The State of Mathematics Education in ChileStructure of the system, student achievement, and impact of education research

Leonor Varasmlvaras@dim.uchile.cl

BANFF, January 2014

Outlıne The Chilean School System

The Teacher Preparation in Chile

Research in Education in Chile

Impact of Research and of the Chilean Mathematicians activity in Math Education

The School System 12 years of compulsory school education since

2004 (now 8 +4 in the future 6+6) National curriculum established by the Ministry of

Education with numerous changes since the major reform of the beginning of the 90s,

Mathematic is the subject that requires more commitment: a minimum of 6 hours per week in every grade level.

Regular assessment SIMCE (census at grades 2, 4, 8, 10)

The School System

3 types of schools: free of charge and public schools,

administrated by the municipalities (40%)

private and state-subsidized schools administrated by their owners and partially paid by the parents (57%)

private and fully paid schools (3%)

Extremely segregated system The co-payment in the subsidized schools has

increased the segregation in the schools: more than in the society

The number of public schools are decreasing and they attend the more vulnerable population.

Even though there is prohibition to select students in schools it is a common practice, moreover it is tracking.

The salaries of the teachers vary and the best teachers usually end up in the most expensive schools

Challenges of the school system Strengthen the public sector (social

cohesion)

Equity. Decrease segregation by SES, type of school and gender

Improve outcomes: PISA 2009, 2012 show improvements in language and a stall in math

PISA 2012

In mathematic Chile is 51 among 65 participating countries. 52% of the students is lower than level 2 of 6 possible levels

No significant variation in 6 years

Gender diferences

SES differences

Differences by type of school

The Elementary School Teacher Preparation

Not necessarily university programs. At university level, the less selective

programs 4 – 5 years programs More than150 different programs almost

all of them accredited. Bad results in TEDS-M testing Bad results in national testing INICIA

certification

The Secondary School Math Teacher Preparation

All are university programs.

5 years programs

Selective programs

No information about national or international testing

Challenges of the teacher preparation Improve the quality of the preparation

programs

Attract better students and raise the admittance conditions

Increase the regulation of the system (Standards and Certification Test)

Research in Education Research in education in Chile is still few,

historically of theoretical predominance, and it is changing fast in the last years.

Fondecyt grants in education: 10 in 2009, 25 in 2014.

Among 18 Centers with “Basal” grants, the first center in social science is CIAE (Center for Advanced Research in Education)

Impact of the research and development activity in education of mathematicians The CIAE was created by a group leaded by

mathematicians (Rafael Correa) and “bases its work on the conviction that the Chilean educational system, from the public policy arena to the classroom, requires rigorous scientific evidence to improve quality and equity”.

Standards for teacher preparation were first introduced by a R&D project leaded by Patricio Felmer.

Salomé Martinez leads a project whose impact you will appreciate.

Impact of the research and development activity in education of mathematiciansThere are mathematicians leading in the school curriculum, organizing competitions, working with teachers and pupils, doing research, participating in international comparative studies (Firstmath), developing assessments of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) applying Michigan’s measure of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT), introducing problem solving in elementary schools in a longitudinal study with Finland, studing teacher change……The impact I believe will come with a critical mass that is being build