System Reform at the Intermediate Level of Public Education in Chile: Year 1 Implementation

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The government of Chile passed legislation in 2017 mandating de-municipalization of the public school sector (345 municipal agencies) and the creation of 70 Servicios Locales de Educación Pública (SLEPs) between 2018 and 2025. This symposium presents a Year 1 study of the first four SLEPs. Data included policy, planning and resource documents; interviews with system actors at national and regional levels; interviews with SLEP and municipal authorities and a sample of principals; focus groups with teachers and parents; and a survey of SLEP principals. The symposium addresses the reform context, the research design and findings, comparisons to similar phenomena internationally (school district consolidation, corporate mergers, institutional reform), and includes an external commentary on the reform, the findings and their significance.

Sub Unit

• SIG-International Studies

Chair

• Cristian Bellei, Universidad de Chile

Discussant

• Julie A. Marsh, University of Southern California

Papers

• Contextual Background and Rationale for the Nueva Educación Pública - Juan Pablo Valenzuela, Universidad de Chile

• Year 1 Implementation: Challenges for Local Professional Capacity and Support - Mario Uribe Briceno, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso

• International Comparisons: District Consolidation, Corporate Mergers, Institutional Reform - Stephen E. Anderson, University of Toronto; Gisele Cuglievan Mindreau, University of Toronto