Neoliberalism And Education In The Americas Unknown - 1999

From the publisher

In Neoliberalism and Education in the Americas, Adriana Puiggros illuminates the process by which the borders separating educators in the United States and Latin America have been erased due to imperialist policies that affect democratic pedagogy in both parts of the Americas. Puiggros takes stock of the critical work on educational relations between the United States and Latin America, covering the evolution of Latin American pedagogical discussion in recent decades. She argues that the association of education with progress, the cornerstone of the U.S. educational system, takes on a different meaning when exported to Latin America as a slogan. Limitless progress, an aim typical of advanced capitalism, becomes, in developing countries, an exhortation toward an unattainable goal: a mirror reflection of U.S. society.The book analyzes those foreign policies which most affect education in Latin America, from the U.S. Alliance for Progress to the neoconservative policies now being imposed by international bodies. The concentration of educational power on a world scale has consequences which are described here from a Latin American point of view. Puiggros concludes with an analysis of the "organic crisis" of educational systems in the region. She examines the historical development of these systems prior to the current crisis and presents a working typology. Finally, she offers a classification of these educational systems as affected by the present crisis, and suggests their prospects for the future.The book has enjoyed a broad audience in Latin America and is presented here in a version specially prepared for English-speaking readers.

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