This presentation delves into Mexico's educational structure, addressing issues and policies implemented to help increase access to an education.

1. Case Study:
Education in
Mexico
Juana Reyes
EDU6450
Globalization of Education
Winter 2018

2. Mexico’s Educational Structure
Basic Education (Educación Basica)
• Preschool, Ages 3-6
• Primary Education, Grades 1-6
• Lower Secondary Education, Grades 7-9
Upper Secondary (Educación Média Superior) Grades 10- 12
• Profesional Técnico
• Bachillerato
Educación Superior
• Técnico Superior
• Normal Licenciatura
• Licenciatura Universitaria y Tecnológica
Graduate (Posgrado)
(Magaziner and Monroy, 2016)
(Students at Nicolas Guillen elementary school, 2017)

3. Issues in Education
Increased student enrollment over the past decades.
• In 1950, 3.25 million students were enrolled compared to 28.22 million students in 2000.
• In 2013-2014, 9% of students ages 13-15 were enrolled in private lower-secondary institutions compared to 91% enrolled
in public institutions.
A need to ensure academic quality.
• No regional accreditation bodies.
• The Official Validity of Studies: Recognition of Official Validity of Studies
Lack of uniform credit system that can be used across institutions of higher education.
• Three major credit systems co-exist (Magaziner and Monroy, 2016).
• Acuredos de Tepic of 1972: 15 hours of instruction = 2 credits and 15 hours of lab = 1 credit.
• Acuerdos SEP 279 and 286 of 2000: establishes guidelines for higher education
• SATCA of 2007: 15-16 hours of instructions= 1 credit
(Magaziner and Monroy, 2016

4. A Broken Education System Plagued by
Corruption and Decentralization
• Under Pena Nieto’s presidency it was discovered that ten of thousands of salaries were being paid
illegally to union workers, administrators, dead, retired and ghost teachers.
• Access to education in Mexico is universal due to public institutions yet only 53% of students age
15-19 were enrolled in school and over 22% of students where neither employed, participating in
training or in education (OECD, 2014).
• Public expenditure per student is low in primary and secondary educations, teachers teach long
hours, and classes contain over 28 students per teacher, with the subjects that are spent more time
on being reading, writing, and mathematics (García and Gutiérrez, 2016).
• 23% of teachers in Mexico have fixed-term contracts and 73% permanent contracts which is below
the 83% average (OECD, 2014).

5. Improving Education Through Reforms
Since 1980 the following reforms have been instituted to eliminate the decentralization and corruption of
Mexico's education system:
• Standardized national admissions and exit examinations
• Increased requirements for mandatory schooling- 12 yrs. of education are now compulsory
beginning 2013 (Magaziner and Monroy, 2016 ).
• Increased educational access among impoverished and rural populations ( García and Gutiérrez,
2016).
• Provided greater fiscal and curricular autonomy to schools
• Curricular reforms- Increase the amount of English classes from elementary to high school
(Magaziner and Monroy, 2016 ).
• In 2013, the National Institute for Assessment of Education was established (Magaziner and
Monroy, 2016 ).

6. Why does Mexico’s education system matter to the United
States?
• The quality of education that students receive in Mexico impacts the
relationships that the U.S and Mexico can have as neighbors (Wayne & Alcocer,
2017).
• Mexico ranks 10th in the number of Mexican students that study in the U.S.
• In 2014-2015, 4, 712 American students studied in Mexico (Wayne & Alcocer, 2017).
• Mexico and the U.S are interconnected manufactory with good and services
crossing borders daily.
• An increase in students from Mexico studying in then United States means more
economic partnerships and government funding from Mexico's part.

7. References
• García, J., & Gutiérrez, S. (2016, July 22). Mexico presents education reform despite teacher opposition.
Retrieved from https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/07/22/inenglish/1469187096_413824.html
• Lakhani, N. (2017, August 15). 'The help never lasts': Why has Mexico's education revolution failed?
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/aug/15/the-help-never-lasts-why-has-
mexicos-education-revolution-failed
• Magaziner, J., & Monroy, C. (2017, September 22). Education in Mexico . Retrieved from
https://wenr.wes.org/2016/08/education-in-mexico
• Mexico Ranks Among the World's Best Countries. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/mexico
• OECD. (2014). Education At a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from
http://www.oecd.org/education/Mexico-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf

8. References continued….
• Sistema de Asignación y Transferencia de Créditos Académicos. (2007). Retrieved from
http://www.uacj.mx/sa/ie/Documents/SATCA/SATCAExtenso.pdf
• Staff, F. (2017, August 30). México tiene 53.4 millones de pobres, el 43.6% de su población. Retrieved
from https://www.forbes.com.mx/mexico-tiene-53-4-millones-de-pobres/
• [Students at Nicolas Guillen elementary school]. (2017, March 23). Retrieved from
http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2017/03/mexico-wants-all-its-kids-to-speak-english-as-well-as-
spanish-in-20-years/
• Wayne, E. A., & Alcocer, S. M. (2017, May 29). The US and Mexico: Education and understanding.
Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/the-us-and-mexico-education-and-understanding-76686