Democratization and Reflexive Policy Implementation Reforms: The Case of Mexican Secondary Education

• In Event: The case of education in Mexico through empirical research

Proposal

In 2006, Mexico launched an ambitious reform of its national lower secondary education program (The second cycle of compulsory “basic education,” consisting of Years 1-3 following 6 years of primary school.) Two unprecedented components of the program—The Monitor, and the Consultative Councils--sought to introduce important new forms of democratic participation and reflection to the policy implementation process.
This paper first introduces and discusses the operation of each of these components in the context of a policy process marked by the discourse of “democratization.” What I have imperfectly translated as “The Monitor,” the Seguimiento (follow-up, tracking, monitoring) of the reform became institutionalized as a collaborative exercise in data gathering in order to inform subsequent modifications and adaptations of the reform. A national coordinating team collaborated with the “technical teams” from each of the 32 federal entities to systematically gather and publish data on the federal ministry of education’s website. Much of this data was based on qualitative interviews and observations in classrooms, and much of it was quite critical of the government’s reform strategies.
Defined by each required subject of the curriculum (e.g., Mathematics, Spanish Language, Civic Education), The 11 “Inter-Institutional Consultative Councils” consisted of diverse groups of “experts” invited by the national ministry of education to meet on a regular basis, assess data and unfolding developments, and provide recommendations for further curricular or pedagogical reform. Such Councils were also unprecedented in their reflexive openness and collaboration; those invited to participate included academics, members of non-governmental organizations, and representatives from other instances of federal government.
Both the Monitor and the Councils were conceived as part of a reflexive implementation strategy. They were designed to maximize “voice” and input from diverse sectors of society, government, and the school system, from students and teachers to civil society “stakeholders.” They were meant to enable important adjustments to curriculum and pedagogical training over the 3 years of the program’s roll-out and beyond. Yet by 2009, both of these strategies had been unceremoniously terminated.
Based on first-hand observations of trainings and coordinating meetings of the Monitor and one of the Councils (Civic Education), as well as extensive interviews with those involved in them (2007-08), this paper recovers and brings to light the promising ethos and impetus that gave rise to them. The paper also examines the potential and legacy of these novel implementation reforms in the light of subsequent reforms of secondary education in Mexico to the present day.

Author

• Bradley Levinson, Indiana University - Bloomington