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Guatemala

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Original Re.ViCa entry by Paul Bacsich with desk research by Iris Velasquez Noguera

For entities in Guatemala see Category:Guatemala


Partners situated in Guatemala

None.

Guatemala in a nutshell

Guatemala (Republic of Guatemala;Spanish: República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.

Source: CIA World Factbook

Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population of 14 million.

Its capital is Guatemala City.

Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.

Guatemala is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guatemala is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (departamentos) and sub-divided into about 332 municipalities (municipios).

The departments include:

  1. Alta Verapaz
  2. Baja Verapaz
  3. Chimaltenango
  4. Chiquimula
  5. Petén
  6. El Progreso
  7. El Quiché
  8. Escuintla
  9. Guatemala
  10. Huehuetenango
  11. Izabal
  1. Jalapa
  2. Jutiapa
  3. Quetzaltenango
  4. Retalhuleu
  5. Sacatepéquez
  6. San Marcos
  7. Santa Rosa
  8. Sololá
  9. Suchitepéquez
  10. Totonicapán
  11. Zacapa

Guatemala is heavily centralized. Transportation, communications, business, politics, and the most relevant urban activity takes place in Guatemala City. There is only one highway that traverses the greater communities of the country. Some coastal towns are accessible only through the coast by boats.

Guatemala City has about 2 million inhabitants within the city limits and more than 5 million within in the urban area. This is a significant percentage of the population

According to the CIA World Factbook, Guatemala's GDP per capita is US$5,000; however, this developing country still faces many social problems and is among the 10 poorest countries in Latin America. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with approximately 29% of the population living below the poverty line and just over 400,000 (3.2%) unemployed. The World Bank considers three quarters of the population of Guatemala to be living in poverty.

Remittances from Guatemalans who fled to the United States during the civil war now constitute the largest single source of foreign income (more than the combined value of exports and tourism).

In last years the exporter sector of nontraditional products has grown dynamically representing more than 53 percent of global exports. Some of the main products for export are fruits, vegetables, flowers, handicrafts, cloths and others


Sources:


Guatemala education policy

In 1997, the gross primary enrollment rate was 88.1 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 73.5 percent. However, only 30 percent of students who begin primary school in Guatemala complete this level of education.

According to the CIA World Factbook, only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate. Guatemala has many rural communities and many rural students walk a substantial distance to a primary school, and travel a longer distance to attend middle school and high school.

Although Spanish is the official language spoken in Guatemala, not all of its citizens are fluent in Spanish. Spoken among the nation's high Indian population are over 20 indigenous Mayan Indian languages, including K'iche', Kakchiquel, K'ekchi, Mam, and Quiche, which are used primarily in the rural areas of the country. In fact, only 60 percent of Guatemala's population speaks Spanish; the remaining 40 percent speak indigenous Mayan languages. These dialects are spoken in many of the country's rural schools. One of Guatemala's educational goals is to become uni-lingual, which means that ideally all Guatemalans would be able to speak Spanish. However, students who complete all 6 years of primary school and all 5 years of secondary may have as many as 11 years of English instruction, a trend which began around the time of Guatemala's break from dictatorship in the late 1940s. Since that time, school children, at least in the larger cities, may have also received training in other languages, especially French, German, and Italian.

Efforts have been and are made to lower the number of illiteracy by the government and by other organisations and institutions such as the World Bank for instance, through the PRONADE project: "The World Bank has been involved in the education sector in Guatemala for more than a decade. It has supported efforts to increase the number of children in primary schools and improve the quality of education in rural areas, largely through the PRONADE program of community-led schools and multi-grade, bilingual, and intercultural education."

Since 2004, as part of a national development initiative, the Ministerio de Educación (MINEDUC) or Ministry of Education in Guatemala has embarked on a journey of comprehensive education reform with a goal to significantly raise the caliber of learning among Guatemala’s 2.7 million students. In pursuit of this vision, the MOE seeks to pair every student with a PC by 2012 in order to foster twenty-first century thinking and learning skills. To succeed, teachers must be personally invested in a technology-led learning experience. Thus, from the outset, the Guatemala MOE recognized that providing teachers with access to computers and digital skills is a necessary condition for educational reform to take root.

Standardized testing for students is nonexistent.


Sources:


Councils or Rectors Associations:

  1. The Council of Private Higher Education (Guatemala) (Consejo de la Enseñanza Privada Superior (CEPS))
  2. The Assembly of Presidents of Professional Schools of Guatemala (Asamblea de Presidentes de los Colegios Profesionales de Guatemala)


Schools in Guatemala

In 2005, the Ministerio de Educación (MINEDUC) or Ministry of Education, decided to decentralize the educational system. In Totonicapán, individual schools were to become responsible for all aspects of education within the community. This change assumed that if local citizens are financially and personally invested in the formation of curriculum and overall educational quality of education for their community, then the level of achievement and commitment to education in local communities will rise. However, for decentralization to be effective, communities must have strong educational leaders in the community; transparency in decision making; a commitment to achieving results; and consistent, adequate funding for educational expenses. (John Edwards, Education and Poverty in Guatemala, 2002, Tulane University)

The public education system in Guatemala consists of:

  1. primary education: six years
  2. secondary education: six years of which
    1. middle school: 3 years covering a wide variety of subjects
    2. high school: 3 years where students specialize in a vocation or area of study

The highest level of education is the college level, although most students choose to work after 6th grade and discontinue formal education.

Source We Improve Tomorrow-Providing Educational Opportunities for Mayan Children > Education in Guatemala

Higher education

Universities in Guatemala

The country has 9 private ones and only one public university: Universidad ellos San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) or the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. It was officially declared a university on January 31, 1676 by royal command of King Charles II of Spain, making it one of the oldest universities in Latin America.


PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

  1. Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) (Spanish)


PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

  1. Universidad Rafael Landívar (URL) (Spanish)
  2. UNIVERSIDAD DEL VALLE DE GUATEMALA (UVG) (Spanish) - (English)
  3. Universidad Mariano Gálvez (UMG) (Spanish)
  4. Universidad Francisco Marroquín (UFM) (Spanish)
  5. Universidad Rural de Guatemala (URURAL) (Spanish)
  6. Universidad del Istmo (UNIS) (Spanish)
  7. Universidad Panamericana (UPANA) (Spanish)
  8. Universidad Mesoamericana (UMES) (Spanish)
  9. Universidad Galileo
  10. Universidad San Pablo de Guatemala (USPG) (Spanish)


Sources:


Education reform

Administration and finance

Generally, for private Universities the cost is not very high compared to the standards in other countries - the monthly tuition in a private university can vary from 300 quetzals (24 euros) to 800 quetzals (64.31 euros), depending on the university and the field of study.

Source:


Quality assurance

The ministry that is responsible for education in Guatemala is the Ministry of Education.

Universidad ellos San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) or the University of San Carlos de Guatemala is the only state university and so is the sole lead, organize and develop higher education in the state and the state university professional education and dissemination of culture in all its manifestations.

The University of San Carlos de Guatemala, according to the Constitution, Article 87 ... “is the sole authority to resolve the incorporation of foreign universities and professionals to determine the prerequisites for that purpose to be filled, and for recognizing degrees and diplomas university status protected by international treaties”.

Source: http://www.usac.edu.gt (Spanish), Universidad ellos San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC)


Information society

In schools, the lack of adequate educational technology remains a problem for the Guatemalan classroom, especially in the mountainous, rural areas. Absence of funding, limited technical access, and lack of operator expertise prevent all schools from being equipped with state-of-the-art computers and distance learning technology. However, these commodities are making their entrance into the universities, particularly the University of San Carlos, which boasts a fully updated website, student access to the Internet, and other interactive features. Students who can afford the required technology and tuition may participate in online education courses offered outside of the country

Source: State University.com > Guatemala - Educational System - overview


For information on Teacher training see "Fulbright scholar envisions connection with Adams State and Guatemala (01-13-09)": http://www.adams.edu/news/jan0909/jan0909.php

Towards the information society

Information society strategy

Virtual initiatives

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

Universidad San Pablo de Guatemala (USPG) (San Pablo University of Guatemala): "the methods of teaching and learning at the University are based on modern educational systems, innovative, creative and participatory, and fully integrated into the use of information and communication technologies and especially the use of tools based on Web 2.0 technologies that enable share information and knowledge production between teacher and students and among students themselves." Its moodle platform is here: http://ecampus.uspg.edu.gt/ (Spanish)


Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

For almost forty years, Universidad del Valle has led the way in designing instruction, research, and outreach to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for Guatemala’s economic, cultural and scientific growth. The Interactive Technology Center is a modern multimedia room designed for carrying out the following activities:

  • Transmission and reception of video conferencing
  • Transmission and reception of audio conferences
  • Filming of courses, conferences and projects

The Interactive Technology Center aims to promote the integration of ICT in the educational process through computer-assisted learning and electronic communications. UVG also works with the Open Source LMS SAKAI, its SAKAI portal is at https://www.uvg.edu.gt/portal/.

Interesting Programmes

Universidad Galileo or Galileo University has a strong focus on technology and learning, and so it needed a leading web-based technology for its local and distance learners. Since 1998, Galileo has been developing distance learning programs and physical class e-learning support. At first sight it implements videoconferencing, .LRN platform and a wiki for its students plus it awards certifications in e-learning. Its Faculty of Computer & Communication Sciences (Facultad Ingeniería de Sistemas Informática y Ciencias de la Computación (FISICC)) offers a distance education program: IDEAIts web site is http://www.galileo.edu/ - but see also http://dotlrn.org/users/galileo/


Universidad Francisco Marroquín or Francisco Marroquín University also offers instruction via the distance learning program, referred to by its acronym: IDEA. In 1998, the distance learning program had more than 10,000 students enrolled. This, according to AllExperts.com, Wikipedia, but not confirmed on the UFM web site itself. It has a video portal with lectures: http://newmedia.ufm.edu/


Distance learning

Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences Campus Guatemala (FLACSO Guatemala) is an international and regional autonomous, created in 1957 by initiative of UNESCO and some governments in the region. Its main objective is to promote social sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean.


Education Without Borders, Distance Education Center: Education Without Borders is a knowledge management company with high moral and ethical principles, which seeks to meet the needs of knowledge, training, talent training, academic education and research for the development of society in its entirety. Its services are thesis, graduates, doctorates, free courses, internet-intranet.


Re.ViCa Case-study

None.


Lessons learnt

References

State University.com > Guatemala - Educational System - overview


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For OER policies and projects in Guatemala see Guatemala/OER

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