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What impact does the lack of prioritizing education in Paraguayan & Argentinian culture have on the children in the early 21 century?

¿Qué impacto tiene en los adolescents la falta de educación en la cultura paraguaya y argentina en el siglo XXI?

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Started out with the data

Then use the interviews to back up the data

Then analyze the situation as a whole

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Educational challenges in Paraguay: socioeconomic inequality as key to educational progress -

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Written by Agnes Amaral Introduction Paraguay is a South American country that contains a diverse amount of ethnical and racial population. In number, more than half of the country is mestizo, 30% of white people, and almost 3% indigenous. These numbers are important in a way to create policies that embrace all people[1]. Another important

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Change One. Change Thousands.

EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

so every girl has a seat at the table.

"Lack of access to education is a major predictor of passing poverty from one generation to the next, and receiving an education is one of the top ways to achieve financial stability.
-Global Citizen

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We ensure girls have access to the opportunities to reach her greatest potential, ON and OFF the field.

When families are faced with challenges of poverty, the idea of their children receiving a proper education is often set aside in order to provide what is needed at home. Education can be replaced with labor and the HOPES & DREAMS of young girls go with it. This not only impacts the girl, it impacts generations before and after her.

We are emphasizing the value of education, providing supplies, and remove the financial burdens from families that keep girls from attending + completing school.

UNICEF reports for girls in Paraguay

Girls are becoming the first
in their family history to....

there is a 25% decrease in enrollment from primary to secondary school and 45% of all students don't complete 6th grade.

attend 7th grade, complete High School, and enroll at the University. Through our scholarship program, girls are learning to dream and believe those dreams are possible. From finance managers, PE teachers, psychologists, nurses, to bio chemists...our girls are creating a pathway for the young girls in their communities to follow in their foots steps.

Our immediate goals are to see girls complete High School and attend University. We take it one step further. Our vision is seeing our Ambassadors not only graduate from college but to have the confidence and skill sets required to have a career. Gaining the financial independence that comes with that is the key to breaking generational poverty.

Children of educated women are more likely to stay focused on education.*

Working women invest 80-90% of their earnings to their family's health and education. Her counterparts, globally, invest approx. 35%.*

When women thrive they invest back into their communities, becoming agents of change empowering other women around them to do the same.

*OECD 2012 Report / **The Borgen Project

Our scholarships provide what is needed for our Ambassadors to succeed in school. Girls are required to apply, interview, and be in good standing to continue in our program and receive a scholarship. We take a 360 approach accountability to passing grades, good character, and participation in local community service projects.

Educational scholarships are offered to Girls Soccer Worldwide Ambassadors. Our scholarships provide what is needed for our Ambassadors to succeed in school. Girls are required to apply, interview, and be in good standing to continue in our program and receive a scholarship. We take a 360 approach accountability to passing grades, good character, and participation in local community service projects.

Educational scholarships are offered to Girls Soccer Worldwide Ambassadors.

We remove the financial burden a girl may have on her family to ensure she does not need to drop out of school. Scholarships include tuition, books + supplies, school and athletic uniforms, monthly food kit, tutoring, mobile device, internet, personal hygiene items, and medical care.

At the PRIVATE College level, scholarships include the items above + transportation costs to and from school, school related trips, and school meal allowance.

According to the OECD Gender Equality in Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship. Final Report to the MCM

"In developing countries, poor families may not be able to afford to send all their children to school and boys may come first when deciding which child to keep in education. Certainly when primary schooling is made free, girls' attendance rises. But it is not just a question of school fees, there are items such as uniforms and school meal costs too - support in these areas can help get girls into schooling and keep them there through secondary education.

Some countries have also raised school attendance of girls through programmes that give a financial reward to families for sending girls to school. Prolonged schooling also cuts down on early marriage. And education is the gift that keeps on giving - mothers who have had schooling place higher value on education for their own daughters."

When you partner with GIRLS SOCCER WORLDWIDE you don't change the life of one girl, you change the lives of thousands.

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Education and Empowerment Through Soccer

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Girls Soccer Worldwide: Supporting education by providing school supplies and alleviating financial barriers for girls to complete their education and break generational poverty through sports.

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Father

Blanca

Abuela

Maria

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Challenges of the Argentina Public Education System

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Challenges of the Argentina Public Education System

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As soon as I walk through the door of Escuela Dominguito in western Buenos Aires, I'm hit by a wave of noise and energy. Fistbumping my seventh graders as I wade through recess to get to the classroom, I'm reminded of how kids are pretty much the same everywhere. These kids keep me on my toes, though, with their superior knowledge of Youtubers, K-pop, and reggaeton.

Escuela Dominguito is one of 26 full-day plurilingual public schools in Buenos Aires. Every Friday, I organize English games to help students with their grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. These schools are known for being the best public primary schools in the city because they put a strong emphasis on language education, require extra training for teachers, possess a strong culture of parent engagement, and provide free lunch for all students.

Working within this school has shown me this high quality education firsthand. The seventh graders that I work with are highly engaged; they light up at the challenge of playing charades, Heads Up, or Mafia in their second language. The government even paid for all students in this school to have their own laptop, which they use to both enrich their learning in the classroom and to stay connected with their teachers through online platforms.

However, as I dug deeper to learn more about the education system here in Argentina, I learned that these plurilingual schools are the exception. I sat down with the teachers I volunteer with over mate and coffee (two Porteño staples) to learn more about their experiences teaching, and these conversations highlighted for me the stark inequalities in the Argentine public education system.

Buenos Aires is an autonomous capital city, a bit like Washington, D.C., and is surrounded by the Province of Buenos Aires. The city and the province have distinct governments, and nowhere is this more apparent than in education. Schools have fewer resources in the poorer province, and schools in wealthy neighborhoods in the city are much better supplied than those in poverty-stricken areas.

Both of the teachers I work with have experience teaching in the villas miserias: the Argentine name for the sprawling slums that lack the basic services characteristic of most big Latin American cities. It is difficult to inspire kids in the villas to learn English because they see no value in learning a second language if they are never going to leave the slums. Broken families, drugs, racial prejudice, and hunger are a few of the challenges that make childhood education difficult in these neighborhoods that are largely ignored by the city and provincial governments. Education in this environment has become even more difficult in the face of an economic crisis that has prompted budget cuts of $10 billion to social services, including education.

As I have investigated more about how schools work here in Argentina, it has been frustrating to observe that the public education system-the very system that is supposed to level the playing field in society-replicates and reinforces social inequality.

I also had the opportunity to learn more about an organization that is tackling this inequality from a religious perspective. I spoke to an educator that I met at the G20 Interfaith Forum who is also a member of the executive committee of Fortalecer Familias, a Buenos Aires Christian non-governmental organization that works to prevent domestic violence, strengthen families, and promote healthy childhood development. In addition to providing counseling and legal services to women in violent relationships, the organization works with schools to prevent bullying through teacher training and the development of classroom materials. Throughout my brief conversation, I was able to see how this organization is inspired by the message of social justice that Jesus taught: a mission of "love your neighbor as yourself" and returning to the poor the dignity that they deserve.

During my short time here in Buenos Aires, I have been inspired by the passion of these educators to promote healthy childhood development, to make education enjoyable, and to establish bonds among young people. And their dedication to their students is readily apparent in the classroom of engaged, curious seventh graders that I see every week. Despite the challenges of public education in Argentina, it is teachers like these that are making a real difference in the lives of the youth.

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Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs

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Challenges of the Argentine Public Education System

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Junior Year Abroad Network blogger Devin MacGoy (SFS'20) considers how his experience volunteering at a high-quality plurilingual school in Buenos Aires illustrates stark inequalities in the Argentine public education system, as well as the difference engaged teachers make in the lives of youth.

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UNICEF trabaja para que cada niña, niño y adolescente acceda a una educación inclusiva y de calidad, que le brinde las mejores oportunidades de desarrollo

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Education Policy Data Center | Making sense of data to improve education

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Addressing the Digital Divide To Improve Higher Education in Paraguay - The Borgen Project

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In November 2023, Paraguay will host a meeting to address higher education challenges and promote digital learning in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Carlos Monroy, Advanced Evaluation Specialist at WES

"What happened to Argentina?" is a question frequently asked by economists. At the beginning of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the ten richest countries in the world with higher per capita incomes than countries like France or Germany. Economic prosperity and seemingly boundless opportunities made the country a magnet for immigrants from Europe and Latin America. An estimated 7 million people migrated to Argentina between 1870 and 1930 alone, most of them from Italy and Spain. In 1914, Buenos Aires was a booming city with an immigrant population that made up more than 50 percent of the total population.

Since then, Argentina has time and again been viewed as a rising economic star, but has also experienced extensive periods of economic volatility thereby failing to live up to its full economic potential. The Economist has described Argentina's economic performance over the past 100 years as " a century of decline." Today, the South American country of 44.3 million is an upper middle-income economy ranked 58th among 191 countries worldwide in terms of GDP per capita in 2018 (trailing other Latin American countries like Panama and Uruguay).

Economic Problems

The reasons for Argentina's economic problems are manifold - as Economist Rafael Di Tella has noted, "if a guy has been hit by 700,000 bullets, it's hard to work out which one of them killed him". One reason certainly is political instability. Throughout the 20th century, Argentina suffered from various military coups and dictatorships, until the country eventually entered a period of sustained democratization in 1983.

Democratization, however, did not stop Argentina's economic woes. Factors like currency overvaluation, growing indebtedness, fiscal mismanagement, external shocks, and a sudden stop in capital inflows resulted in one of Argentina's worst economic crises in 2001-2002. In what is the largest public insolvency in history, Argentina's government in 2001 defaulted on its sovereign debt of USD $132 billion and lost access to global financial markets. The ramifications of the crisis were severe: between 1998 and 2002 economic output declined by 18 percent, reducing GDP per capita to levels last seen in the 1980s. The percentage of Argentinians living below the national poverty line rose from 25.9 percent in 1998 to 57.5 percent in 2002.

Since then, Argentina's economic situation has improved markedly. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the economy grew by 94 percent between 2002 and 2011, experiencing the fastest growth rate in the Western Hemisphere. The global financial crisis of 2008 slowed down economic growth and GDP contracted again between 2012 and 2014, but the present economic outlook is generally positive with Argentina's economy being expected to grow over the coming years.

Problems in the Education System and Education Reforms

Argentina's literacy rate increased from 93.9 percent in 1980 to 98.1 percent 2015, and the country has the highest net enrollment rate in tertiary education in South America after Chile ( UNESCO Institute of Statistics - UIS). In 2014, Argentina also had the second highest net enrollment rate in secondary education in all of Latin America ( 88.2 percent, according to the World Bank).

Statistics from Argentina's Ministry of Education show that dropout rates are high at the secondary level as well and that many students do not graduate on time: 36.3 percent of the students enrolled in grade 10 in 2015 were above the official school age, and the dropout rates for grades nine, ten, and eleven were 9 percent, 12.5 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively.[1]

Argentinian students also perform poorly in comparative tests, such as the OECD PISA study. In 2012, Argentina ranked only 57th out of 64 countries participating in the study, behind Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, and Brazil.[2] A World Bank analysis of Argentina's learning outcomes found that there had been virtually no improvement in Argentina's PISA performance between 2000 and 2012, while countries like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru all made significant gains.

Given that Argentina is one of South America's richest countries, Argentinian scholars have noted that problems like high dropout rates cannot be simply explained with socioeconomic factors like poverty, but are also owed to low student motivation and structural problems within the education system. Among the issues that have been raised are the decentralized and fragmented nature of the system and the fact that there is no nationwide secondary school leaving examination.

What is clear is that there are notable regional disparities in Argentina's education system. As the eighth-largest land mass country in the world, Argentina is a big and culturally diverse country. There are significant differences between more rural provinces and urban centers like the city and province of Buenos Aires, where 43.4 percent of all elementary, secondary and non-university higher education students were enrolled in 2015. Argentina has a federal system of government, and the different provinces have far-reaching autonomy over educational matters. Regional disparities exist in terms of ease of access to education, quality of education, education budgets, infrastructure, or teacher salaries to name but a few examples.

These disparities are reflected in uneven educational outcomes in the different provinces. Government statistics show that ninth grade graduation rates, for instance, varied between 66 percent in the province of Neuquén and 88 percent in the province of La Rioja in 2015. Desertion rates in grade 12, likewise, ranged from eleven percent in Corrientes to 32 percent in Tierra del Fuego. In another example, the percentage of older students enrolled in grade eleven varied from 27 percent in Tucumán to 52 percent in Santa Cruz.

In recognition of these disparities, federal authorities have in recent years taken several steps to harmonize the different educational systems under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments. In 2006, for instance, a National Institute for Teacher Education ( INFD) was established to develop a standard and coherent teacher training structure throughout the country. According to the Ministry of Education, the creation of the INFD has helped greatly to reform the previous "system of fragmented higher education institutions of unequal quality."

Other harmonization measures included the standardization of academic qualifications by creating a " National Catalog of Titles and Certifications of Professional Technical Education" and a federal system of degrees and transcripts for most levels of education (excluding university education). The 2005 Vocational and Technical Education Law seeks to systematize training standards and quality assurance mechanisms in vocational education throughout the country. At the secondary level, the government is currently standardizing curricular streams nationwide - a reform that is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Recent guidelines on compulsory education aim to decrease the dropout rates in secondary school and improve promotion and graduation rates throughout Argentina.

All of these reforms have helped to create a more homogeneous secondary and higher education system in Argentina than existed at the end of the 20th century. Standardizing education in the vast country nevertheless remains an ongoing challenge and disparities in access, quality and funding persist. Teachers, for instance, continue to protest disparities in salaries between different provinces and Argentina in 2017 and 2018 witnessed strikes and large-scale demonstrations organized by Teachers Unions.

Inbound International Student Mobility

This competitive advantage, however, does not translate into high international enrollments from other world regions like Asia or Africa. While about a quarter of foreign degree-seeking students in Brazil come from sub-Saharan Africa (2015, UIS) and 30.9 percent of foreign students in Mexico come from Europe (2015/16), international student enrollments in Argentina are almost exclusively from Latin American countries (92 percent). According to data published by the Ministry of Education, Peru is the largest sending country with 10,543 students (2015), followed by Brazil (8,292 students), Colombia (7,124 students), Bolivia (6,170 students) and Paraguay (6,170 students). By contrast, only 3,563 international students came from European countries, 1,262 from the U.S., 794 from Asia, 275 from Africa and 78 from Oceania. Argentina's flagship university, the Universidad de Buenos Aires, enrolls the largest share of foreign students.

Outbound Student Mobility

The U.S. is the most popular study destination of Argentinian students, followed by Brazil and the European countries Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. According to the Institute of International Education's report, 2,219 students from Argentina were enrolled in the U.S. in 2016/17 - an increase of 0.8 percent from the previous year, but below enrollment levels of 2007/08 when 2,535 Argentinian students studied in the United States. Argentinian students enroll in undergraduate and graduate programs in equal parts (39 percent studied at the undergraduate level, 41 percent at the graduate level, with the remainder pursuing OPT and non-degree programs in 2016/17).

In Brief: The Education System of Argentina

Administration of the Education System

Despite recent reform attempts to increase standardization, Argentina presently has one of the most decentralized education systems in Latin America. The country is constituted as a federation of 23 Provinces and the self-governing Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (24 jurisdictions in total). According to the current national education law, the federal government and the governments of the provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires share responsibility for the "planning, organization, supervision and financing of national education in a joint, concurrent and agreed manner". In concrete terms, this means that the Federal Education Council sets overall guidelines for elementary, secondary and vocational post-secondary (non-university) education, while the provincial governments retain formal jurisdiction over curricula, funding, planning and administrative policies.

The Argentine higher education system consists of two subsystems: the post-secondary non-university system ( instituciones no universitarias/terciarias) and the tertiary university system ( educación universitaria), which has a much higher degree of academic and institutional autonomy. While post-secondary/ non-university institutions operate primarily under the jurisdiction of the provinces, policy and quality assurance in the university sector falls under the Secretaría de Políticas Universitarias (Secretary of University Policies) under the federal Ministry of Education. The federal government finances most public universities (61) with the exception of five universities, which are funded by provincial governments.

The Structure of the Education System
Early Childhood Education
Since 2015, all Argentinian children are required to attend two years of early childhood education (Educación Inicial) at the age of four - an increase from previous years when children only had to complete one year of compulsory pre-school education. Current plans go even further and intend to make early childhood education compulsory from the age of 3 at the national level. Efforts are afoot to build 9,000 new classrooms across the country to accommodate this reform, which is estimated to extend early childhood education to an additional 180,000 children.

Elementary and Secondary Education

There are presently two different structural variations of school systems in place in the different provinces of Argentina. About half of the provinces have a 7+5 school system in which seven years of elementary education ( educación primaria) are followed by five years of secondary education ( educación secundaria). The remaining provinces have a 6+6 system consisting of six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education. Education is compulsory for all twelve years of schooling.

All provinces have their own education laws and ministries or departments of education and have formal jurisdiction over matters like grading practices, funding, quality assurance mechanisms, graduation policies, rights and obligations of students, teacher salaries and school calendars. However, the different provinces coordinate their policies in order to harmonize education systems at the national level. Provincial governments both provide input to, and follow overall guidelines from the Federal Education Council in terms of curricula, grading practices and other matters. All provinces are represented in the Federal Education Council.
Elementary Education
Elementary education starts at age six and lasts between six and seven years, depending on the province. Pupils study subjects like Spanish language, mathematics, sciences, social sciences, technology, art and physical education. Promotion is based on continuous classroom assessment and year-end exams. Upon completion of the program, pupils are awarded the Certificado de Educación Primaria (Primary Education Certificate).
Secondary Education
Secondary education is divided into two cycles: the Ciclo Básico (Basic Cycle) and the Ciclo Orientado (Orientation Cycle). The first cycle ( Ciclo Básico) generally lasts until grade 9, while the second cycle ( Ciclo Orientado) concludes with grade twelve. Admission is based on completion of elementary education and does not require separate entrance examinations. Promotion is based on school assessment - there are no external graduation examinations. Upon completion of the program, students receive the Título de Bachiller (Title of Bachelor), also referred to as Bachillerato.

The Ciclo Básico features a core curriculum taken by all students that includes subjects like Spanish, English, mathematics, sciences, social sciences, physical education, arts and technical education. The Ciclo Orientado, on the other hand, is divided into different academic streams in each province. Within these streams, students study different specialization subjects in addition to common core courses.

Until recently, there were a wide variety of different specialization streams offered throughout Argentina. However, current reforms seek to standardize the available streams to ten nationally approved streams (additional streams may be added in the provinces if approved by the Federal Education Council). In the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, for example, the reforms have already led to a consolidation of more than 150 available streams in 2012 (with a multitude of specializations ranging from pedagogy to information technology or hydraulics) to 13 streams in 2017.

Most Argentinian students attend public schools, even though 26.5 percent of secondary students were enrolled in private schools in 2015 (UIS). Many private institutions are run by the Catholic Church, but there are also a number of secular secondary schools and international schools teaching foreign curricula that lead to qualifications like the International Baccalaureate or the British International General Certificate of Secondary Education.

Secondary Vocational and Technical Education (Educación Técnico Profesional)

Outside of the general academic specialization tracks, students have the option to alternatively enroll in more vocationally oriented programs. These programs are entered after completion of elementary education and last six or seven years, depending on the program (i.e. a combined total of 12 or 13 years of schooling). Curricula are usually structured into an initial three-year general education component ( Ciclo Básico) followed by three or four years of employment-geared education in specific vocations. Some programs include practical internships in related industries. The programs lead to the award of the Título de Técnico (Title of Technician) - a credential that gives access to tertiary education.

There are a wide variety of vocational programs available in Argentina. According to Argentina's National Institute of Technological Education, there were as many as 2,608 programs offered in 2014. The most popular specializations as of recently (2011) were electro-mechanics, farming, construction, computer science, business, electronics, and process industries.

In an attempt to standardize vocational education, the national government has established more restrictive guidelines for the provinces in a 2005 Vocational Education Law (Ley de Educación Técnico Profesional) and created a 'National Catalog of Titles and Certifications of Professional Technical Education' (Catálogo Nacional de Títulos y Certificaciones de Educación Técnico Profesional). The catalog categorizes secondary vocational programs into 27 fields of study with additional sub-divisions. More recently, the Federal Council on Education has drawn up concrete curricular guidelines in specific fields, such as agriculture, construction, computer science and nursing to name a few examples.

The Argentine government generally seeks to strengthen " technical education and professional training promoting its modernization and linkage with production and work, increase investment in infrastructure and equipment of schools and vocational training centers" ( Argentine Education Finance Law of 2005). To this end, the administration of President Cristina Kirchner sought to improve the infrastructure and equipment of vocational and other schools, including a "one laptop per student" program ( Conectar Igualdad). This "digital inclusion" initiative provided five million laptops to schools throughout Argentina between 2010 and 2015 and received awards form international organizations like the UNDP.

Admission to Higher Education

All secondary school graduates who hold a Bachiller or Tecnico are legally entitled to enroll at a public university. This was reaffirmed in a 2015 Higher Education Directive which mandated free and unrestricted access to university-level education at public institutions and enacted a prohibition on tuition fees for undergraduate programs at public institutions. The fact that the new directive prohibits university entrance examinations raised concerns among university authorities and critics who contend that the reform violates university autonomy and hinders universities from selecting the right candidates for their programs. Private institutions are still allowed to require entrance examinations for admission.

In the absence of entrance exams, admission criteria at public universities in Argentina vary by institution and program. Some universities require a minimum high school GPA or completion of a preparatory program, especially for programs in high demand. The Universidad de Buenos Aires, for instance, requires all students to complete a one-year preparatory program (Ciclo Básico Común) prior to admission into undergraduate programs. These types of prep-programs have become more common since 2015 as some universities now use prep-programs in lieu of entrance examinations.

At the same time, preparatory programs help promote equal opportunities by equalizing student preparation among students from socially disadvantaged families or under-performing provinces. Universities therefore have established prep-programs also with the aim to ensure that promotion and graduation rates are not dependent on the place of origin or socioeconomic background.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

There are two distinct types of HEIs in Argentina: The first category includes universities and university-level institutions ( Educación Universitaria), while the second category includes post-secondary institutions dedicated to technical/vocational education, as well as teacher training schools and arts schools ( Educación No-Universitaria/Educación Terciaria). As mentioned before, these two sub-systems are administered by different state agencies and follow different regulations.

Universities

As of 2018, there were 111 universities and 19 university-level institutions (Instituto Universitario) in Argentina. Out of these, 57 universities and 4 university-level institutions were publicly funded. Unlike multi-disciplinary universities, institutions classified as 'university-level' institutions are typically mono-disciplinary institutions that offer university programs in specific fields (medicine, arts, aviation etc.) and include training institutions for the army and the police.
Finally, the University of Bologna and the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLASCO), which operate in Buenos Aires, are recognized as foreign institutions.
Non-University HEIs (Educación Terciaria)

In 2015, the non-university higher education system included 1,046 public institutions and 1,193 private institutions (2,606 teaching facilities in total when adding different branches or campuses). Commonly referred to as " institutos terciarios" (or instituciones no universitarias), this category is a heterogeneous group that includes various types of institutions, including the Escuela Superior (higher school), Instituto Superior (higher institute), Instituto de Formación Docente (teacher training institute), Colegio (college), Fundación (foundation) and Centros Estudios Superior (center of higher study).

Institutos terciarios generally operate under provincial legislation, even though they are also bound by guidelines set forth by national authorities, such as the National Institute of Technological Education or National Institute of Teacher Training. In comparison to the university system, institutos terciarios have traditionally offered a broader variety of programs with less standardization between provinces. This diversity and lack of articulation creates challenges for the transferability and recognition of credentials between provinces, as well as between institutos terciarios and the university sector - a situation that was particularly problematic prior to recent reforms to increase the standardization of post-secondary education nationwide.

One such reform was the establishment of a 'National System of Higher Education Recognition' by the federal Ministry of Education in 2016. The reform aims to facilitate mobility and articulation between university-level institutions and institutos terciarios. It created a national credit system ( Reconocimiento de Trayecto Formativo - RTF) that defines one academic year as 60 RTF units akin to the ECTS credit system in Europe. Other reforms included the establishment of a national vocational education database and a federal registry of teacher training institutions and programs. A national qualifications framework that classifies and benchmarks academic qualifications would be beneficial for Argentina, but does not exist as of 2018.

Institutos Terciarios mostly offer shorter programs at the sub-degree level - they are not allowed to award university-level credentials. One area where terciarios feature prominently is teacher education. In 2015, 58 percent of all students in the non-university sector were enrolled in teacher-training colleges ( Institutos de Formación Docente) compared to 40 percent in technical or vocational programs.[5] Teacher training colleges award 4-year post-secondary teaching degrees that entitle to teach at the elementary and secondary levels (see teacher education section below).

Student Enrollments

About two thirds of students in Argentina study at university level institutions. In 2016, there were a total of 2,100,091 students (1,939,419 undergraduate students and 160,672 graduate students) enrolled in Argentina's university system. Females outnumbered males among these students by a significant margin of 57.6 percent to 42.4 percent. By comparison, 902,316 students were enrolled in institutos no universitarios/terciarios i n 2015 (there is no data available for non-university enrollments in 2016).

Eighty-one percent of private institutions have less than 10,000 students, while the majority of public institutions enroll more than 10,000 students with big national universities like the National University of Córdoba having student enrollments above 100,000. The University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina's largest HEI, is among the universities with the highest number of students in all of Latin America (it had 328.361 students in 2012).

Private institutions have a larger market share among terciarios. Forty-six percent of students in post-secondary technical vocational programs (excluding teacher training programs) studied at private institutions in 2014 compared to 53.6 percent at public institutions. As in the university system, female students outnumbered male student in this sector by a significant margin of 58.1 percent to 41.9 percent.

University Rankings

Given its advanced economic standing in Latin America, Argentine universities do not fare as well in some international university rankings as one might expect when compared to universities from other Latin American countries like Brazil, Chile, Mexico or Colombia. In the latest 2017 Times Higher Education ranking of Latin American universities, only one Argentine university, the National University of Córdoba, ranked among the top 50 (rank 26-30) while Brazil had 16 institutions in the top 50, including the top-ranked State University of Campinas. Chile also had 16 universities in the top 50, whereas Mexico and Colombia had six and five universities, respectively, represented among the top 50 institutions.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education

Faced with a growing number of HEIs and student enrollments, Argentina in 1995 created a dedicated body for quality assurance in university education - the National Commission for University Evaluation and Accreditation ( CONEAU) under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. Universities are required to undergo evaluation every six years - a two-step process that involves institutional self-assessments ( Autoevaluación Institucional) and an external evaluation by CONEAU (Evaluación Externa). New universities need approval from CONEAU to operate in Argentina.

In addition, CONEAU accredits individual study programs in state-regulated professions. There are presently about 20 state-regulated professions that are considered critical for public safety and range from medical doctors to architects, lawyers, accountants, nurses, chemists, geologists or computer scientists (a list of state-regulated professions is available on CONEAU's website). Programs are first accredited for an initial 3-year cycle followed by 6-year cycles. Evaluation is based on institutional self-assessment and external evaluation by CONEAU. The commission maintains an online database of accredited undergraduate and graduate programs.

Outside the university system, quality assurance and oversight is provided by a variety of different institutions with the Federal Council of Education being the main coordinating body. The National Institute of Technological Education ( Instituto Nacional de Educación Tecnológica - INET), for instance, is responsible for ensuring quality in vocational and technical education, while the National Institute for Teacher Training ( Instituto Nacional de Formación Docente -INFD) evaluates and accredits non-university-level teacher training institutions and programs. INFD maintains an online registry of accredited teacher training colleges and programs.

The Higher Education Degree Structure

Pregrado (Sub-degree programs)

Programs in the pregrado category include short-term programs with a vocational focus (carreras cortas) and intermediate programs (títulos intermedio) that take between two and four years of full-time study to complete. Intermediate degrees have a variety of different names, including Técnico Universitario (University Technician), Técnico (Technician), Técnico Superior (Higher Technician) or Bachiller Universitario (University Bachelor). With the exception of those qualifications that carry the designation " universitario", these credentials may be awarded by both university-level institutions and terciarios. Depending on the program, study completed in sub-degree programs may be transferred into degree programs ( grado) at universities.

Given the academic autonomy of universities, the length of programs and credential names of intermediate degrees vary by institution. An intermediate degree in law may last two years at one university, but involve three or four years of study at another institution. Similar programs may lead to the award of a Técnico Universitario at one institution, yet conclude with the award of a Bachiller Universitario at another HEI.

At UBA, a Técnico Universitario takes 2.5 years (1,600 hours of instruction) to complete. Técnico Universitario programs typically have a higher theoretical study component than programs leading to a Técnico or Técnico Superior. Common majors in this category include accounting, commerce, engineering, computer science, journalism or translation.

The Técnico Superior is the most commonly awarded credential in more vocationally oriented and applied programs. It is usually the highest credential awarded by terciarios except for four-year teaching qualifications (see below), but it may also be awarded by universities. Programs currently last either three or four years, although two-year programs also existed until recently. Minimum requirements range from 1,600 to 2,000 hours of instruction, of which at least 20 percent should be dedicated to practical training. It is not unusual for these programs to be studied in part-time mode by working adults. Common areas of specialization include business administration, allied health, computer science, environmental safety and hygiene, agriculture, multimedia and tourism and hospitality management.

Grado (degree programs)

Grado programs typically lead to a Licenciado (Licentiate) or Título Profesional (Professional Title) - credentials that can only be awarded by university-level institutions. By law, all Grado programs include a minimum of 2,600 hours of classroom instruction taken over a period of at least 4 years. Degrees in professional disciplines like medicine, architecture or veterinary medicine may take up to six or seven years to complete. Admission is based on high school graduation or lateral entry based on a títulos intermedio from a university-level institution. Many university-level institutions also offer articulation programs for graduates from terciarios. These programs are known as complementary cycles ( ciclos de complementación) and generally require between one and two years of full-time study.

Licenciado programs are typically offered in academic fields like social sciences, sciences, business or liberal arts. The Título Profesional, on the other hand, is more often awarded in state-regulated professions. However, the Licenciado designation may also be used for regulated professions. Given the autonomy of universities, a Grado program in the regulated profession of psychologist, for instance, may conclude with the award of a Título de Licenciado en Psicología or a Título de Psicólogo, depending on the institution. Program lengths for psychology also vary and range from four to four-and-a-half, five or six years.

Programs are highly structured with few electives and may conclude with a thesis or a research project or field work. Curricula are specialized with few general education courses, except for general subjects related to the major taken in the first years of the program.

Posgrado (postgraduate programs)

Especializaciones (specialization programs) are short post-graduate programs intended for further specialization in fields related to the major in which the Grado degree was earned. These programs lead to the award of the Título de Especialista (Title of Specialist) and most commonly last one year, except in the case of medical specialization programs, which can last up to five years. In some cases, specialization credentials may be earned as an intermediate qualification en route to a master's degree.

Maestrías (Magister) programs are either offered as graduate research programs in academic disciplines ( Maestría Académica) or as more professionally oriented programs ( Maestría Profesional). Programs lengths vary, but most programs last two years and conclude with a thesis (in the case of academic programs) or a project (in the case of professional programs). Admission usually requires a five-year Grado credential. Sometimes, a Título de Especialista may also be required for admission. The final credential awarded is typically called the Título de Magister or Título de Master.

Doctorado (doctoral) programs are terminal research degrees that last a minimum of two years after the Licenciado, but are often much longer (up to six years). Some programs involve two years of coursework and a dissertation, but other programs are pure research programs that only require completion of a dissertation without additional coursework.

Number of Programs Offered at Different Levels

In the 2016 academic year, Argentine university-level institutions offered at total of 12,617 academic programs, including 2,605 Pregrado programs, 5,798 Grado programs and 4,214 Posgrado programs (1,969 Especialidad programs, 1,494 Maestría programs and 751 Doctorado programs). The most popular fields of study among new enrollees in Pregrado and Grado programs in the university system in 2015 were social sciences (38.9 percent), applied sciences (21.9 percent), human sciences (19.4 percent) and health sciences ( 15.5 percent). University programs can be searched for in an online database maintained by the Secretaría de Políticas Universitarias.

Teacher Education

Teacher education in Argentina predominantly takes place at teacher training institutes (Institutos de Formación Docente) in the non-university sector, although many universities also offer teacher-training programs. The teacher training institutes are under the authority of the provinces, but training programs are regulated at the national level since the mid-2000s. While teacher education programs could have varying lengths before, laws passed in 2006 and 2008 mandate that all programs now have a minimum length of four years, including 2,600 hours of classroom instruction. Education programs at universities often last five years.

Admission is generally based on the Bachiller and curricula include general education subjects, specialization subjects and pedagogical subjects. An in-service teaching internship is mandatory in the last year of the program. A degree is required to teach at all levels of school in Argentina. Commonly awarded credentials include the Título de Profesor de Educación Primaria (Title of Primary School Teacher) or the Título de Profesor de Enseñanza Secundaria (Title of Secondary School Teacher). Graduates of teacher training programs at terciarios can obtain a university qualification by completing an articulation program at universities ( Ciclo de Articulación para Licenciatura en Ciencias de la Educación).
The Struggle of Argentina's Teachers In 2017 and 2018, Argentina saw large-scale demonstrations and nationwide teacher strikes over inadequate pay. Teacher salaries in Argentina are low and real wages have been There have been significant nominal wage hikes for teachers in recent years. A number of provinces recently enacted pay raises between 15.5 and 40 percent. However, Argentina's inflation rate amounted to more than 20 percent in 2017, so that these raises are modest if not insufficient to adjust for monetary depreciation. Protests over low teacher salaries are also part of a larger controversy over gender inequality in Argentina. School teachers in Argentina are predominantly female. Current data is scarce, but 87.4 percent of elementary school teachers were females in 2008 (UIS). More than 75 percent of students currently enrolled in teacher training schools are women. declining in recent years. While there are vast differences in salaries between provinces, the entry-level salary for teachers in all provinces is far beneath the salary levels of bus drivers, for example. Whereas a teacher with ten years of experience earned a monthly salary of 23,349 pesos in the province of Santa Cruz and 9,470 pesos in the province of Santiago del Estero in 2016, the bus driver's union in the same year negotiated a monthly base salary of 21,000 pesos.
Arts Education

Argentina has a long tradition of arts education that was originally shaped by European immigrants from countries like Italy, Spain or Germany. Argentinean composers, musicians and other artists have been recognized for their works by global audiences since the mid-19th century. Several public and private conservatories of music were instituted throughout the 20th century to make Argentina a leading country in performing arts education in Latin America.

Since arts education in conservatories is based more on artistic performance and creativity than theoretical academic study, arts education has historically been treated differently than other education sectors in Argentina. Arts programs were considered "specific arts careers" regulated by the individual provinces. However, the Federal Education Council in 2010 enacted a number of reforms in arts education that incorporated conservatories and other arts schools more closely into the education system. Depending on the level and nature of study, arts schools were grouped into secondary schools, vocational-technical institutions and teacher training schools. Since then, post-secondary arts institutions award the " Técnico Superior" - a vocational-technical qualification on the face of it. In the case of arts schools that train teachers, institutions now award the " Título de Profesor" and follow the same regulations as other teacher training schools. Despite these reforms, however, many provinces and the city of Buenos Aires continue to treat arts institutions differently than vocational-technical institutions.

Professional Education

Professional entry-to-practice degrees in disciplines like medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, architecture or law are earned in long single-tier Licenciatura-level programs of five to seven-year duration. Curricula and training guidelines for professional programs are set by the Ministry of Education and all programs must be accredited by CONEAU.

Only university-level institutions that have obtained programmatic accreditation from CONEAU may award Licenciado-level degrees in the professions. Entry is generally based on the high school diploma (i.e. the Bachiller), but admission is competitive and institutions usually have additional requirements, such as completion of preparatory programs or, in the case of private institutions, entrance examinations.

There are currently only 37 universities and four university-level institutions that offer programs leading to a professional degree in medicine ( Título de Doctor en Medicina - Title of Medical Doctor). These programs are most commonly six to seven years in length and include a minimum of 5,500 hours of study, including at least 3,900 hours of academic study and clinical training and a medical internship of at least 1,600 hours.

Dentistry programs are offered at 17 universities and 1 university-level institution and lead to the award of the Título de Odontólogo (Title of Dentist). Programs are five to six years in length and include a minimum of 4,200 hours of instruction, divided into academic study and clinical training/internship(s).

Certification in medical and dental specializations involves an additional two to five years of training that conclude with the award of the Título de Especialista (Title of Specialist).

Study programs in veterinary medicine are offered at 18 universities and last most commonly between five and six years, including a minimum of 3,600 hours of study. The final credential awarded is the Título de Médico Veterinario or Título de Veterinario ( Title of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or Title of Veterinarian).

The standard professional degree in law is the Título de Abogado (Title of Lawyer), which is earned upon completion of a four to six-year program after secondary education. Programs include a minimum of 2,600 hours, including at least 260 hours of professional practice. 66 universities and 2 university-level institutions currently offer professional programs in law.

Programs in architecture typically last five to six years (a minimum of 3,500 hours of instruction) and lead to the Título de Arquitecto (Title of Architect). There are 36 universities that offer architecture programs in Argentina.

Challenges for Credential Evaluation
WES Documentation Requirements
The main challenge in assessing Argentine qualifications is the non-standardized nature of credentials, especially in light of the numerous changes and reforms over the last three decades. While the education system is becoming increasingly standardized, the assessment of older credentials sometimes requires case-by-case evaluation of individual programs, especially in the case of non-university qualifications. In previous decades, there were big differences between provinces in terms of program length, grading scales and graduation criteria. Older sub-degree qualifications and certificates were issued in the absence of agreed standard national criteria and there is still a certain overlap between universities and institutos no universitarios/ terciarios, both of which offer similar programs at the intermediate level. This diversity and non-conformity sometimes complicates the evaluation of Argentine credentials.
Higher Education

Photocopy of graduation certificate/diploma - submitted by the applicant

Academic transcript (Certificado Analítico de Estudios/ Calificaciones) - sent directly by the institution attended

Precise, word-for-word translations of all documents not issued in English

Sample Documents

Photocopy of degree certificate - submitted by the applicant.

Academic transcript (Certificado Analítico de Estudios/ Calificaciones) - sent directly by the institution attended.

For completed doctoral degrees - a written statement confirming the award of the degree sent directly by the institution

Precise, word-for-word translations of all documents not issued in English

Click here for a PDF file of the academic documents referred to below.

Bachiller (6+6 - Province of Córdoba)

Bachiller (5+7 - City of Buenos Aires)

Título de Profesor de Educación Primaria (no universitaria)

Título de Licenciada en Psicología

Título de Mėdico

Título de Magister

Doctora

[1] These numbers reflect improvements since 2009 when 42.94 percent of grade ten students were above the official school age and dropout rates for grade nine, ten and eleven were 11.5, 17 and 10.9 percent, respectively.

[2] Argentina ranked higher in the 2015 PISA study, but these results are not representative, since only students from Buenos Aires participated in the test, while students from lower performing provinces were excluded.

[3] Student mobility data from different sources such as UNESCO, the Institute of International Education, and the governments of various countries may be inconsistent, in some cases showing substantially different numbers of international students, whether inbound, or outbound, from or in particular countries. This is due to a number of factors, including: data capture methodology, data integrity, definitions of 'international student,' and/or types of mobility captured (credit, degree, etc.).

[4] Educación Física, Artes, Agro y Ambiente, Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Ciencias Naturales, Economía y Administración, Turismo, Informática, Lenguas y Comunicación

[5] 523,169 students were enrolled in teacher training colleges, 360,771 students in vocational/technical programs. The remaining 18,376 students were enrolled at institutions that offered both types of programs and other institutions like conservatories of music.

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Carlos Monroy, Advanced Evaluation Specialist at WES "What happened to Argentina?" is a question frequently asked by economists. At the beginning of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the ten richest countries in the world with higher per capita incomes than countries like France or Germany.

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Universidad Nacional de Itapúa Bienvenidos a la UNI La Universidad Nacional de Itapúa se distingue por su excelencia académica, respaldada por una infraestructura moderna y un cuerpo docente altamente calificado. Fomenta la investigación y la innovación a través de diversas oportunidades de desarrollo, convenios internacionales y programas de becas de apoyo económico. Además, ofrece un entorno enriquecedor con actividades Inicio Universidad Nacional de Itapúa - Universidad Nacional de Itapúa

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Universidad Nacional de Itapúa Una Universidad para Todos 0 Estudiantes 0 Egresados de Grado 0 Egresados de Postgrado Ultimas Noticias Noticias destacadas de la Universidad Nacional de Itapúa Ver Todas las Noticias Leer mas Académico Elecciones en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas Año 2024. DCOM Mar 08, 2024 Leer mas Académico El evento