The ‘New Educational Model’: More Promises Than Results? Little Effort toward Lifelong Learning in Mexican Higher Education

In Mexico there is no policy of lifelong learning; however, the idea of focusing on students and learning – especially on appropriate knowledge-acquisition skills at various points in one's life – is spreading through post-secondary education. Since about ten years ago, institutions of higher l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of adult and continuing education Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 168 - 189
Main Author Alvarez-Mendiola, German
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.11.2008
Subjects
Accreditation (Institutions)
Continuing Education
Distance Education
Educational Change
Educational Development
Educational Policy
Educational Practices
Faculty Development
Faculty Recruitment
Foreign Countries
Graduation Rate
Higher Education
Instructional Innovation
Lifelong Learning
Program Evaluation
Teaching Methods
Tutoring
Mexico
Mexico
higher education
educational reform
lifelong learning policies
new educational models
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Summary:In Mexico there is no policy of lifelong learning; however, the idea of focusing on students and learning – especially on appropriate knowledge-acquisition skills at various points in one's life – is spreading through post-secondary education. Since about ten years ago, institutions of higher learning, mostly universities, have initiated reforms – dubbed the ‘new educational model’ – which were designed to combine professional specialisation with general training. Additionally, this model aimed to provide common formative areas, establish counselling programmes, and open free complementary courses. Theoretically, this model prepares capable individuals to face the challenges that a knowledge-based economy and society require: to keep continually informed, to find and solve problems, to get or generate employment, and to promote a freer society with plenty of possibilities for culture and leisure. Despite the efforts invested in these reforms, little is known of their results. Using available new information, this paper shows that the new model has not produced the desired results, but rather has had unintended consequences. The improvement in some performance indicators, such as graduation rates, seems to be related more to changes in the requirements to obtain the undergraduate degree than to the impact of the new educational model.
ISSN:1477-9714
1479-7194
DOI:10.7227/JACE.14.2.5