When it comes to educational policies, OECD (2013) demonstrated that the expenditure of financial resources per student is low in Mexico. Furthermore, the findings imply that the allocation of resources lacks clarity. As mentioned repeatedly by participants, the SEP has made strong investments to programs that do not reach their potential due to deficient implementation and monitoring. It appears that those programs -that most of the times are aimed for disadvantaged groups- do not generate the expected results. This study illustrates the irony in the tailoring of educational policy making in Mexico; the SEP launches national wide programs that seek to promote equity and quality education involving the mobilisation of funding and resources. But in the other hand, the SEP has been allocating the less experienced teachers to teach in the rural communities for decades, but they don’t prepare them accordingly.
The comparison of the urban and rural school showed that children in rural schools not only face the lack of educational resources and support from the parents in their homes, but also in the schools and from the teachers. The former concurs with the comparative study by the INEE (2013) that yields relevant data that suggests that the provision of educational tools is allocated inequitably among rural and urban schools. Although the focus in equity and inclusion of the educational reform from 2012 in Mexico aims to achieve the target 4.1 of the SDG4 - to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education- evidence implies that event though universal education is almost fulfilled in Mexico, the quality of the educational supply is poor and ineffective.
As suggested in the education 2013 framework, allocating resources more equitably across socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged schools can promote equity in the schools.
But the educational policies in Mexico struggle to allocate the resources clearly and adequately.
Educational stakeholders seem to identify the barriers of the vulnerable children, but they have not designed the educational programmes to eliminate those barriers. This study concludes that the design and implementation of the programs lack coherence and strength to achieve substantial changes in children’s educational opportunities and learning outcomes in the long term. One of the most relevant means of implementation in the education 2030 framework is to build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and that can provide inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
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Thanks to the unstructured observations this study found out that the facilities in the urban school are not disability-friendly. This issue was found in a school of 800 pupils located in an urban setting, this suggests that even in urban settings, the schools are not prepared for inclusion; on the contrary, they are a source of exclusion and injustice for disabled children.
Following the rationale of the SDG4 implementation strategies, we can conclude that the MES do not allocate the resources equitably between socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged schools and learning centres. In other words, the educational supply in rural schools in Mexico represents a source of inequity and exclusion. The latest evidence allows this study to respond to the third research question; there are relevant educational policies in Mexico that aim to alleviate issues of high relevance; however, they lack proper implementation, funding and clarity in the allocation of resources. Consequently, they are not reaching all children; educational policies in Mexico have not been capable to provide equitable and inclusive education and learning opportunities for all. Furthermore, the children from rural communities are left behind and exposed to deep-rooted social issues, generation after generation.
Mexico has signed in to the education agenda 2030, and has contracted the responsibility and obligation to follow the humanistic vision of education and development promoted by the agenda. To respect the human rights of all children and to provide them with equal opportunities to education and to have prosper lives, regardless of their individual characteristics and conditions. As one of the participants stated, “It is time for a more humanistic approach in the way we educate” (TT14). Nevertheless, by following the rationale of the education 2030 framework for action this study has concluded that many challenges remain in MES; TTI institutions lack the capacity to produce quality teachers that can address and respond to the disadvantaged children in Mexico’s schools, especially those with significant needs; the poor children in rural communities. In addition, the educational policies have been ineffective in its attempt to provide equal educational opportunities to all.
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6.4 Delimitations and limitations of the study
As addressed in the methodology chapter, there are delimitations and limitations to be considered as recommendation for further research. There was a risk bias and misinterpretation from the researcher by being acquaintances to some of the participants and to know the research sites. This could also influence the objectivity of the participants’ responses. Another possible limitation is that the research was conducted in only one state, Mexico is a big and diverse country; this may lead to generalize the findings. It is recommended to conduct this type of research in more than one TTI and preferably in different regions of the country.
It would be highly recommended to conduct a more extensive fieldwork in more schools to gain a deeper insight of the school conditions to make the comparison among rural and urban schools. Finally, it is recommended to use document analysis as a data collection method, the original plan in the research was to include it; this could have been relevant to get a deeper insight of the educational policies in Mexico, but instead the study included in the semi-structured interviews as a main source of data and in the unsemi-structured observations to complement the comparative analysis in the schools. Moreover, it might be relevant to interview educational officials and relevant stakeholders involved in the policy making process.
It will also be beneficial if the researcher has no deep knowledge of the research problem and a close relationship to any of the participants to remain more objective.
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7 Recommendations
The present chapter introduces my own recommendations based on my perceptions and observations of the findings throughout this research. The recommendations are based in the education 2030 agenda and aimed for improvement in MES in the subjects of equity, inclusion and rural education. They are presented chronologically, considering the resources needed for their implementation.
• A mean to eliminate the corruption in MES might involve the persecution of educational stakeholders involved in the dubious provision of teaching positions and in the admission of students to the TTI. The former requires to implement surveillance and monitoring in the TTIs, but it doesn’t involve an important expenditure of resources.
• The creation of a committee to monitor the results and transparency of the allocation of the financial resources in the MES (from the MES funding and external funding). This requires the mobilisation of human resources, but it doesn’t represent a significant financial cost.
• Supervising and limiting the attributions of the teacher’s union to eradicate the inheriting of teaching positions to unqualified candidates. There is a need of political will to reform the power attributed to the union, considering the bureaucracy in Mexico, this process can become a long-term project.
• Throughout the teacher training process, to incentive the TTI teachers and teachers to promote reflective teaching with strong principles with a humanistic approach of the teaching profession and to respect and embrace the differences among the children.
• To promote the concept of teachers as ‘agents of change’ in the education settings but also beyond the school to incentive the value of the profession.
• Incentive teachers to do valuable research in relevant educational fields, such as E&I and rural education.
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• Involving the parents in the children’s education, as a support and guide with homework and in the creation of studying habits.
• The implementation of special training schemes for the teachers working in multi-grade schools in rural communities. Teachers would develop specific skills to provide quality education in these schools.
• Fair remuneration for the teachers working for CONAFE (in small schools located in remote rural communities). New educational policies to incentive quality teachers to work in this scheme.
• To increase the number of courses in the TTI curricula that focus on equipping teachers to provide quality education to the most disadvantaged children. And to include a course that exclusively prepares teachers in the subject of special education. These recommendations imply the need of a reform in the TTI curriculum; this might involve the participation of educational stakeholders and relevant funding.
• To complement the previous recommendation, interlinking the TTI curricula with the primary education curricula might help future teachers to have a deeper understanding of the contents and its approaches.
• Courses with practical approaches must be imbedded through all the semesters in the TTI; this can be part of a curriculum reform.
• To facilitate the introduction of teachers to the rural context by providing access to conduct the teaching practices in rural communities, especially those with indigenous and marginalised children. However, the collaboration of different agencies and ministers is needed to take security interventions. The former might not require important allocation of funds, but it does require a very close cooperation with the local governments.
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• Provide all schools with a “support teacher” to assists pupils with special needs or learning barriers in cooperation with the teachers. This implies the allocation of one teacher in each school in the country, it represents a cost, but it can be implemented in the short term.
• The creation of programs that incentive the continuous training and development for teachers. This can be done by monetary incentives to those teachers who perform better.
The former implies an important creation of policies and mobilisation of financial resources.
• A fair evaluation system that allows the recognition of the qualified teachers (as mentioned above) but also to keep track of those teachers who need improvement.
• A program to provide training opportunities to teachers with lower performance. To achieve the former, new policy reforms must be implemented, as well as the allocation of important financial resources.
• To provide all schools in Mexico with computers and internet access as a tool in the teaching-learning process. This can be done by increasing the expenditure in education in the country and with the support of international cooperation.
• To create educational policies to equitably supply the most marginalized schools with school materials and facilities. Important funding needs to be allocated.
• To launch an extensive program that supplies all schools in the country with disability-friendly facilities, especially wheelchair ramps, this also involves an important investment.
• Allocating good performing and experienced teachers to rural communities to support the most disadvantaged children. The former requires the creation of relevant policies in the allocation of teachers and an important mobilisation of teachers.
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• The implementation of programs that aim to provide financial support or scholarships to the most marginalised with the participation of a surveillance committee. This must be handled and monitored carefully; the correct allocation of this resources can become key for those in need. This recommendation requires a relevant expenditure of financial resources and demands clear reporting and follow up
• A close cooperation with the international community to adopt relevant guidelines and do policy borrowing to pursue the SDG4. However, this must be done in a responsible manner with a sensitive focus on the diverse contexts in Mexico.
• To interlink policies that complement to provide economic, social and educational opportunities to all, the efforts of different ministers and stakeholders in all levels must provide development opportunities for the most disadvantaged. This might require political will and long term efforts at all levels and for all those involved.
This set of recommendations requires an important mobilisation of resources in MES. Policy reform requires the efforts of all those involved from the top-down; from the federal government to the pupils’ families. Some of these policies represent important challenges for the MES but if they are implemented in a clear and proper manner, educational change would be possible in Mexico.
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