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The document, prepared by a commission of experts from CRUCH universities over more than a year, seeks to contribute to public policy processes on issues related to the attraction, training and retention of teachers, as well as to highlight the importance of teaching work at the national level.
This Thursday, March 21st, at 3:30 PM at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, an event will be held to formally present the recommendations to the Ministry of Education. The event, which will include the participation of authorities and specialists in the field of education, will be led by the Rector of the PUC, Ignacio Sánchez; the Rector of the UMCE, Elisa Araya; the Rector of the PUCV, Nelson Vásquez; and the Rector and Executive Vice President of the CRUCH, Emilio Rodríguez.
In recent years, a decrease in the number of students enrolled in pedagogy degrees has been observed, generating widespread concern among various organizations and key actors in the country, as in the near future there would be a shortage of teachers to meet the educational needs of the school system in the different regions of the country.
In this scenario, the plenary session of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) adopted the agreement to constitute a commission of experts to make a diagnosis and proposals for the strengthening of pedagogies. The commission of the same name, created in September 2022, was mandated to prepare a report with recommendations to contribute to public policy processes regarding issues related to attracting, training, and retaining teachers. The commission was led by Nelson Vázquez, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, and Elisa Araya, Rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, and included representatives from 29 CRUCH universities.
The result of more than a year of work was the report “Teaching Changes Lives. Proposals from the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities for the strengthening of Initial and Continuous Teacher Training in universities and the educational system,” which will be presented this Thursday, March 21, at 3:30 p.m. in the José Irarrázaval Auditorium at the Main Building of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
The document seeks to contribute to public policy processes on issues related to the attraction, training and retention of teachers, as well as to highlight the importance of the teaching profession at the national level.
“Participating significantly in the design and implementation of public policies in higher education responds to one of our essential functions as an institution and one of the main strategic axes of CRUCH with a view to 2030. Accordingly, this proposal aims to be a contribution to the country, highlighting the teaching work, essential for the development of society as a whole,” says Angélica Bosch, general secretary of CRUCH.
Presentation of the report
The presentation of the report will be attended by important authorities and specialists in the field of education. At the event, the Rector of the Catholic University (UC), Ignacio Sánchez, will welcome attendees and highlight the report's importance. Following this, the Rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE), Elisa Araya, will discuss the commission's origins and development, while the Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), Nelson Vásquez, will present the document's main findings. Finally, the Executive Vice President of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) and Rector of the University of Tarapacá, Emilio Rodríguez, will address the report's implications for public policy and the Council's role.
A panel of experts from the CRUCH Pedagogy Strengthening Commission will also take place, featuring Diana Veneros, Director General of Teaching at the Metropolitan Technological University from 2019 to May 2023; Patricia Castillo, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the Catholic University of the North; Fancy Castro, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bío Bío; and Iván Salinas, professor at the University of Chile. The panel will be moderated by Carmen Montecinos, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Executive Director of the Center for Educational Leaders, and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV).
It is worth noting that the presentation of the report is a particularly relevant milestone for CRUCH, which in 2024 commemorates 70 years of history since its creation by law in 1954.
Structure and content
The document considers five principles related to Initial and Continuing Teacher Training (FICD): commitment to quality; national priority; specialized knowledge; authentically associative task and territorial equity in the provision of teachers.
These principles are present in the strategic objectives of the report, which respond both to the concerted efforts of the universities, framed within the mission of CRUCH, and to actions that can be developed jointly with the Ministry of Education, regional governments and other public bodies.
The report outlines six strategic objectives: to foster opportunities for developing adaptive, professional, and technical skills in future generations of teachers and practicing teachers; to develop innovative, bidirectional strategies and actions for engagement with the local community; to ensure a funding model that enables institutions to develop high-quality Initial Teacher Training; to develop and implement strategies and actions to attract, support, and retain teachers; to create conditions for establishing long-term partnerships between CRUCH institutions and the education system to develop collaborative research; and to establish strategic alliances to address the challenges of quality continuing education.
To meet these objectives, the report identifies 18 critical issues and makes 24 recommendations.
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