Higher Education and Society

Prólogo

Francesc Pedró — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

En este número de la Revista Educación Superior y Sociedad la mayor parte de las investigaciones que aquí se publican recogen las vivencias y aprendizajes de un significativo número (91) de docentes investigadores que hacen parte de ese universo diverso y complejo que es la educación superior en América Latina. Consideramos que con estos materiales se pueden fomentar procesos de reflexión, al interior de las IES, sobre la necesaria renovación pedagógica que continúa desafiando tanto la calidad como la equidad en nuestros sistemas. Esperamos que las vivencias reportadas contribuyan a promover la reflexión sobre los procesos que atraviesan nuestras sociedades y sobre el rol que cumple la universidad en ellas. Rol que también nos interpela porque, pese a las devastadoras consecuencias que la pandemia ha ocasionado, nuestras universidades vienen asumiendo el desafío de rediseñar sus acciones y reformular sus estrategias como parte de su compromiso por un futuro sostenible y por mantener los esfuerzos en procura de un real acceso a la educación superior.

Editorial

Norberto Fernández Lamarra — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 04:47:27 +0000

El IESALC/UNESCO tiene el agrado de presentar un nuevo número de la revista Educación Superior y Sociedad (EES). Se da esta edición en un contexto en el que la pandemia de Covid-19, lejos de haber sido superada, ha costado ya más de cinco millones de vidas en el mundo, sin que todavía se puedan precisar plenamente sus efectos en la sociedad y en los sistemas educativos. Al tiempo que en todo el continente persisten las restricciones de movilidad y siguen en lontananza las perspectivas de retorno masivo a la presencialidad, las instituciones de educación superior han tenido que reinventarse y asumir, además, un importante rol en la mitigación de los efectos sociales de la pandemia. A su vez, han buscado modificarse, al punto de que la indagación sobre los efectos de la enfermedad y sobre la llamada “nueva normalidad” constituyen un tema central de nuestras reflexiones. A todo ello le dedicamos una convocatoria especial como dossier de este número. Consideramos que este número de ESS será sin duda una importante contribución al ineludible debate sobre la pandemia, la postpandemia y el futuro de la universidad y la educación en general, y contribuirá con seguridad a enriquecer los planteamientos de los colegas investigadores y de las autoridades universitarias y educativas de la región, pero también fuera de ella.

Presentación Dossier Temático: Desafíos de la educación superior frente a la pandemia de Covid-19 en América Latina y el Caribe.

Hugo Casanova Cardiel, Pablo Daniel García — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 05:21:01 +0000

El gran tema del siglo XXI es hoy el referido a la pandemia de Covid-19. Cada territorio vital, cada ámbito social a lo largo y ancho del mundo, experimenta los efectos de una pandemia que ha desbordado las previsiones de la cosa pública en todos sus niveles y dimensiones, generando un amplio debate en prácticamente cada disciplina académica y científica para elucidar sus riesgos, efectos y alternativas de solución. Es precisamente en el ámbito del conocimiento especializado donde se ubican las mayores expectativas para la contención y manejo de la calamitosa situación surgida al inicio de la tercera década de este siglo. El conocimiento sobre el virus y su capacidad de contagio, el tratamiento médico de los pacientes afectados, así como el desarrollo de mecanismos de prevención –especialmente vacunas y medios físicos para contener los contagios–, han sido abordados desde el amplio espectro de las ciencias de la salud, la biología y la ingeniería, entre otras. En particular, desde las ciencias sociales y las humanidades se han generado numerosas investigaciones que apelan a una problemática que se estudia desde las más diferentes disciplinas: jurídicas, sociales, económicas, antropológicas y educativas, entre otras. Es en ese gran campo donde se encuentran adscritas las reflexiones referidas a la educación superior.

Higher education, pandemic and work: ruptures and continuities

Rusvênia Silva, Daniel Santos da Silva — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Currently, some challenges are confronting our collective capacities to deal with drastic disruptions in our space-time experiences. If we focus on problems related to higher education, especially in Brazil, the pandemic challenges the very existence of the university and related institutions - as we know them, at least; from the advance of neoliberal ideology to the establishment of the pandemic of the new coronavirus, conflicts and contradictions that ensue lead us to inquire about what would be structural changes or momentary adaptations in such a context. Thus, in this article, we seek to raise some questions about the reality of higher education and the emergence of the pandemic, replacing possibilities of meaning that are at risk of being made invisible in the face of a health crisis that reverberates other crises and that continues to take lives around the world.

University and pandemic in Latin America: reflections on the diversity and complexity of a developing phenomenon

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This work refers to the transition in Latin American universities, in a period of changes that have not been defined or consolidated, and that now has been aggravated by the spread of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and its various variants. The reflections are from a group of higher education scholars from selected countries in Latin America who, as can be seen, are very similar to each other, despite their differences. Fundamental dimensions of the substantive functions of universities are addressed, in a period that is now presented as a new trend of reflection and debate in the context of a generalized crisis, not only in the health field, but also in education, social, economic and global. The purpose of this work is to offer readers the expression of a context that moves in the midst of a great uncertainty. It is not yet possible to make a theory about a phenomenon that is still in progress. It is important to track this phenomenon given its high complexity. As it can be understood, saying something definitive about what is happening and postulating a deterministic thesis would be very risky. We live in a time where knowledge, ideas, feelings, our perception of what we live changes almost every day, or by intermittent waves that dissipate at other times.

Effects on higher schooling processes: an approach to the educational scenario in times of social distancing

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 06:44:24 +0000

The year 2020 marked the memory of all humanity due to the social distancing caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the repercussions have been catastrophicand the educational field has been no exception, leading to an unprecedented challenge: go from face-to-face to virtual modalities. This study aims to identify the effect of the strategies implemented in higher education institutions, in response to this unexpected scenario of health contingency from March 2020 to January 2021. The flipped classroom method and the new information and communication technologies have become important in virtual teaching. The methodology used is a mixed approach with a descriptive scope, and a non-experimental cross-sectional design. An analysis was performed on the strategies implemented by four institutions (three public and one private) located in San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. The sample was based on 134 students; and two instruments were applied to collect data: the identification card of own creation and the work stress test, adapted from the questionnaire on psychosomatic problems. Adaptation to the new normal, self-perception of anxiety, academic performance and consolidation of learning were identified.

The implementation of technological initiatives in Argentine universities in the face of COVID-19

Giselle González — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The health emergency determined by COVID-19 highlighted both structural social inequalities and the response capacity of universities in Argentina. From a point of view focused on the territory, the article describes and analyzes how the university responds to the challenges imposed by its environment, taking as an empirical object some recent initiatives of scientific linkage and technology transfer. For its approach, an intentional sample was selected and a descriptive analysis was applied, which integrates primary and secondary sources. It is concluded that, in a context of multiple restrictions, universities tend to support innovation and technology transfer activities that favor the community. But its degree of institutionalization is variable and is closely associated with the capacities and use of the spatial capital of the institutions under analysis.

Pandemic and universities: difficulties and responses in the Greater Buenos Aires

María Fernanda Arias Núñez, Ana María Cambours de Donini, Karina Fabiana Lastra — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The article analyzes the consequences of the implementation of policies, in universities in the Greater Buenos Aires, created to alleviate the Covid-19 pandemic effects and the iniquities of one of the sectors with the highest poverty rate in Argentina. The study is based on the hypothesis that these universities have a very important performance in leveling the social inequalities in the area where they are located.The mentioned performance was deepened during the pandemic, through their pedagogical adaptations and interaction with the community. University authorities of the universities studied were interviewed. In addition, government documents and national and international organizations related to the subject were analyzed. Likewise, the latest bibliography on the phenomenon of the pandemic and its relationship with higher education were considered for the analysis. As a result new pedagogical practices and administrative reorganization based on virtuality were discovered. In addition, new activities of the universities were revealed, such as the reconversion of these study houses into creators of social goods through the Offices of Welfare producers of scientific and technological developments based on today 's epidemiological needs. However, the danger of not achieving the necessary connectivity for a hybrid educational future is perceived.

Alternatives in the training process in Cuban Universities in front of the COVID-19 pandemic

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This paper analyses the technical, pedagogical, design and content characteristics of a sample of technological applications given to Cuban university students in order to develop the teaching learning process that, due to COVID-19 pandemic could not be done in its traditional way, which means with the presence of students and teachers in the classroom. This study analyses the specific situation of the University of Holguin, highlighting the platforms and websites more frequently used by its students, studying how they act in favor of the students training process and for teachers update.

Impact of training programs oriented to the competence development of teachers and students: continuity of higher education in virtual contexts due to COVID-19 health emergency

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the article is to present the impact results of training programs oriented to the development of teacher and student competencies in 13 public universities in Peru. These programs have been designed, developed and evaluated by the UNESCO-IESALC's team in the emergency context due to COVID-19 pandemic, in order to guarantee the continuity of higher education. All this from the analysis of the digital and didactic competencies of teachers and the learning capacity of students in virtual contexts, as well as from the study of the new roles of teachers and university students. The methodological approach is based on the development of competencies and presents an impact study from the educational digital competencies and the digital competencies of citizens that require new digital contexts. For this purpose, the study analysed the results obtained in the pre-diagnosis phase of the universities, as well as the indicators obtained in the pre and post phases of the sample participating in the program. The conclusions point out the importance of raising the digital transformation from a competence development model based on the relevance of the proposed practices the reflection and the decision making, and methodologies based on projects and challenges.

Emergency route to fight Covid-19 from the university extension: constructs and effects

Niurka Tellez Rodríguez, Víctor Hugo Leyva Sojo, Amanda Estruch Tellez — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic, which led States and governments of all nations to adopt measures to confront and contain this disease. From this declaration, extension in universities acquired new connotations and complexities depending on the pandemic phases. This work presents the theoretical and methodological constructs of the extension emergency route of the Universidad Oriente to fight the pandemic, as well as the enhancing factors and their main results. The research is based on mixed methodology, from a dialectical-materialist approach; with the use of different methods such as analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction; as well as the hermeneutic-dialectic; consultation with specialists, documentary analysis and as a methodological procedure, the triangulation of sources and method. The main results are the definition of the lines of action during the pandemic phases, the effective linkage with the social fabric and the use of the diversity of sources of information and communication present in those scenarios, and the development of action protocols for each multi-level inter- and intra-university management.

Los Changes in the internationalization strategies among Mexican higher education institutions due to Covid-19

Magdalena L. Bustos-Aguirre, Rosa Vega Cano — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Covid-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions (HEIs) to make changes in the management of their substantive functions and internationalization strategies. The purpuse of this research is to identify the changes in the internationalization strategies of Mexican HEIs. To achieve this objective a conceptual framework on internationalization strategies based on renowned authors was developed, an analysis of existing antecedents on internationalization strategies in Mexico was conducted and 25 HEIs officials were interviewed. Main findings indicate that physical mobility of students was quickly replaced with the support of virtuality, and that strategies for internationalization at home as well as international academic cooperation projects were strengthened. However, it is also clear that the mobility of faculty members and volunteering and international work experiences for students lacked virtual substitutes. It can also be said that the pandemic revealed the need to diversify internationalization strategies and that the impact of the forced transition to virtuality was differentiated among HEIs. Undoubtedly, the post-pandemic period will demand additional adjustments and it will be the level of consolidation, maturity, evaluation and institutionalization of the internationalization processes of HEIs that will determine the survival of the responses implemented to date.

International academic mobility in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic: a first approximation

José Antonio Quinteiro — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article studies the phenomenon of international academic mobility and the immediate and short-term impacts expected due to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic since its outbreak was declared on January 7, 2020. It gives an overview of its extensive history and a brief analysis of some determining factors that exacerbate this phenomenon. The article provides a snapshot of the theme, highlighting the main poles of current academic attraction, and projects some potential impacts based on the analysis and interpretation of the data collected as a result of a documentary review. In the Latin America section metrics are used to measure the magnitude of the inbound and outbound flows of students taking into account their profound differences in this geographical area and analyzes the effects of the pandemic on these flows. The article concludes with some reflections on international academic mobility from the questions and uncertainties that these ‘viral’ times pose for universities. At the same time, it considers the lessons learned from past pandemics that marked a decline in the medieval university but also induced to its renewal by enhancing scientific knowledge.

La Regulation of remote learning and the experience of Argentine academics in the development of their teaching activity in e-learning before the outbreak of the pandemic

María Catalina Nosiglia, Brian Fuksman — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Academics are fundamental actors for the university when they develop different activities, such as teaching, research and university extension. In the last year and a half, universities have been challenged to implement different strategies for emergency remote teaching. These actions had to be carried out in a context characterized by urgency, exceptionality and uncertainty regarding the need to ensure pedagogical continuity to guarantee the right to education. The purpose of the article is to characterize the experience prior to the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, of argentine academics in the development of their teaching activity in virtual environments, as well as the recent development and regulatory evolution of remote learning in Argentina. Given the elapsed time involved in the development of new ICT-mediated teaching experiences, the work may become an input to contrast it with other studies that analyze the impacts of the pandemic in Argentine universities.The methodological design involved the application of a survey to a representative sample of academics from Argentine national universities, within the framework of the international project APIKS (Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society).

Perceptions of higher education teachers regarding the change from a face-to-face to a remote modality due to covid-19: comparison between face-to-face and virtual teachers

John Jairo Briceño-Martínez, Martha Patricia Castellanos Saavedra — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

An instrument to investigate the perceptions of university professors in eight categories is validated: a) access and connectivity; b) knowledge of platforms and technologies; c) work routines and spaces; d) lessons preparation; e) student participation and motivation; f) class development; g) difficulty and willingness of teachers to change; and h) communication processes between teachers and managers. The study confirms a generalized idea that virtual teachers are better prepared than face-to-face teachers to face virtuality because they were already doing so before the pandemic. Likewise, the results reveal the problems shared by face-to-face and virtual teachers are related to situations, which were believed, would not occur in virtual teaching; for example, students’ difficulties to access the Internet and their lack of preparation for the use of technology. Student demotivation is an important element to review, especially in those results that refer to students in virtual programs, since it is assumed that virtual work is commom for them, which may be an indicator associated with the isolation experienced during confinement.

Remote teaching and continuous in-service training in graduate programs

Fabrício Dias de Andrade, Dorotea Frank Kersch — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we thought and acted in the field of teaching at all levels. Since 2018, we have followed up continuous in-service training for graduate teachers in action. This training aims to enable teachers to design hybrid and multimodal courses that take into account the presence of digital technologies. In this article, we follow the trajectory of Marina, an engineer who is part of this training group. Our objective is to discuss the learning that the participant reveals to have built since the beginning of her participation in the training and to reflect on the need for the design of continuous training courses that propose possibilities of appropriation of digital technologies also addressed to teachers. The isolation to which we were subjected due to the pandemic reveals the need for the existence and creation of spaces for learning and collaboration in the teacher's workplace, like the communities of practice, that allow the exchange of learning between peers from the experience and appropriation of digital technologies in and for the workplace. It is in these spaces that they resignify themselves and develop abilities.

About the effects of the Covid -19 pandemic on university dropout: teachers burnout and student psychological well-being

María Paula Seminara — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The isolation resulted of COVID-19 pandemic caused a series of emergency measures in Higher Education that, possibly, will have repercussions on university permanence. These are aspects that can be framed within the concern for quality and equity, which have been the subject of debate on government agendas. This article aims to show the main difficulties and possible advantages, for students and teachers, arising from the need to continue teaching in virtual mode. Among the investigated factors associated with permanence, emphasis is placed on psychological well-being and teacher burnout. For this, a semi-directed survey was applied on both groups, belonging to the Bioengineering Career of the National University of San Juan. A descriptive quantitative analysis of frequencies was performed on the results obtained, as well as a categorization of the answers obtained from open questions. The ultimate goal is to discuss the possible repercussions resulted of this contingency on the aspects already mentioned in both groups

Emergency Remote Teaching: experiences of students from a BUAP Regional Academic Unit during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This study presents the results of a quantitative research with exploratory scope that aimed to recover and explore the experiences of undergraduate students who concluded semester in spring 2020 through virtual classes with the means available during the stage of greater uncertainty related to Covid-19 pandemic. A questionnaire with closed and open questions was applied to 124 students from a regional academic unit in the northeastern area of the State of Puebla studying the following degrees: Stomatology, General and Community Medicine, Clinical Nutrition and Psychology. Among the results, it is highlighted that, although most of the students have an internet service to carry out their homework and access their classes, the low quality of internet connection is pointed out as a constant problem to meet learning objectives. In addition, it is identified that although in most cases the topics of the study programs were reviewed, the students considered that the learning objectives were not covered, which was mainly related to the application -by teachers- of techniques and activities not suitable for virtual classes. Finally, the lack of clinical practices was an element that presented a significant difference in the degree in Stomatology in the achievement of learning objectives, compared to other degrees.

La Higher education in Peru in times of pandemic and its effects on in the trajectories of indigenous university students

Inés Olivera, Alejandro Saldarriaga, María Amalia Pesantes — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This research seeks to present evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on the higher education of Peruvian indigenous youth. It is highly important to point out how emergency scenarios especially impact these populations, taking into account that they have been historically excluded, not only because of the accumulation of the effects of historical exclusion, but also because of the renewed evidence of State actions that keep not taking into consideration indigenous peoples’ life conditions. Based on an exercise related to the a state of art accompanied bysynchronous tracking of news, official measures, virtual spaces (webinars) where leaders and university students have expressed themselves, as well as conversations with officials, we consider that even with the limits that the pandemic has imposed in qualitative research, this article has much to contribute to the debate on access, permanence and graduation of indigenous students in higher education.

The The pandemic as an exclusion factor for students with disabilities in higher education

Judith Pérez-Castro — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper, we analyze the main consequences that COVID-19 has had on university students with disabilities. We acknowledge that higher education institutions have made important efforts in response to health contingency, however, specific measures are needed to meet students with disabilities demands. Some of the main barriers faced by this population are the lack of accessible information, the decreased learning and participation opportunities in the classes, the shortage of support and accommodations, as well as the reduction in access to university resources and services. We believe that students with disabilities have specific needs, but, at the same time, that they share demands with other vulnerable groups. In addition, inclusive education is a human right, accepted and ratified by many countries, including Mexico. Strategies aiming at widening learning opportunities of these students and at strengthening their permanence in higher education not only benefit them, but so do the rest of students, besides, it contributes to the development of inclusive educational institutions.

University students with disabilities: realities and challenges for the Latin American and Caribbean Inter-university Network for Disability and Human Rights in the context of pandemic

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this article is to discuss disability and higher education in Latin American countries in the context of pandemic. The presented information has been provided by the referents of each country belonging to the Latin American and Caribbean Inter-university Network for Disability and Human Rights. The objective is to describe the reality of each country in the sanitary context and the measures of governments and universities to guarantee the academic accessibility and educational quality for students with disabilities. Represented countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The scope, barriers and pending challenges to guarantee access to quality higher education with equity and social justice are analyzed and discussed.

Emergency remote teaching in initial teacher training: challenges and possibilities in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic

Viviane Potenza Guimarães Pinheiro, Beattriz Guedes de Seixas — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted face-to-face activities in initial teacher training courses in higher education, with emergency remote teaching as a possibility for links between students and universities. Based on studies on initial teacher training in the current Brazilian scenario, this article aims to analyze the migration to emergency remote teaching of a previously planned discipline for the face-to-face model at a Brazilian public university, through interviews with sixteen students participating in the program. The qualitative and descriptive analysis of the graduates' perceptions and feelings signaled the challenges faced and the possibilities of such an experience. The results point out as challenges the autonomy required by the context, the sudden handling of digital tools and the experience of a complex scenario, involving professional, personal and family demands. Communication, fast organization, the teacher's posture and the diversity of methodological strategies were highlighted as potentialities of the discipline in the model that was employed. We concluded that maintaining the fundamentals of ethics, respect and autonomy in the teachers training, as well as considering the complexity of the pandemic context through a humanized training process were keys to offering a course that supplies contemporary teaching needs.

Academic policies in the social and health emergency due to Covid-19 pandemic: An institutional learning experience

Viviana Macchiarola, Daiana Anahí Bustos — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to analyze the institutional policies implemented by the National University of Río Cuarto (Córdoba, Argentina) to manage education during the social and health emergency. The paper is a case study based on a qualitative methodology. Data collection techniques include the analysis of institutional documents and interviews to academic authorities. Particular emphasis is placed on the theoretical approach of the enactment of Stephen Ball´s policies. Data allow the identification of three stages in the process or construction cycle, and the enactment of academic policies designed by the National University of Río Cuarto to ensure continuity in the undergraduate education of its students: 1) the coronavirus outbreak, consequently altering the normal functioning of university operation; 2) the development of local policies and regulations to deal with the pandemic, and 3) the post-pandemic planning. Through the analysis of these stages, the paper deals with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on decision and operation patterns in the university management during the social and health emergency.

Experience report on the democratic management of the Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul in times of pandemic

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This paper aims to report the experience of the Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul in the process of implementing a gradual and non-classroom return planning to the University's teaching activities during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It is characterized as an experience based on empirical research with students, professors and technical staff of the University in order to provide data related to the conditions of access to technological tools, internet and mapping of risk groups. Such data allowed the institution to organize, through a democratic management built with the participation of representatives from all instances of the academic community, a gradual return to remote and non-classroom teaching, for a shorter semester. The results show that the actions taken were positive and allowed the education continuity even amid the limitations imposed by the health crisis.

The Distance education during SARS CoV2 pandemic: a challenge for health care educators

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This research analyzes the teaching processes and methodologies during the pandemic and the teaching-learning-evaluation spaces of distance education (EAD) in higher education in the health team. A structured, self-administered and anonymous survey was conducted online at the national level. Teachers that answered work more with undergraduate students, they teach and evaluate, with portable screens and cell phones, a third of them are shared and paid by teachers them-selves; more than a half did not use ICT before the pandemic, and they had very little adequate training. After the first wave of the pandemic, half responded to be trained in virtuality and pedagogy, recognized as strengths: "time and space" and as weaknesses: improvement and the "difficulty of face-to-face in massive numbers". Teachers are not convinced by the EAD for monitoring or approaching students, they consider that essential objectives have been met: working with greater intensity, more hours, overwhelmed and preferring face-to-face. It is clearer than ever that teaching work is irreplaceable and needs to be revalued. An unprecedented crisis has been managed. Education has mutated. The information collected in this research will promote decision-making to plan better strategies that facilitate the best use of technologies and virtuality that are obviously here to stay.

Can university pedagogy help to innovate? University pedagogy in innovative proposals in Brazilian universities

Ligia Couto — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article analyzes the role of university pedagogy in innovative proposals in two Brazilian universities. The research evaluates if university projects conserve their social meaning and interact with studies in university pedagogy (Cunha, 2005, 2006 e 2007; Pimenta and Anastasiou, 2005; Almeida and Pimenta, 2009; Veiga et al, 2012). From the qualitative methodology that was used in this work the pedagogical political projects or other documents were selected in order to better understand innovation and some individuals of the institutions were interviewed. The analysis demonstrated that both institutions innovate and use university pedagogy. Although the work with this pedagogy is much more present in the institution that considers teaching as a fundamental activity than in the institution where teaching is incorporated in research activities. As a result, there is the establishment of a teaching culture and a culture of research detached from teaching. This study reveals that an approximation of theory/practice is necessary when innovation is approched and that university pedagogy can contribute, mainly for teacher training, to the innovative aspect of the project.

A brief history of the foundation of an emblematic university in the rain forest of Ecuador and an innovative approach to the design and planning of academic program curricula for Latin America

Pablo Jarrín-V., Daniel Coronel — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The marginal role of higher education in Latin America led to technological dependency, poor economic growth, and social inequity. In the article, we discuss the challenging context in which higher education in Latin America developed and explain the motives behind the creation of a public university in the tropical rain forest of Ecuador. New and reformed higher education institutions in Latin America require innovative approaches to design academic programs and implement novel educational paradigms. We propose a quantitative and unorthodox method for analyzing the structure of program curricula in this historical and social context. This approach highlights the need for strategic academic planning and informed public policies. The inherent variation in program curricula across universities can be systematized in a presence-absence matrix, with courses and academic programs as columns and rows. By representing the patterns of variation in curricular structure across universities in the space provided by canonical axes, new perspectives arise which can lead to the development of further discussions towards optimal and innovative academic programs. The methods presented could be extended into the study of how academic disciplines, fields of study, and conceptual approaches to the design of program curricula vary and are structured across sociocultural contexts.

Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development: progress and challenges of Higher Education in Brazil

Stela Maria Meneghel, Fabrício Filisbino, Ana Cristina Adry Moura de Argôllo — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article analyzes indicators of Higher Education (HE) in Brazil, one of the most unequal countries in the world, in its ability to contribute to the 2030 Agenda. The analysis, of bibliographic and documentary nature, considers the expansion of enrollments focusing on: access for the low-income population; racial diversity; and access for students with disabilities. The data show that, despite private-market growth, affirmative action policies (AAP) have generated significant progress, revealing the importance of SDG guidelines for maintaining and improving public HE policies aimed at inclusion and reducing inequality.

Contribution of Argentine public universities to the achievement of the SDG: gender equality and all women’s and girls’ empowerment (2015-2019)

Mariana Laura Solans — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The paper explores, from an analytical and critical perspective, the contribution of Argentine public universities to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to gender equality and all women’s and girls’ empowerment, and to the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against them. In order to do it, the paper analyses the process of incorporation of women into higher education in Argentina and the obstacles they have to endure to obtain the recognition of their rights; as well as the early development of the feminist ideas in the country and their connection to the university’s life. To achieve this SDG in the universities, it was necessary the impulse provided by a bottom-up movement since 2015, composed by the hard work of feminist and women’s movements. However, these processes and contributions were not sufficiently acknowledged by the nation state in the implementation of public policies for this sector during the time convered by this paper.

Gender gaps in university governance and teaching careers in Peru

Carmela Chávez Irigoyen, Esteban Penelas Ronso Merino — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article explores gender gaps in university governance, analyzing evidence related to the distribution of positions by sex, both in senior management and academic leadership in Peruvian universities, as well as in the teaching staff. It is shown that there is little participation of women in university governing bodies, information that is analyzed according to the type of university and the field of knowledge of the academic faculty. Likewise, a reconstruction on the teaching hierarchy is made, showing that there is a limited presence of women in senior teaching positions with full-time dedication in the university, which would prevent an eventual election as representatives to the rectorship. Since women are a quantitatively minority group in Peruvian university positions, the study seeks to provide evidence that can be used to promote gender equality policies. In particular, those that promote a greater presence of women in the teaching career in important positions and facilitate the new generations of female students to have leadership, management and academic mentoring referents within the universities.

Higher education, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants. A reading about affirmative actions in Brazil and university ethno-education in Colombia

Elizabeth Castillo Guzmán, Anny Ocoró Loango — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

At the end of the 20th century, the issue of cultural diversity and education gained relevance in many areas of the Colombian university life. Programs, research groups and even undergraduate programs emerged to address the issues of interculturality, cultural difference, and educational inclusion. Indigenous university students and from Afro-descendant communities (black), now recognized as “ethnic groups” (GE), were received in some higher education institutions (IES) at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, under the differential approach. Currently, higher education policies in the continent have very important experiences in different countries. This article seeks to address two relevant experiences in the case of Brazil and Colombia. The first scenario deals with affirmative actions and university openings for black peoples in the country with the largest Afro-descendant population in Latin America. In the second scenario, university ethno-education is analysed as a process that covers teacher training from a model of cultural control and access for indigenous and Afro-Colombian students. In this article we want to offer a reading on the impacts and lessons learned in Brazil and Colombia as experiences of transformation of the Latin American university.

Knowledge production policies in university education

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this article is to present a first exploration of the knowledge production policies promoted by Udelar in the field of higher education, in particular, university education. It is focused on central and decentralized policies for the training of highly qualified human resources (master's and doctorate theses in higher education); central policies to stimulate research on university education (institutional calls for projects). The analysis arises from a broad conceptual framework related to the study of higher education, the processes of institutionalization of disciplines and the role of postgraduate degrees. A first comparative approach is made of the main policy instruments applied during the years 2010-2019 in different dimensions and categories of analysis. Even with a late development, institutional policies show significant research results, primarily oriented to the construction of the field of university pedagogy, with a diversified approach in themes, disciplinary origin and institutional affiliation of researchers. The design of a multi-strategy of central political tools has enriched and maximized the production of knowledge in university education, enabling the emergence of a process of disciplinarization of the field.

La Online research on the way to internationalization

Blanca Franzante, Gabriel A. Carbone, José M. Perdomo Vázquez — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This article is part of the research project "Teaching styles and pedagogical models underlying the practices of teachers at the Universidad de Concepción del Uruguay, Argentina and Universidad Central "Marta Abreu" in Las Villas, Cuba, as a result and pretext for the creation of groups research. The objective is to present the experience that results from the development of the aforementioned project, and whose systematization made possible the identification within the research group, of the steps necessary for the creation of educational research groups in distant contexts, the strengths and weaknesses observed in its implementation and the importance of information and communication technology as a necessary resource and facilitator of the “online” research process. The results show that this is possible and can be a contribution to the internationalization processes of higher education.

Internationalization of higher education in the west of Santa Catarina: the experience of a community university

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This text emerges from a macro research project developed by the International Group of Studies and Research of Higher Education - GIEPES UNICAMP, which investigates the internationalization of higher education in Ibero-American territory. In this research, 22 (twenty-two) universities from 9 (9) countries participate, one of them being the University of the West of Santa Catarina (Unoesc), an institution characterized in the community model, public of private law, located in western Santa Catarina. The aim of this article was to analyze how Unoesc develops its processes of academic mobility in undergraduate and graduate studies, among its professors, students and administrative technicians. The scientific methodology used in this investigation was the historical-critical, based on the Historical-Critical Pedagogy, developed by Saviani (2013), and which has as one of the master pillars the dialectical historical materialism. The categorization instrument was content analysis by Bardin (2016). As results, it was evidenced that for Unoesc academic mobility is still one of the largest fronts of internationalization. It is worth mentioning that internationalization is still the way to consolidate research, teaching and extension, aiming not to lose its space in the face of the competitive market. In addition, they have a specific body, since 2010, to deal with issues related to academic mobility, demonstrating that for 11 years this Institution of Higher Education is concerned with having internationalization fronts beyond the capitalist market.