The goal of the second edition of the Latin American Dialogues of Doctoral Students in Education seminar was to promote networking and create a space for dialogue and collaboration among students and academics from Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
In addition, the virtual event was designed to create a forum for discussion that would highlight academic research in the field of education, the various analytical perspectives, and the methodologies used in doctoral dissertations, with the aim of fostering the exchange of ideas.
The seminar "Latin American Dialogues Among Doctoral Students in Education" took place as part of a partnership between the Doctor of Education program at the University of San Andrés (Argentina), the Doctor of Education programs at Diego Portales University and Alberto Hurtado University (Chile), and theDoctor of Education programat Universidad ORT Uruguay.
Education in Latin America: The Case of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay
On the opening day of the seminar, speakers from the three countries discussed the educational challenges facing Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in the current context. Mariano Alu and Mariano Montserrat represented Argentina.
Alu provided an overview of the beginnings and origins of the Argentine education system, sharing key details about primary and secondary education, the university system, and the relationship between the public and private sectors. At the same time, he delved into the unique aspect of Argentina’s system, which grants provinces the authority to set their own education policies—a situation that creates tensions, since “not all provinces have the capacity, infrastructure, and resources to manage the system.”
Monsterrat, for his part, focused on outlining the core problems of the Argentine education system and detailing the current policies of the Ministry of Education. While at the primary level, the challenge appears to be “focusing on educational quality, teaching and learning processes, and the disparities across provinces,” at the secondary level, graduation rates, internal mobility issues, high dropout rates, and students remaining in school beyond the typical age are the main problems to be addressed.
The panel “Education in Latin America: The Case of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay” also featured speakers from Chile. José Miguel Sanhueza presented the unique aspects of the Chilean case, which is often “overrepresented in the international literature.” In his words, this is because “it arouses a great deal of curiosity, as it is a paradigmatic example of an education system organized like a market,” characterized by a supply concentrated primarily in private hands, a decentralized public administration, school choice for families, and competition among those institutions to attract students.
With regard to early childhood education, Sanhueza highlighted its high degree of fragmentation. In primary and secondary education, he noted that coverage is not the problem; rather, the challenge lies in the fact that the system is highly segmented along economic and territorial lines: while there is an “elite private education system,” public education is “targeted at and relegated to the most vulnerable sectors of Chilean society.”
Regarding higher education, Angélica Bonilla—also a representative from Chile—stated that it is a sector with an entrance exam, which reflects “significant socioeconomic disparities in terms of outcomes.” During her presentation, she also discussed the constitutional process her country is undergoing, the main changes proposed in the area of education, and how the vision of education has evolved. While in the past it was “understood as a service and an individual investment,” she said that today the idea of education as a social right is “very much in vogue.”
“This event is based on the collaborative development of a multifaceted and polyphonic field of study, which helps us continue to strengthen inter-institutional ties,” said Gabriel Díaz Maggioli regarding the seminar.
Verónica Zorrilla de San Martín and Mauricio Arévalo represented Uruguay at the opening session. First, Zorrilla de San Martín outlined the general framework of the new educational transformation policy —which will be implemented in Uruguay starting in 2023—and described the key features of the documents currently being developed. For example, the National Curriculum Framework, which is strongly focused on the competencies students must acquire at different stages of their educational journey. Also, the Learning Progressions, an accompanying document that describes the levels of development of those competencies.
According to Zorrilla de San Martín, the proposal is for a single plan, developed centrally for all basic education, which “places the student at the center of the change.”
“In Uruguay, many teachers have been using the same curriculum, the same assessment methods, and the same teaching approaches for the past 15 years. And students, in general, are learning in different ways,” Arévalo stated. To conclude the seminar’s opening session, he discussed the case of the María Espínola schools, where a pilot program is underway to implement certain aspects of the educational transformation process. In particular, he elaborated on the approach of these full-time secondary schools, which feature a flexible, context-based curriculum that is student-centered and technology-focused.
“A doctoral dissertation is a different kind of research from the other projects one undertakes throughout life. In addition to generating knowledge, it aims to demonstrate that one is capable of earning the ticket to enter academia,” Wainerman said.
Myths About Doctoral Research
“Many colleagues say that ‘you have to fall in love with your thesis topic’ because you’ll be grappling with it for many years, but there’s no such thing as a topic you can fall in love with,” said Catalina Wainerman, professor emerita at the University of San Andrés.
During the workshop for students—titled “In the Thesis Phase: Cognitions, Emotions, Shared Reflection, and Some Myths,” which took place on Wednesday, October 12—he listed and sought to debunk some of the most common myths surrounding doctoral theses. “These are usually constraints we impose on ourselves and accept as natural laws, but they should be questioned,” he explained.
When it comes to the thesis topic, he compared it to romantic love: “You gradually fall in love with the topic and the problem as you spend more time with it; it can be a love that lasts or one that changes over time.”
Another myth he addressed was the idea that “reality will dictate what needs to be studied, as well as the research questions and objectives.” In his view, this is not true because researchers must “question reality” in order to select the objectives to be pursued.
In closing, he said that there is often a “polarization” between quantitative and qualitative approaches. However, in his view, certain real-world phenomena “are better suited to being analyzed from a quantitative perspective or from a qualitative perspective.”
“A learning experience”
On Thursday, October 13, and Friday, October 14,concurrent workshopsorganized by topic were held. During these sessions, students from various countries discussed the progress of their research with their peers, faculty members from different universities, and recent graduates of some of the programs.
According to Denise Vaillant, dean of the Institute of Education and academic director of the Doctor of Education Universidad ORT Uruguay at Universidad ORT Uruguay, it was an “excellent opportunity” to learn about and analyze the research presented from different perspectives and methodological approaches, but with one key distinction: peer exchange.
“In addition to serving as a collaborative space for sharing ongoing research—which we hope will influence policies, learning, and teaching in our respective countries—it is a unique opportunity for academic and professional growth, ”said Vaillant.
Dora Sajevicius, a doctoral student in education at Universidad ORT Uruguay, decided to participate in the Latin American Dialogues of Doctoral Students in Education seminar because her dissertation “requires learning and the collaborative construction of knowledge.” She therefore saw it as an interesting opportunity to share the current status of her project and receive feedback in order to “enrich the methodological design and data collection.”
In that regard, he emphasized that “constructive feedback from experts in the field—delivered with both professionalism and warmth—is of the utmost importance for the researcher’s intrinsic motivation and for continuing to tackle the challenges and opportunities presented by the research objective.”
“This activity has proven to be a learning experience that will help me continue to progress in the upward spiral of learning that the Doctorate in Education entails,” said Sajevicius.
“It was a relaxed setting that fostered very interesting academic discussions on topics of mutual interest. We were able to explore new ideas, innovative intellectual perspectives, and the creativity that each student’s personal touch brought to their presentation,” summarized Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, a faculty member at the ORT Institute of Education, who participated in one of the workshops as a moderator and commentator.
In his view, the seminar was a “very enriching experience for everyone.” For the students, it offered the chance to “gain hands-on experience with professional work, receive feedback from peers and experts, and refine their work before their thesis defense.” On the other hand, faculty and alumni benefited from “hearing multiple perspectives on the field at the regional level and seeing where current disciplinary development is headed.”
“I believe that these types of activities should be organized and promoted even more widely. The opportunity they provide students to refine their work before their defense (or to reflect on how they might approach disseminating their findings if they have already defended their work) is essential to improving the quality of regional research, ”concluded Díaz Maggioli.
Finally, Martín Rebour, associate academic coordinator of the Doctorate in Education and the Master’s in Education —who served as the event’s organizing partner on behalf of the Institute of Education at Universidad ORT Uruguayreflected on the importance of continuing to develop learning opportunities such as the “Latin American Dialogues of Doctoral Students in Education” seminar.
As he explained, in addition to the opportunity to “explore potential avenues for cooperation” and “join research projects currently being carried out by various teams,” the initiative also allowed participating universities to strengthen their ties with other academic groups.