current situation shows a wide variety of
  experiences with different results and degrees of
  development
• - Some of these experiences are just a physical
  acceptance of pupils with disability, without a
  significat action for favoring their social
  participation and school learning.
• Others eperiences make more emphasis on the
  pupils socialization and pay little attention to
  the development of others issues, arguing that
  these represent a high exigency for those pupils
  and the consideration that this aspect is a
  specialists matter.
• Also there are experiences in which the principle
  of incorporation is assumed by the whole
  community and it becomes part of the schools
  project.

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Integration in Chile

• Since the political integration became official
  (10 years ago) there have been important
  progresses on integretation in the society.
  Nevertheless such progresses have been
  insufficient so far. Integration keeps on being a
  local rather than a widespread phenomenon.

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Integration in Chile

• The project of integration is increasing,
  however, it is still scanty in global terms,
  there are about 740 schools in the whole country
  (just 3,7 of the children's whith educational
  special needs are matriculated)
• Many children are integrated in unappropriate
  conditions, in special classrooms inside the
  regular school without benefiting from the school
  official curriculum and with scanty opportunities
  of social interaction with their couples.
• The permanency in the school, in many cases,
  depends on the teachers will and in many cases
  the responsibility of the learning continues
  relapsing exclusively into the professional
  specialist.

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Integration in Chile

• There are neither studies nor evaluations that
  show us how have the integration in the country
  been developed.
• One of the assumptions is that the mayority of
  the pupils currently enjoying the benefits from a
  integration project, had been already awarded.
  Just recently were they recognized as students
  with special educational needs.
• According MINEDUC, in 1999 the pupils with
  disabilitys matriculation in special schools was
  54.000 and only 10 was integrated to regular
  schools. (5.400 pupils).
• Most of basic schools with integrated pupils
  neither have adapted its curricular structure nor
  have modified its habitual pedagogic guidelines.
• In Chile, the human and material resources
  allocated to students are concentrated in
  special schools. There are not clear mechanisms
  that facilitate the collaboration and
  coordination btween special and regular schools.

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Integration in Chile

• The trend is that schools conceive the idea of
  integration as a gradual process of development,
  therefore, they started with a small number of
  pupils, in general with slight disabilities and
  usually coursing the first levels of education.
• One of the difficulties in Chile is related with
  a change of attitude and social representation.
  Negative attitudes and resistance to the
  integration are linked with social prejudices,
  for fear of unknown issues and for not be able to
  handle the difference.

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Indicators of Disabilities in Chile

• In Chile the number of people who suffer from any
  type of disability is still unknown.
• While 1996 the information was about 616.432
  persons (150.000 in school age),in 2004 we were
  said about 2.100.000 persons with disability,
• 238.539 of them aged between 5 and 26, and just
  157.000 are studying
• 80.000 are not part of the educational system.
• In synthesis, only the third part of the pupils
  with disability are registered in the educational
  system.

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Indicators of Disabilities in Chile
The same study indicates that there are about
23.000 children who suffer from disability and
aged between 0 and 5. Most people who suffer
from any type of disabilities are aged between 30
and 64. They have little chances to afford a
lifelong education, a labour formation, or any
other posibilities from which obtain social
benefits.
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Reflextion.

• The mixes (aborigens from Oaxaca's region, in
  Mexico) dont have in their language the word
  "integration", not because a languages
  limitations, but because in their culture
  anybody is excluded from the activities of the
  community

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THE END