Education in Mexico (Latin American Studies)

Introduction

An understanding of Mexico’s educational system requires a systematic historical approach that takes into account the complex sociocultural and political fabric of the nation. Education in Mexico is closely tied to postcolonial identity building and has gone through different stages as a result of historical shifts. A broad understanding of education in Mexico must include foundational works that relay the challenges and perspectives related to the early efforts of public education in Mexico as well as the changes seen through key shifts such as the decentralization reform of 1992. The body of literature featured here showcases the work of key scholars in the field that have pursued important questions at different stages of recent history. It serves as an entry point into the different categories that support a broad understanding of the educational context in Mexico: its history, its challenges, its articulation to the global context, and, most particularly, its close ties to the political ecosystem, since political discourse has deeply shaped legislation and educational policies in many of Mexico’s states. A wide range of topics are covered within the following diverse studies about education in Mexico; publications in Spanish and English include topics such as the history of education, intercultural and rural education, migration, educational policy, teacher unions and politics, new technologies, human rights, peace and democratic participation, higher education, and comparative and international education. Various perspectives discuss educational development, including education for social and economic development, together with issues of socioeconomic disparities and equity in the education system. Studies based on international development and comparative perspectives tend to highlight the main problems Mexican education faces in the development of competitive skills, human and social capital, and economic participation in a democratic national society as well as the competitiveness of the country within the global economy. Several of these studies problematize access and quality of education among the youth and women of marginalized groups and discuss implications often based on new programs or initiatives for professional training and investment for the implementation of new technologies. Publications that take critical and postcolonial perspectives focus on educational issues concerning indigenous and rural populations that point at the educational challenges beyond the quality of delivery. These publications offer a critique of political and class structures that have created and reproduced inequality in the national society. Some of these critiques also point to the important role of education and educational actors, such as teachers, in transforming the status quo and changing policy.

Overview of Education in Mexico

The works cited here outline foundational works around education policy in Mexico, represent key issues, and provide an overview of the Mexican system of education. They are particularly relevant as an entry point to scholarship on education in Mexico as they cover historical context, reform, curriculum, and policy development at large. This section features the work of key scholars in the field whose extensive trajectories and scholarship have shaped the field and are often considered required reading for those seeking to gain a broad understanding of education in Mexico. While Ornelas 1995 provides both a historical and a political perspective for understanding the whole educational system in Mexico, Prawda and Flores 2001 offers a critical overview of the current system of education with recommendations for change. Gonzalbo 1990 also presents a historical context for the current system of education in Mexico today, while describing changes that are specifically related to Spanish colonization. An understanding of the challenges facing Mexican education and their implications for educational policy is found in Latapí Sarre 2009, and Guevara Niebla 1992 and Muñoz Izquierdo 2006 further analyzes the state of educational policy in Mexico through the use of statistical indicators. Ornelas 2000 explores the causes of educational decentralization in Mexico. For an analysis of the relationship between immigration and the quality of education in Mexico, see Martínez, et al. 2013.

Gonzalbo, Pilar. Historia de la educación en la epoca colonial: El mundo indígena. Mexico City: Colegio de México, 1990.
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Gonzalbo describes the educational transformations that occurred during colonial times as indigenous education became part of Spain’s program of evangelization and cultural colonization. Her work illustrates the configuration of the educational system as a result of religious syncretism and a deliberate pursuit of modernization.
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Guevara Niebla, Gilberto, ed. La catástrofe silenciosa. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1992.
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This volume serves as a diagnostic and analytic tool for the educational context and its impact on teachers and students in Mexico in the decade of the 1990s. Despite the changes that have since happened, the six sections of the book provide an important understanding of the foundations and challenges of educational policy and serve as a reference point for current policy.
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Latapí Sarre, Pablo. “El derecho a la educación: Su alcance, exigibilidad y relevancia para la política educativa.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 14.40 (2009): 255–287.
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This interesting article underscores the main challenges facing Mexican education and how these challenges should be utilized in the formulation of an educational policy that is more pertinent and effective. The author proposes specific indicators for policy based on the right to education, education quality, and human rights that should be included in research and evaluation agendas for Mexican education.
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Martínez, José Felipe, Lucrecia Santibáñez, Edson E. Serván Mori, et al. “Educational Opportunity and Immigration in México: Exploring the Individual and Systemic Relationships.” Teachers College Record 115.10 (2013): 1–24.
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Using data from the Mexican Family Life Survey, the Opportunities program, and the National Population Council of Mexico, the authors discuss the relationship between immigration and educational quality and opportunity in Mexico and the United States. Their findings suggest significant relationships between individual decisions to migrate and indicators of educational access, quality, and opportunity.
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Muñoz Izquierdo, Carlos. Análisis y resultados de las políticas públicas referidas a la educación básica: El caso de México. Mexico City: Transatlántica de Educación, 2006.
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This report, by one of the leading education scholars in Mexico, provides a clear statistical overview of the state of educational policy. The author outlines key indicators to be considered in determining quality of education and then analyzes educational public policies and statistical data to inform his assessment.
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Ornelas, Carlos. El sistema educativo mexicano: La transición de fin de siglo. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1995.
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This book is one of the key foundational works to understand the educational system in Mexico through a historical and political lens. The most recent edition has been updated to include the latest education reforms. Ornelas provides a systematic analysis of student achievement, teacher practice, and the role of the teachers’ union and government to understand Mexico’s educational landscape.
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Ornelas, Carlos. “The Politics of Educational Decentralization in Mexico.” Journal of Educational Administration 38.5 (2000): 426–441.
DOI: 10.1108/09578230010378331Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this article, Ornelas explores the political and historical framework of educational decentralization. He looks at the motives behind the federal government’s decision to decentralize education and discusses how the shifts of power to the thirty-one states shaped the outcomes of decentralization at the local and federal levels.
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Prawda, Jorge, and Gustavo Flores. México educativo revisitado: Reflexiones al comienzo de un nuevo siglo. Mexico City: Océano, 2001.
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The authors provide a critical overview of the Mexican educational system and recommendations for change. They address issues concerning literacy, early childhood, telesecundarias, adult education, teacher professional development, technology in education, higher education, distance education, school finance, educational evaluation, and the role of public policy in education.
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Intercultural Education

Studies in intercultural education in Mexico situate interculturality as an issue in the broader Latin American context. Thus, many of the publications cited here study the case of Mexico in comparison to the experience of intercultural education across Latin America, particularly in countries with a significant presence of indigenous people. Examples of such comparative studies include López 2010, López and Sichra 2008, and Dietz and Mateos 2011, Schmelkes 2004, Schmelkes 2005 (see Rural Education), Schmelkes 2006, and Schmelkes 2013, as well as works by other scholars, provide important contributions to this topic, particularly because of their critique of serious socioeconomic inequality and how it impacts indigenous people in the educational system and society at large.

Dietz, Gunther, and Laura S. Mateos. Interculturalidad y educación intercultural en México: Un análisis de los discursos nacionales e internacionales en su impacto en los modelos educativos Mexicanos. Mexico City: SEP-CGEIB, 2011.
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This book centers on a comparative analysis of well-researched discourses surrounding interculturality from historical and political conceptualizations in other societies around the world to interculturality as understood by different actors in the Mexican context. Readers may appreciate how the authors identify the main challenges and important implications for both political initiatives as well as education in Mexico.
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López, Luis Enrique. “Reaching the Unreached: Indigenous Intercultural Bilingual Education in Latin America.” Background paper prepared for UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO, 2010.
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This excellent background paper prepared for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) discusses intercultural bilingual education in six countries: Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru. The paper provides interesting statistical and historical information in analyzing the challenges of bilingual education in the six countries, including policy and program initiatives, national ideologies, indigenous rights, bottom-up implementation, citizenship, and the local use of language.
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López, Luis Enrique, and Inge Sichra. “Intercultural Bilingual Education among Indigenous Peoples in Latin America.” In Encyclopedia of Language and Education. 2d ed. Edited by Nancy H. Hornberger, 1732–1746. New York: Springer, 2008.
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This comprehensive paper provides a historical overview of influential bilingual education initiatives from the early 20th century, as well as intercultural bilingual education policy and programs in the present. Readers will be interested in the authors’ perspectives about indigenous views, self-determination, and multinationalism, among others, in endeavoring to understand the contemporary challenges of interculturalism across Latin America.
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Schmelkes, Sylvia. “La educación intercultural: Un campo en proceso de consolidación.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 9.20 (2004): 9–13.
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This introductory article within a themed issue on interculturalism of the Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa delineates key issues of intercultural education as a field undergoing consolidation in the Mexican context. Except for the introduction, the five themed articles in the issue are translated into English.
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Schmelkes, Sylvia. “Educación superior intercultural: El caso de México.” Revista Mexicana de Educación 104 (2004): 54–58.
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This paper discusses the challenges of access to higher education in Mexico, namely, existing inequity and lack of quality education affecting rural and indigenous populations. The author analyzes three interesting initiatives that respond to these challenges: scholarships, intercultural universities, and economic initiatives for university programs to support indigenous students.
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Schmelkes, Sylvia. “La interculturalidad en la educación básica.” Paper presented in the framework of the Second Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Regional Education Project for Latin America and the Caribbean (PRELAC), Santiago de Chile, 11–13 May 2006. Paris: UNESCO, 2006.
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This paper prepared for UNESCO’s regional project for education in Latin America and the Caribbean discusses the foundations of interculturalism and intercultural education in the context of Mexico and proposes intercultural education for all as a relevant vision in Latin America.
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Schmelkes, Sylvia. “Educación para un México intercultural.” Sinéctica 40 (2013): 1–12.
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This comprehensive article stresses the urgency of intercultural education for all in Mexico. While intercultural education in different contexts across the Americas has been traditionally associated with indigenous people, Schmelkes systematically problematizes such an approach while calling for the need to include the population as a whole.
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Rural Education

As an introduction to this topic, an analysis of the establishment of rural education in Mexico that elucidates its historical, political, and ideological constructions can be found in Raby and Donís 1989. However, a great majority of the publications concerning rural education in Mexico feature case studies in specific rural states, such as Guerrero and Oaxaca (Ezpeleta and Weiss 1996), Puebla (Schmelkes 2005), Tenería (Civera Cerecedo 2006), and others. For studies that focus on observations taking place in specific rural classrooms, see Weiss 2000 and Ezpeleta 1997. Ezpeleta and Weiss 1996 reveals the grave challenges that inequality and poverty place on rural populations and the role of education in perpetuating or addressing these disparities. Moreover, Weiss, et al. 2008 considers how rural educational institutions can limit the thinking and behavior of students in Mexico. An important contribution made by publications on rural education in Mexico is their focus on the potential of rural education to generate more enlightened policy and to develop more democratic and equitable systems.

Civera Cerecedo, Alicia. “La coeducación en la formación de maestros rurales en México, 1934–1944.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 11.28 (2006): 269–291.
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Through a case study of co-educational opportunities of teacher education in the state of Tenería in the early 20th century, the author analyzes the impact and differentiated preparation offered to female students by gender, after government initiatives eliminated co-ed programs in teacher education institutions.
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Ezpeleta, Justa. “Algunos desafíos para la gestión de las escuelas multigrado.” Revista Iberoamericana de Educación 15 (1997): 101–120.
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From personal motivation to quality and level of preparation to professional development and administrative support to the need of individuals for employment and work stability, this article presents an interesting analysis of the compelling issues facing teachers and impacting educational quality in multigrade schools.
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Ezpeleta, Justa, and Eduardo Weiss. “Las escuelas rurales en zonas de pobreza y sus maestros: Tramas preexistentes y políticas innovadoras.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 1.1 (1996): 53–69.
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This paper is based on a comprehensive qualitative study of education in two states with representative rural communities, Guerrero and Oaxaca. The paper aims at identifying challenges and innovative ways to address disparities and provide educational opportunities to the most impoverished and underserved populations in the country.
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Raby, David L., and Martha Donís. “Ideología y construcción del estado: La función política de la educación rural en México, 1921–1935.” Revista Mexicana de Sociología 51.2 (1989): 305–320.
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The analysis in this interesting article reveals historical, political, and ideological constructions of the role of rural education in Mexico beyond its pedagogical scope. An interesting analysis that explores the connections among postcolonial politics, the role of the revolution, the role of peasants and farmers, and the role of intellectuals in the creation of the state.
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Schmelkes, Sylvia. “La desigualdad en la calidad de la educación primaria.” Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos 35.3–4 (2005): 9–33.
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This paper presents an interesting case study (Puebla) about the quality of education in Mexico. By examining different areas impacting educational quality from access to achievement, Schmelkes identifies the need to address grave inequalities reproduced in the Mexican education system that negatively impact rural communities.
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Weiss, Eduardo. “La situación de la enseñanza multigrado en México.” Perfiles Educativos 22.90 (2000): 57–76.
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This interesting case study discusses the characteristics of teaching in different multigrade schools. The paper includes detailed comparisons of observational descriptions of lesson topics and teaching and case examples in the multigrade classroom.
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Weiss, Eduardo, Irene Guerra, Elsa Guerrero, Joaquín Hernández, Olga Grijalva, and Job Ávalos. “Jóvenes y bachillerato en México: El proceso de subjetivación, el encuentro con los otros y la reflexividad.” Ethnography and Education Journal 3.1 (2008): 17–31.
DOI: 10.1080/17457820801899025Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This paper considers the influence and limitations of educational institutions on the thinking and behavior of students. It focuses on the development of identity among students in the context of secondary education. The paper offers a narrative analysis of how students reflect and give meaning to their social and personal experiences while in school.
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Education and Educational Policy

Educational policy in Mexico has gone through different stages as a result of historical, sociopolitical, and economic shifts. This section includes publications that consider educational policies since the 1980s. Alcántara Santuario 2008 and Alcántara Santuario and Zorrilla Alcalá 2010 examine the impact of neoliberalism and globalization in educational policies. Rizo 2004 considers the role of assessment and the effectiveness of instituted year-end tests as they relate to educational policy. Other researchers, in works such as Zorrilla Fierro 2004 and Zorrilla Fierro and Barba Casillas 2008, look at education reform and its different actors. Issues of social inequity, the link between educational attainment and income (Bracho 2002), and other issues have shaped the way researchers look at educational policies, educational reform, and educational initiatives that aim to position Mexico as a competitive player in the global market. The works here highlight the way in which policies can move the Mexican educational system in changing toward quality and equity (Flores-Crespo 2002, Rizo 2004). They also analyze the reasons why this has not happened, and they provide a description of the struggles and the role of different actors and agendas in creating reforms that address educational inequality.

Alcántara Santuario, Armando. “Políticas educativas y neoliberalismo en México, 1982–2006.” Revista Iberoamericana de Educación 48 (2008): 147–165.
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The essay provides a review of twenty-five years of educational policies in Mexico. These policies have been characterized by neoliberal principles and structural adjustments that have affected all levels of public education. The author analyzes the agendas behind the neoliberal policies, the failures of the policies, and the passing on of problems from one government to the next.
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Alcántara Santuario, Armando, and Juan Zorrilla Alcalá. “Globalización y educación media superior en México: En busca de la pertinencia curricular.” Perfiles Educativos 32.127 (2010): 38–57.
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The authors analyze the perceptions and considerations of two groups of higher education teachers about their daily work, adjustments in the curriculum, and changes in students’ and teachers’ evaluations. The article presents the teachers’ perspectives on these topics while considering the impact of globalization on reforms in the Mexican educational system.
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Bracho, Teresa. “Desigualdad social y educación en México: Una perspectiva sociológica.” Educar 29 (2002): 31–54.
DOI: 10.5565/rev/educar.325Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This essay describes the distribution of educational credentials among Mexican adults and how this is related to income distribution. The author treats the relationship of schooling to family income among school age children and their adult counterparts, highlighting the importance of attending to issues of educational distribution when struggling for social equity.
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Flores-Crespo, Pedro. “En busca de nuevas explicaciones sobre la relación entre educación y desigualdad.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 7.16 (2002): 537–576.
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The paper aims to explain the relationship between inequality and higher education utilizing Sen’s perspective on human capabilities. Flores-Crespo explores how these capabilities might reduce inequality. The study provides a broader perspective into understanding inequality and its impact on the institutional, political, and economic settings of education.
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Rizo, Felipe Martínez. “¿Aprobar o reprobar?” Investigación 9.23 (2004): 817–839.
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The essay looks at the role of assessment in educational quality and discusses the role and effectiveness of year-end tests. After reviewing international practices and the results of students repeating or passing grade levels, the author proposes a quasi-automatic promotion system that could contribute to improve coverage and achievement levels in the Mexican system.
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Zorrilla Fierro, Margarita. “La educación secundaria en México: Al filo de su reforma.” Revista Electrónica Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación 2.1 (2004): 1–22.
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The article reviews historical aspects and the quantitative evolution of secondary education in Mexico. Zorrilla addresses the premises, the needs, and the general proposals that have been part of the education reform. She highlights difficulties in planning the design of reform, implementing it, and its future developments in relation to evaluations by the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment.
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Zorrilla Fierro, Margarita, and Bonifacio Barba Casillas. “Reforma educativa en México: Descentralización y nuevos actores.” Sinéctica: Revista Electrónica de Educación 30 (2008): 1–32.
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The essay addresses the process of federalization of Mexican education. The authors examine the nature of the reform and the characteristics and configuration of the educational system. The article concludes with thoughts about the role of these regulations and the positive transformation of educational management that they will engender.
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The Teachers’ Union (SNTE), Education, and Democracy

The articles under this topic aim to inform readers about the nature and influence of the National Union of Workers in Education (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación-SNTE) in the Mexican educational sector. Santibáñez 2008 examines the political power of the union and its leverage on the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP); the author also offers detailed insights into the salary condition of teachers and their opportunities for development in Santibáñez 2002. Ornelas 2008 and Arnaut 2004 look at control of the structure of the teaching profession, while Cook 1990, Street 2001, and Tatto 1999 touch on issues concerning the struggles to sustain an internal democratic structure in the union and the government. Some publications address the role of the SNTE as one of the main gatekeepers of initiatives that affect educational legislation due to its participation in the middle and upper management of the SEP, its corporatist practices, and its role in teaching training programs. The works annotated here broaden our knowledge of the influence of the SNTE in Mexico’s educational sector and its potential implications for the overall quality of education in the country.

Arnaut, Alberto. El sistema de formación de maestros en México: Continuidad, reforma y cambio. Cuadernos de discusión 17. Mexico City: SEP, 2004.
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The essay explores the heterogeneity of teacher training programs and the role played by educational policy and the sociocultural and political context in preparing teachers. The author traces historical changes in educational policy, curriculum, and teacher professional development that show how teacher training is becoming more diverse in terms of curriculum, teaching profiles, and functions.
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Cook, Maria Lorena. “Organizing Opposition in the Teachers’ Movement in Oaxaca.” In Popular Movements and Political Change in Mexico. Edited by Joe Foweraker and Ann Craig, 199–212. Mexico City: Lynne Rienner, 1990.
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The essay analyses the struggle of educators to democratize their union with a focus on Oaxaca and the changes in the political environment within the union and its officials. The essay looks at the laws, procedures, and structures within the union that limit the scope of the organization while informing the reader of the strategies utilized to democratize the union.
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Ornelas, Carlos. “El SNTE, Elba Esther Gordillo y el gobierno de Calderón.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 13.37 (2008): 445–469.
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The paper examines the corporate practices and colonial politics present in the Mexican National Educational Workers Union (SNTE), and how these practices affect the work done in the Secretariat of Public Education. Ornelas discusses and examines the role of corporatism and colonial politics, the professionalization of bureaucracy, and the role of the state in education.
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Santibáñez, Lucrecia M. “¿Están mal pagados los maestros en México? Estimado de los salarios relativos del magisterio.” Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos 32.2 (2002): 9–41.
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Santibáñez examines urban professional salaries in Mexico during the late 1990s. She calculates conditional wage differentials between teachers and public and private employees with administrative, technical, or professional occupations to find that total income is generally lower for teachers and there are fewer opportunities for advancement.
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Santibáñez, Lucrecia. “Reforma educativa: El papel del SNTE.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 13.37 (2008): 419–443.
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The article defines the nature of the influence of the national union of workers in educational legislation, its role as gatekeeper, its participation in controlling the Secretariat of Public Education, and its control of the structure of the teaching profession. The author analyzes various instances in which the union intervenes via working groups and technical committees.
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Street, Susan. “Trabajo docente y poder de dase en el sindicalismo democrático magisterial en México.” In La ciudadanía negada: Políticas de exclusión en la educación y el trabajo. Edited by Pablo Gentili and Gaudencio Frigotto, 177–211. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, 2001.
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The essay looks at the “problem of the alternative” and the struggle to transform politics into a real democracy. The author addresses how politics and the teachers union have shaped the role of teachers. The autonomy of teachers, their subjectivity, and the role of reforms and the state are analyzed to discuss how teachers’ subjectivity is constructed.
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Tatto, Maria Teresa. “Education Reform and State Power in Mexico: The Paradoxes of Decentralization.” Comparative Education Review 43.3 (1999): 251–282.
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Tatto discusses the dynamics of educational reform while proposing a framework that considers issues of decentralization and change in teaching in schools. The essay examines the evolving role of the nation-state and other power structures that emerge and coexist in the effort to decentralize Mexico’s educational system.
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Education and New Technologies

Historically, educational policy in Mexico has been shaped by issues of access, structure, and systemic development. The debate on new technologies, online environments and optimization of access for rural education as well as within in the urban environment is often a crosscutting issue in educational scholarship in Mexico (Sacher y Tamarel 2003 for a discussion in UNESCO’s International Seminar on Education and New Technologies as it relates to Mexico). This section presents varied perspectives on technology and learning environments and the works cited provide context to the discussion. Bustos Sánchez and Coll Salvador 2010 and Edel-Navarro 2010 consider online environments as spaces for teaching and learning and for the development of digital and technological literacy in Mexico. A notable work is Orozco Gómez 2001, which discusses the use of television as a pedagogical tool. An understanding of technology and distance education in Mexico is particularly relevant, as in the case of telesecundarias (Calixto Flores and Rebollar Albarrán 2007). Secondary education is just one area in which new technology shapes the structure of and access to education; McAnally-Salas 2006 describes the potential of technology to expand the reach of Mexican institutions of higher education to individuals who currently lack access to it.

Bustos Sánchez, Alfonso, and César Coll Salvador. “Los entornos virtuales como espacios de enseñanza y aprendizaje: Una perspectiva psicoeducativa para su caracterización y análisis.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 15.44 (2010): 163–184.
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This article is a theoretical piece that posits the role of online environments as spaces for teaching and learning. The authors review relevant literature on education, technology, and virtual spaces and then put forth a theoretical model using a sociocultural frame to envision a model that engages teachers and students with content.
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Calixto Flores, Raúl, and Angélica Rebollar Albarrán. “La telesecundaria, ante la sociedad del conocimiento.” Revista Iberoamericana de Educación 44.7 (2007): 9–20.
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Given the importance of telesecundaria in rural and intercultural education in Mexico, the use of new technologies and distance learning is of particular relevance for educational policy in Mexico. This article outlines new trends and directions for telesecundarias in the age of new technologies.
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Edel-Navarro, Rubén. “Entornos virtuales de aprendizaje: La contribución de “lo virtual” en la educación.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 15.44 (2010): 7–15.
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This article outlines central contributions of new virtual learning spaces as hubs of development of digital and technological literacy. The paper seeks chiefly to describe education processes in the context of new technologies by deepening our understanding of emergent virtual environments and their contribution to educational innovation.
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McAnally-Salas, Lewis. “La integración de la tecnología educativa como alternativa para ampliar la cobertura en la educación superior.” Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa 11.28 (2006): 11–30.
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This article describes a potential model to expand coverage of higher education institutions by using technology to deliver explicit knowledge. The results of the test, carried out in three classrooms by the authors, showed capacity could be increased by 60 percent.
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Orozco Gómez, Guillermo. “Audiencias, televisión y educación: Una deconstrucción pedagógica de la ‘televidencia’ y sus mediaciones.” Revista Iberoamericana de Educación 27 (2001): 155–178.
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This article explores the pedagogical practices of television reception and the varying factors that shape and mediate the practice of media consumption. The paper is particularly relevant as part of a larger body of scholarship by Guillermo Orozco, a leading figure of education and communication in Mexico and the author of seminal works on education and media reception.
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Sacher y Tamarel, Jaime. “Políticas nacionales y cooperación internacional en torno a la educación y las nuevas tecnologías: El caso de México.” In Las nuevas tecnologías y el futuro de la educación. Edited by José Joaquín Brunner and Juan Carlos Tedesco, 130–137. Buenos Aires, Argentina: IIPE, 2003.
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This chapter is part of a collection of discussion papers from UNESCO’s International Seminar on Education and New Technologies. The author presents the case of Mexico, in which he reviews the context of learning and communication in Mexico and then provides relevant data on educational policy and goals for international cooperation.
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Human Rights, Peace, and Civic Participation

Publications concerning human rights, peace, and democracy in Mexico analyze a range of topics from theoretical frameworks, ranging from sustaining human rights and peace to qualitative studies on the implementation of peace education in the classroom. While Olvera 2001 analyzes the efficacy of governmental institutions in promoting democratic participation in Mexican civil society more broadly, Levinson 2005 draws more specifically on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in secondary schools to understand how education is related to citizenship. Bazdresch 2001 analyzes governmental initiatives related to democratic participation, considering the complex dynamics among education, poverty, and socioeconomic mobility in Mexico. Several of the contributions based on qualitative work aim to provide new perspectives and frameworks for peace education that can better sustain human rights and democratic participation. Contributions related to peace education include Abrego Franco 2010 and Munter, et al. 2012. Human rights education is related to peace educations (Barba Casillas 1997); Torquemada González 2007 considers human rights education as a subject taught at the primary level in Mexico.

Abrego Franco, María. “La situación de la educación para la paz en México en la actualidad.” Espacios Públicos 13.27 (2010): 149–164.
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This paper examines the relevance of peace education (or education for peace) in Mexico, focusing on the case of Puebla within the framework of the peace agenda of the United Nations. The author suggests how peace education should be taught today according to current research guidelines.
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Barba Casillas, José. Educación para los derechos humanos. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1997.
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The book offers a theoretical framework that proposes human rights and peace education as moral values. Its goal is to offer students and teachers an understanding of human rights as well as tools to help them acquire the attitudes and values that can sustain work advancing human rights and peace.
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Bazdresch, Miguel. Educación y pobreza: Una relación conflictiva. Mexico City: Consejo Latinoamerica Ciencias Sociales, 2001.
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This interesting paper examines perspectives on the relationship between education and poverty and challenges the notions underlying government initiatives that promote access to education as the way to allow socioeconomic mobility and end poverty.
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Levinson, Bradley. “Citizenship, Identity, Democracy: Engaging the Political in the Anthropology of Education.” Anthropology & Education Quarterly 36.4 (2005): 329–340.
DOI: 10.1525/aeq.2005.36.4.329Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This reflective piece discusses ethnographic fieldwork in secondary schools and offers important insights on issues of education and citizenship in Mexico over the past several decades. The author proposes the use of these understandings to frame current global neoliberal trends that eschew consideration of citizenship, identity, and democratization in education.
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Munter, Judith, Lyn McKinley, and Kristine Sarabia. “Classroom of Hope: The Voice of One Courageous Teacher on the US–Mexico Border.” Journal of Peace Education 9.1 (2012): 49–64.
DOI: 10.1080/17400201.2012.657616Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors present peace education as a pedagogical model that fosters universal human rights. The study tells the story of a teacher in a classroom in Ciudad Juarez, close to the US-Mexico border. The article illuminates the importance of teachers’ agency in student lives, the importance of reflective practice, and the growing need for peace education.
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Olvera, Alberto. “Sociedad civil, gobernabilidad democrática, espacios públicos y democratización: Los contornos de un proyecto.” Cuadernos de la Sociedad Civil (2001).
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This paper discusses the complexity of interpretations of meanings such as state, governance, and civil society. It is based on a study of the efficacy of governmental institutions and social practice to promote democratization and participation of the civil society in governing.
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Torquemada González, Alma Delia. “La práctica educativa de derechos humanos en educación primaria.” Eikasia: Revista de Filosofía 13 (2007): 181–204.
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The article reports the results of an investigation into the curricular content, educational practices, teaching perspectives, and learning outcomes of human rights education at the primary level. It concludes with philosophical suggestions to be considered when teaching human rights.
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Comparative and International Education

A range of topics, including higher education, poverty, and inequality as well as critiques of the Mexican education system per se, are featured in the works cited in this section. The authors, several of them well-known Mexican comparativists such as Marco Navarro Leal (Navarro Leal 2010a, Navarro Leal 2010b), discuss the state of comparative and international education, its implications for the field, and its contributions to Mexican education and international comparative scholarship. On the topic of teacher education and teaching quality in primary and secondary schools, see Reimers 2006b, Tatto 2006, and Tatto 2008. Torres and Schugurensky 1994 provides a comparative perspective on adult education in Mexico. On the topic of higher education in Mexico, Gacel-Ávila 2005 focuses on recent trends and international cooperation initiatives; Reimers 2006a considers the struggles women face in reaching leadership positions in higher education and offers a critical and comparative analysis of this issue.

Gacel-Ávila, Jocelyne. “Internationalization of Higher Education in Mexico.” In Higher Education in Latin America: The International Dimension. Edited by Hans de Wit, Isabel Christino Jaramillo, Jocelyne Gacel-Ávila, and Jane Knight, 239–280. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005.
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This chapter, in an edited volume examining higher education in Latin American and Caribbean countries, highlights new trends, cooperation initiatives with other countries and policies impacting higher education in Mexico, including treatment of the country’s economic competitiveness and the individual’s development of skills for a global economy.
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Navarro Leal, Marco, ed. Educación comparada: Perspectiva Latinoamericana. Mexico City: Sociedad Mexicana de Educación Comparada, 2010a.
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Navarro Leal edits this volume that deals with comparative education with a focus on Mexico and Latin America. The volume includes mainly articles from different Latin American authors, who analyze evaluation in higher education in countries such as Chile and Argentina and compare it to the Mexican case. Available online.
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Navarro Leal, Marco, ed. Educación comparada: Perspectivas y casos. México City: Planea, 2010b.
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Part 1 of this edited volume examines the epistemologies of comparative and international education employed by representative international scholars working in the discipline. Based on these perspectives, Part 2 features discussions of comparative education in the Mexican context. Case studies of Mexican education form Part 3 of the volume.
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Reimers, Fernando. “Principally Women: Gender in the Politics of Mexican Education.” In Changing Structure of Mexico: Political, Social, and Economic Prospects. Edited by Laura Randall, 278–294. Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 2006a.
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This book chapter is part of an edited volume that focuses not on education but on structures and prospects in Mexican society. Reimers’s contribution on educational issues treats the role of women and their struggles to reach leadership positions regardless of their higher levels of preparation in relation to men. The author offers interesting international comparisons as well as a critique of sexism in the Mexican education system.
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Reimers, Fernando. “Teaching Quality Matters: Pedagogy and Literacy Instruction of Poor Students in Mexico.” In International Education for the Millennium: Toward Access, Equity, and Quality. Edited by Benjamin Piper, Sarah Dryden-Peterson, and Young-Suk Kim, 195–214. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review, 2006b.
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Reimers analyzes the significance of quality education from the perspective of students from families of low socioeconomic backgrounds. He stresses the need to emphasize quality education that aims at social and economic mobility through specific teaching practices in connection with the literacy skills of students from marginalized backgrounds.
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Tatto, Maria Teresa. “Education Reform and the Global Regulation of Teachers’ Education, Development and Work: A Cross-Cultural Analysis.” International Journal of Educational Research 45.4 (2006): 231–241.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2007.02.003Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Within the frame of comparative and international education, this interesting piece discusses trends in the education and assessment of teachers as well as conceptualizations of their role as professionals, or bureaucrats, in the implementation of policy and programs in Mexico and other countries around the world.
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Tatto, Maria Teresa. “Teacher Policy: A Framework for Comparative Analysis.” eProspects 38.4 (2008): 487–508.
DOI: 10.1007/s11125-009-9088-zSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The author reviews studies on education policy and initiatives on teacher recruitment, education, selection, retention, and development as well as measures of teacher performance across the world. She looks at Mexico’s case from a comparative perspective. The paper provides interesting insights into current trends and their implications for education policy and research.
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Torres, Carlos Alberto, and Daniel Schugurensky. “The Politics of Adult Education in Comparative Perspective: Models, Rationalities and Adult Education Policy Implementation in Canada, Mexico and Tanzania.” Comparative Education 30.2 (1994): 131–152.
DOI: 10.1080/0305006940300205Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This piece compares the perceptions of students, teachers, and policymakers on adult education policies, practices, and values in Mexico, Canada, and Tanzania. The article sheds light on policy planning, programs, and decisions to inform adult education models.
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Higher Education

The articles in this section provide an overview of the organization, structure, and reform of higher education in Mexico. These works facilitate an understanding of higher education policy and its connection to issues of governance, globalization, and management. The works selected provide a range of analyses of the current setup of higher education as well as providing historical context of the reforms (Rodríguez Gómez 1999). The works identify and contextualize the levels of education leading up to higher education. As an introduction to this topic, Rubio Oca 2006 and Cruz López and Cruz López 2008 provide a description of the current system of higher education in Mexico within its historical context, whereas de Vries and Colado 2004 and Gil Antón 2012 focus principally on the topic of management. Diaz-Barriga and Concepción Barrón 2014 analyzes recent changes in the higher education curriculum, drawing attention to the current emphasis on neoliberal discourse. Luengo 2003 identifies global trends in higher education and considers their impact upon Mexico’s system of higher education.

Cruz López, Yazmín, and Anna Karina Cruz López. “La educación superior en México: Tendencias y desafíos.” Avaliação: Revista da Avaliação da Educação Superior 13.2 (2008): 293–311.
DOI: 10.1590/S1414-40772008000200004Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors provide the historical context of the current system and its regulations. This article is particularly relevant for those wishing to acquire a general treatment of higher education in Mexico or as an introductory piece to obtain an understanding of the characteristics of the system and its current challenges.
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de Vries, Wietse, and Eduardo Ibarra Colado. “La gestión de la universidad.” Revista Mexicana de la Investigación Educativa 9.22 (2004): 575–584.
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This paper emphasizes the structure, management, and organization of Mexico’s higher education system. The authors respond to three central questions: how is the university organized? to what extent are internal and external factors shaping university management? and what kind of management should universities adopt to face the challenges?
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Diaz-Barriga, Frida, and María Concepción Barrón. “Curricular Changes in Higher Education in Mexico, 2002–2012.” Journal of Curriculum and Teaching 3.2 (2014): 58–68.
DOI: 10.5430/jct.v3n2p58Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors draw from an analysis of 1,241 documents published in Mexico between 2002 and 2012 to highlight changes that occurred in the higher education curriculum. They found a predominance of neoliberal discourse and a vertical approach in curricular reforms but also evidence of active participation by actors such as teachers and students.
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Gil Antón, Manuel. “La educación superior en México entre 1990 y 2010: Una conjetura para comprender su transformación.” Estudios Sociológicos 30.89 (2012): 549–566.
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The author highlights three factors that reshaped Mexican higher education: reduction of salaries in higher education institutions as a result of economic crises; constitutional reforms that allowed those institutions to establish the criteria for hiring, promoting, and maintaining faculty; and new compensation strategies focused on individual academic performance.
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Luengo, Enrique. “Tendencias de la educación superior en México: Una lectura desde la perspectiva de la complejidad.” Paper presented at the Seminario sobre Reformas de la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe, 5–6 June 2003, Bogotá, Colombia.
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This paper outlines global trends in higher education and their impact on Mexican education policy. Part 1 describes background and trends in higher education; Part 2 summarizes the proposals of UNESCO’s Global Higher Education Conference in 1998; Part 3 provides an assessment of educational reform through the lens of interdisciplinary thought.
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Rodríguez Gómez, Roberto. “The Modernization of Higher Education in Mexico.” Higher Education Policy 12.1 (1999): 53–67.
DOI: 10.1016/S0952-8733(98)00031-2Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The author provides a comprehensive description of higher education reform in Mexico. The report describes changes at both institutional and national levels as well as the administrative overhaul that was part of the reform.
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Rubio Oca, Julio. La política educativa y la educación superior en México, 1995–2006: Un balance. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2006.
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The book provides, first, an outline of the Mexican national context as well as a general description of higher education in Mexico. The following chapters describe the role of the market in higher education, research, innovation, and equity, and the book concludes with chapters on finance, governance, and the role of globalization in higher education.
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Migration

Demographic shifts have significantly changed the educational experience of migrant populations, both within Mexico and in the context of US classrooms. The topic of migration highlights the need to understand education in Mexico in the context of migration practices that involve the flow of symbolic and economic capital. The works selected are key contributions to the literature and broaden typical understandings of migration and educational experience. As a starting point, Zúñiga and Hamann 2008 provides a comprehensive overview on the subject of transnational migration and educational policy in the United States and Mexico. Other selections consider transnational approaches to education (see Smith 2006), binational efforts in educating students (Jensen and Sawyer 2013 and Zúñiga and Hamann 2008), as well as internal migration within Mexico and its effects on schooling trajectories (McKenzie and Rapoport 2006). Hamann, et al. 2006 illuminates some of the challenges Mexican students, who have previously attended school in the United States, face when they return to Mexico. Meza González and Pederzini Villarreal 2009 considers the relationship among migration, school attendance, and years of schooling for Mexican students. Mexican students are affected by migration directly as well as indirectly through parental migration; Nobles 2011 considers parental migration and the interaction of parents with their children who remain in Mexico.

Hamann, Edmund T., Victor Zúñiga, and Juan Sánchez García. “Pensando en Cynthia y su hermana: Educational Implications of United States–Mexico Transnationalism for Children.” Journal of Latinos and Education 5.4 (2006): 253–274.
DOI: 10.1207/s1532771xjle0504_3Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This paper draws from educational biographies of students in Mexico who have previously attended public school in the United States. The authors highlight some of the challenges faced by students who navigate and negotiate both educational systems and who fit neither a classic immigrant typology in the United States nor standard schooling trajectories in Mexico.
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Jensen, Bryant, and Adam Sawyer, eds. Regarding Educacion: Mexican-American Schooling, Immigration, and Bi-national Improvement. New York: Teachers College, 2013.
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This book provides a comprehensive and timely account of scholars in Mexico and the United States as they explore binational approaches to the schooling of children on both sides of the border. Authors of the chapters highlight binational efforts, strategies, and policies as they focus on the needs and assets of children of Mexican origin.
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McKenzie, David J., and Hillel Rapoport. Migration and Education Inequality in Rural Mexico. Buenos Aires, Argentina: INTAL/ITD, 2006.
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This paper examines the impact of migration on education inequality in rural Mexico. Using data from the 1997 national survey of demographic dynamics, the authors found no significant impact of migration on educational attainment of those twelve to fifteen years old, but a strong effect on migration on schooling levels of those sixteen to eighteen years old.
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Meza González, Liliana, and Carla Pederzini Villarreal. “Migración internacional y escolaridad como medios alternativos de movilidad social: El caso de México.” Estudios Económicos 1 (2009): 163–206.
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This paper explores the relationship between migration and remittances with school attendance and schooling trajectories for children aged between eleven and nineteen in rural Mexico. Results suggest that the migration experience has a negative impact on school attendance and overall years of schooling.
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Nobles, Jenna. “Parenting from Abroad: Migration, Nonresident Father Involvement, and Children’s Education in Mexico.” Journal of Marriage and Family 73.4 (2011): 729–746.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00842.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This paper uses nationally representative data from the 2005 Mexican Family Life Survey to explore the interaction between 739 children in Mexico and their nonresident fathers. The author highlights the difference between parental migration and parental divorce and shows how Mexican children have significantly more interaction with migrating fathers than they do with fathers who have left their homes.
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Smith, Robert C. Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
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Smith’s extensive research is required reading for anyone seeking to understand transnationalism and the experience of Mexican immigrants. The author showcases transnational flows between New York and Mexico and provides an important framework from which to understand transnational education processes.
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Zuñiga, Víctor. “Migrantes internacionales de México a Estados Unidos: Hacia la creación de políticas educativas binacionales.” In Migración México–Estados Unidos: Opciones de política. Edited by Rodolfo Tuirán, 300–327. Mexico City: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Secretaría de Gobernación, Consejo Nacional de Población, 2000.
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The goal of this paper is to highlight the varied conditions that facilitate the emergence of binational educational policy. The paper describes current policies as well as the needs and aspirations of migrant populations between Mexico and the United States.
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Zúñiga, Víctor, and Edmund T. Hamann. “Escuelas nacionales, alumnos transnacionales: La migración México/Estados Unidos como fenómeno escolar.” Estudios Sociológicos 26.76 (2008): 65–85.
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This paper provides a comprehensive review of transnational migration in the context of education policy through the work of scholars and education officials in Mexico. The authors provide an overview of the different programs and policies offered in both countries as well as the characteristics of the students and migratory patterns.
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Engagement, Democracy, and Comparative Frameworks

The works in this section outline issues of youth participation (Reimers and Cárdenas 2010), school-based management (Reimers and Cárdenas 2007), teacher education reform (Tatto and Vélez 1997), and family migration (Halpern-Manners 2011). They represent diverse methodological traditions and holistically mirror the multiple intersections from which education in Mexico has been studied. Foundational scholars in the field have conducted these studies. They are featured here as relevant contributions that complement other works across the entire selection.

Halpern-Manners, Andrew. “The Effect of Family Member Migration on Education and Work among Nonmigrant Youth in Mexico.” Demography 48.1 (2011): 73–99.
DOI: 10.1007/s13524-010-0010-3Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article supplements research on education and migration by expanding the scope of the analysis to include the interactions of nonmigrants with the labor market and to adjust for unobserved selectivity of the migrant family-member population. The author finds that youth in migrant-sending families are less likely to complete education leading up to postsecondary school.
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Reimers, Fernando, and Sergio Cárdenas. “Who Benefits from School-Based Management in Mexico?” Prospects 37.1 (2007): 37–56.
DOI: 10.1007/s11125-007-9015-0Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This study examines the affordances of school autonomy in a national system characterized by high levels of inequality in educational opportunity resulting from social and educational inequities.
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Reimers, Fernando, and Sergio Cárdenas. “Youth Civic Engagement in Mexico.” In Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement in Youth. Edited by Lonnie R. Sherrod, Judith Torney-Purta, and Constance A. Flanagan, 139–160. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2010.
DOI: 10.1002/9780470767603.ch6Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This interesting chapter discusses the participation of youth in the changing context of politics in Mexico. One of the main contributions of the chapter is its analysis of youth participation, how it takes place, and what it means to the democratic consolidation within the country and the Latin American region, which has also transitioned to democracy after decades under authoritarian governments.
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Tatto, María Teresa, and Eduardo Vélez. “Teacher Education Reform Initiatives: The Case of Mexico.” In Latin American Education: Comparative Perspectives. Edited by Carlos Alberto Torres and Adriana Puiggrós, 165–218. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1997.
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Part 1 provides a brief background of the reform movements followed in Part 2 by a conceptual framework that analyzes the structure and programs of teacher education. Part 3 discusses policy strategies that could increase the contribution of teacher education to students’ knowledge and skills. Finally, the article concludes with the results of a preliminary analysis of those reforms.