Evaluación de objetivos PGIRHS año 2016 y diagnóstico actual

One of the themes that emerged from the analysis of documents and the fieldwork was the ideologies embedded in the curriculum, the text of HGSC for grade 12 and in the understandings of citizenship and CE. The three core ideologies identified for this study are conservative, liberal and neoliberal. Also, throughout the analysis, it was clear that several aspects of human capital theories have been shaping the curriculum. For this study, I consider ‘human capital’ as an ideology, and not only as ‘theory’, that influences the design of educational documents. There are also ideologies related to critical pedagogy which are referenced as well.

Conservative and neoliberal ideologies are more orientated to keeping the 'status-quo' and relations of power, domination and exploitation (Fairclough, 2003). Liberal ideologies aim at cultural transformation but respecting the political order, democracy and individual rights are a priority (Faulks, 2013). Human capital ideologies focus on work and economic well-being (Zepke, 2015). Critical pedagogy places importance on the experiences people live, experiences that contribute to cultural transformation (Levstik, 1996).

After the regime of Pinochet, a new context of democracy forced the education system to teach contents that had been ignored in previous years, such as dictatorship, democracy itself, violation of human rights and restructuring of the political and economic order. It has been argued that to decide what topics should be taught in secondary education, specifically in the subject History and Social Sciences, meant to achieve political consensus rather than to privilege pedagogical issues (Cox, 2011). One clear example of

this statement is that when the new democratic government of Patricio Aylwin (1990- 1994) started to run a substantial number of designated senators, all of them from the right wing or Pinochet supporters were members of the Chilean Parliament. This means there was a constant tension between different actors involved in the enactment of a new curriculum as it has to be approved by the Senate (Cox, 2011). Thus, the new version of Curriculum 1998 contains conservative ideologies aimed at promoting the transmission of traditions in a society and loyalty to the state. At the same time, other actors influenced this version, those aligned to liberal ideologies; this can be seen in the emphasis on democracy and exercise and respect for human rights, among others. The priority given by the Concertación government to human capital and economic development is shown throughout the curriculum for both primary and secondary schools:

Students should develop the relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes for the economic, social and political development of the country. (MINEDUC, 1998, 1)

General education constitutes the basis of the economic growth of the country. (MINEDUC, 1998, 10)

One of the contradictions seen in this version is that even when liberal ideologies are present in the discourse of what History and Social Sciences as a subject should include, the contents remain mostly conservative. According to the literature review, some examples that illustrate this fact are universal history, Christian tradition, national identity and those heroes who are a model of virtue and patriotism. In summary, the conservative ideology postulates that contents to be taught should be those for which there is consensus within Chilean society (Delannoy, 2000). There is always consensus on topics such as patriotism, national identity, national history, and respect for the homeland, for those who align to republican/conservative thinking.

The Curriculum Update 2009 shows a shift in its ideologies as a result of the actors that influenced its enactment and, in consequence, on the HGSC curriculum discourse itself (Gazmuri, 2008). The dominant ideology are liberal and critical, followed by conservative. One reason is that, as has been said, no political consensus was needed to enact this version but more participation of actors from the academic sphere. As is stated in this version of the curriculum, the sources from which reforms were designed are the work of the School Board for Review of University Selection Tests Education, the SIMCE Commission, the OECD, the 2004 Citizenship Education Commission, the Pedagogical

and Curricular Congress of Teachers, the Presidential Advisory Council for Quality Education and surveys for teachers (MINEDUC, 2009). In consequence, the discourse is more orientated to the need of understanding the influence of globalisation in the national context and to the need of individuals to be ready to face the challenges the new scenarios demand.

The Curriculum Proposal 2013 can be seen a mix of conservative, liberal and neoliberal ideologies. For example, contexts in HGSC are still focused on teaching the importance of the ‘republic’; liberal ideologies place emphasis on the individual living in a democratic society; neoliberal on ideas of competition between people, but this time presented as a desirable goal of competences for success in a globalised world in which entrepreneurship is needed. In the 1998 version, actors involved in its enactment tried to keep neoliberal ideologies out of the curriculum to maintain the stability of the democracy (Gazmuri, 2008). However, contents being taught did align to neoliberal ideologies, as mentioned in the previous example. This return to neoliberal ideology may be explained by the fact that no political consensus was needed for this proposal and some actors involved in the process (members of MINEDUC participating in different commissions) belonged to the right-wing government of Sebastian Piñera, historically aligned to neoliberal ideologies.

Regarding the contradictions of ideologies, the discourses present in the definitions and objectives of HGSC in the curriculum are significantly different from each other but the contents remain similar, only the sequence in which they are taught has changed. One example is that the topics in the Curriculum 1998 are related to the Chilean context and its different regions are part of the contents to be taught to students in grade 9; these contents appear compulsory for students in grade 12 in Update 2009. It means that only the organisation of topics has changed but not the contents students learn. The main reason to explain this issue is that each curriculum is built upon the previous version, and so retains several sections the same way.

In the 1998 version, the update 2009 and proposal 2013, emphasis is on the history of Chile and Occident, the chronological order of events, and free thinking and interpretation, mainly because each version states that it is important to create a new one, keeping the base the previous curriculum has left, and building new concepts and contents that respect the work done before (MINEDUC, 2009, 1; MINEDUC, 2013, 1). Regarding other differences between the versions of the curriculum being analysed, the influence of

conservative ideologies led to keeping contents of the ‘Republic’ as a primary emphasis in the 1998 version; but this disappears from the updates of 2009 and 2013. From the analysis, it can be stated that Update 2009 tries to incorporate more content on democracy and the knowledge society, topics more related to liberal ideologies. It is interesting that the Proposal 2013 focuses on competences in a globalised world, which has to do with a liberal and cosmopolitan vision of the current scenario but, at the same time, it goes back to the importance of political and institutional order. Possible explanations to these new emphases and also the return to ideas from the Curriculum 1998 might be the sources used to enact the Curriculum Proposal 2013. The document clearly outlines the actors involved in its design and the sources (international studies in education). These studies, such as the ICCS, highlight the importance of the development of competences in students in the plural, global scenario. As mentioned, there have been student mobilisations since 2006, situations that obviously defy the public order. This might be an explanation for referencing respect for institutional order in the country.

5.4 Objectives and contents within the Curriculum 1998, Curriculum Update 2009