https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VARh7is5PHs
With the aim of exploring the future of education, Dr. Denise Vaillant was one of the featured guests on the “Mirada Clara” series, broadcast on Channel 4. During the program, the dean of the Institute of Education at Universidad ORT Uruguay addressed four main topics: the education of the future, how to tackle current educational challenges, the use of technology, and the role of training.
The Future of Education in Uruguay
“What grade would you give the Uruguayan education system?” journalist Jaime Clara asked Vaillant. Although she noted that “it’s hard to give it a grade,” she added that if one wants to know what Uruguay will be like 20 or 30 years from now, it is “necessary to look at the education system we have today.”
Although he noted that the challenges “are significant,” he also remained optimistic. “If we make decisions at the level of society as a whole, we have the opportunity to envision a better Uruguay than the one we have today,” he said, while cautioning that this requires long-term, systemic policies that are not limited to a single administration.
The future is increasingly defined by the importance of interpersonal skills—the very things that machines and artificial intelligence cannot do.
How to Address Educational Challenges
“In reality, unfortunately, education is not the top priority in our country or in Latin America,” Vaillant said. There is “ample evidence” showing that it is a key pathway to social mobility and the development of citizenship, but it ranks“fourth or fifth” on the list of concerns, according to surveys.
So, how can we effectively address educational challenges? One recommendation was to look at what other places in the region or around the world have done to overcome similar or even more difficult situations. “We need to measure ourselves against the best, but also against other Latin American countries that have succeeded,” he added.
From Vaillant’s perspective, the education system often struggles with change: “Sometimes it feels like it operates at three speeds: slow, very slow, and extremely slow—while society moves at a different pace.” Therefore, she believes it is crucialto “endow education systems with a flexibility they currently lack.”
“Sometimes we need to take a broader view. Society as a whole—politicians, academics, and labor leaders—needs to start with an informed dialogue. In other words, we need to have the facts and recognize that there are no ready-made solutions, but that the ingredients for a good solution are already there,” he concluded.
The use of technology
Teachers are familiar with technology; however, according to the dean of the Institute of Education, the challenge lies in using it in a pedagogically meaningful way, so that it serves as a tool to facilitate learning and motivate students.
The issue is whether or not many teachers use technology.
And while, as he noted, “progress has been made in Uruguay,” there is still “much to be done.” “Who needs to make the next move?” asked Jaime Clara. “I hope that next step will soon become a reality—it’s a dream of mine—and it involves understanding that education is everyone’s responsibility: it involves decision-makers, technical teams, families, administrative and supervisory teams, and the teachers themselves,” Vaillant replied.
The role of training
“There is no clear understanding of what it means to train teachers,”stated Vaillant, who noted that experiences as students have a profound impact on teaching practice. As he explained, what a teacher does in the classroom—for example, when enforcing discipline—is not so much what they learn from educational textbooks, but rather is shaped by their own experiences as students.
In addition, the dean of the Institute of Education noted that teacher training should not only focus on imparting theoretical knowledge, but also on developing essential classroom skills. For example, there should be a focus on the ability to show empathy and to guide student learning —skills that do not arise “spontaneously” and should therefore be included in the curriculum.
“You have to teach knowledge that leads to new knowledge and, above all, incorporate soft skills into training, ”he summarized.