SIT Study Abroad Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change
Study educational policies and pedagogies in Chile and Argentina and explore the relationship between education, society, and diversity in both countries.
WHY STUDY EDUCATION IN CHILE?
With its large indigenous and immigrant population and strong contrasts between urban and rural areas, Chile offers the opportunity to study a variety of educational models. You will spend time in diverse schools throughout the country—including public, private, voucher, underprivileged, coed, bilingual and intercultural institutions—to understand forces that affect educational policies and ideologies. Excursions to different regions of the country will deepen your understanding of the complex cultural and socioeconomic realities that impact education systems.
You will also spend two weeks in Argentina, which will provide the opportunity to compare educational systems. You will see how teachers and students in Argentina and Chile are trying to make education available to vulnerable populations, including immigrants and students with disabilities.
You will also develop the formal and informal Spanish language skills to discuss and research education issues and policy through classroom learning, cultural immersion, homestays, and excursions.
Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on the program highlights and details of coursework, educational excursions, and housing.
MONEY MATTERS
SIT is an all-inclusively priced study abroad program – including academics costs, excursions, accommodations and meals, airport transfers, and health insurance. Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor and read the website for more specific information.
SCHOLARSHIPS
SIT has awarded an average of over $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students in the past three years. All scholarships and grants are need-based. Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.
CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD
· Visit our website: studyabroad.sit.edu
· Request more information or email us: studyabroad@sit.edu
· Call an admissions counselor: 888-272-7881
· Contact a former student.
· Apply to SIT
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 Education and Social Change
Current Program Information
As migration and demographic shifts are changing the cultural composition of US society and schools, it is imperative that tomorrow's educators, policy makers and social activists gain an understanding of Hispanic cultures and the role of education in promoting social change. Based in the self-declared international educational capital of Santiago, Chile with an extended excursion to Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as Southern Chile, these two nations provide an ideal window upon which to view how educational politics, approaches and strategies influence, and are influenced by, society. Both countries have long been renowned for their high educational levels, sustained governmental engagement in educational policymaking and implementation and solid cadre of committed educators and intellectuals, albeit they have each pursued different policy approaches towards education in recent decades. Various types of innovative approaches to educational delivery have been the hallmark of both nations' school systems and non-formal instructional networks, ranging the gamut from privatization to popular educational programs of various types.
These days, the forces of globalization, on the one hand, and local and ethnic voices, on the other, are presenting new challenges, especially in regards to meeting the needs of marginal and/or disenfranchised sectors of the population. The Spring 2006 massive wave of protests in Chile regarding the nation's educational system unexpectedly mobilized nearly a million people, underscoring the importance of education for the Chilean populace as well as the controversy surrounding educational funding, content and delivery. During the course of the program, participants will learn more about the issues and passions surrounding education and engage in topics such as education and equity, popular education, intercultural education, and education and human rights. Extended visits to Buenos Aires, Argentina and a Mapuche community in Southern Chile provide opportunities to compare differing educational policies and approaches. Engagement at local primary and secondary schools shed light on the actual educational realities for the nations' citizens. |
