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1. The Issue
Costa Rica is one of the many developing countries where distance education is playing an increasing role in educating not only rural populations, but urban populations, as well. The most well-known distance education facility in Costa Rica is UNED (La Universidad Estatal a Distancia). The Costa Rican government established UNED in the 1970s to fulfill certain objectives: to educate rural populations and stifle the migration of youth to larger cities, and to educate persons in specific areas, such as education and health. This case study will seek to illustrate Costa Rica’s distance education access, funding, technologies and other relevant trends, in addition to detailing UNED’s operations.
2. Description
Education In Costa Rica
Long before distance education was developed in Costa Rica, Costa Ricans were a highly literate population. Jose Maria Castro, the first president of the country was a teacher who was concerned about the country's educational situation, and in 1869, the country became one of the first nations to make education free and obligatory, funded by the states share of the coffee wealth, according to Infocostarica.[1] By the 1920s, 50 percent of the population was literate, and by the 1970s almost 90 percent could read and write.
In the 1990s, literacy soared to 95 per cent.[2] This high rate of literacy should be no surprise, considering Costa Rica’s government has continued to invest almost 30 per cent of the national budget on primary and secondary education since the 1970s.
Even with the development of 4,000 schools, Costa Rica has not yet been able to establish conventional schooling systems for rural areas very well. Libraries are the only way for adults in rural areas to continue education beyond the sixth grade.[3] The country has about 100 libraries, but there still is a need for books and for funds to support the hundreds of additional libraries needed.
Even though more work is needed to provide rural residents with education, educational facilities have increased greatly in a few decades, especially in the university sector. In fact, Costa Rica did not have a university until 1940. The country now has four state-funded universities and many more private, smaller colleges. The University of Costa Rica is the largest and oldest university, with an enrollment of about 35,000 students. Other institutions include the National University in Heredia, the Technical Institute of Costa Rica in Cartago, and the State Correspondence University. The State Correspondence University is modeled after the United Kingdom's Open University, according to Infocostarica. The school has 32 regional centers offering 15 degree courses in health, education, business administration, and the liberal arts.
A Distance Learning Example
Because UNED is well regarded among employers and students, it could be used as an example by which to model other distance education facilities. George Borden from the Department of Communications at the University of Delaware gave an in-depth look into UNED in his paper "Some Social Implications of Distance Education."[4] Borden notes that UNED is "essentially an administrative unit with a distance learning subsystem employing all forms of mass media but relying primarily on the written word."[5] As such, students are expected to study on their own, with limited feedback. Borden feels students must be mature, motivated and have great perseverance. Cultural problems can arise however when determining what “mature” and “motivated” mean within a certain community.
However, cultural issues will be addressed after understanding why UNED was created. The Costa Rican government created UNED to meet the needs of the country[6], specifically:
• The need to give persons an opportunity for university education without moving to San Jose or some other large city, thus stemming migration of youth to the larger centers of population.
• The need to educate persons in specific areas of national need, i.e. education, management, agriculture, health services (including nursing and nutrition), and cooperatives.
Although
many acknowledged these objectives, there were still protests to a distance
learning facility. As Borden (1983)
reports, a major objection to its creation was "the cry that education
without classrooms and lectures would be inferior to conventional
education." Other problems were
present, as well. Not only was distance education under great scrutiny, so was
Costa Rica’s education system and the role of law. After the 1992 election when the Liberacion Nacional party
won by a wide margin, a priority of the new government was to embrace modern
educational systems in the Western World.[7] What the new law would have required was
more emphasis on the possibilities offered by the Distance Learning State
University (Universidad Estatal a Distancia). However, this law did not pass Congress in 1985, which
exemplifies a resistance toward distance education.
UNED did manage to continue and has been funded by the government since. However, there is a relationship between the social elements taught at the school and the governmental policies. Funding a distance education institution in a developing country is virtually impossible without the support of the government. The funds from UNED come basically from two different sources: the government and UNED's own income.[8] The government gives 6 per cent of the Fund for Higher Education, US$ 1,350,000 from the Ministry of Public Education and the income from a stamp of education culture. Other UNED comes from what students pay and from the sale of services: books, audiovisual materials, programs, and fees. UNED also has international aid coming from the Organization of American States and BID for small projects, audiovisual and technological interchange.[9]
The Future of Distance Education in Costa Rica
When it comes to the future of distance education, "communication technologies" is the buzz term. Currently, UNED operates mainly through written material. For its production, there are 18 academic staff and an editor in charge of the publication of the didactic units.[10] In addition, UNED produces audiovisual material that is available through the library, academic centers, and Radio Universidad de Costa Rica. In the late 1980s UNED begun using computer-aided instruction on a small scale.
Outside of the general education spectrum, health distance education is another emerging market, one that the WTO may have an interest in as could-be considered a for-profit venture. As reported at the Ninth Conference of Spouses of Heads of State and Government of the Americas: Telehealth Breaking the Barriers of Distance and Access, in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Health, the Costa Rican Social Security Agency and other partners are implementing a nation-wide telemedicine network.[11]
3. Related Cases
Datawar
Cybersit
Havens
Banana
Banana2
Coffee
Costbeef
Costpest
Costtour
Merck
Shadecof
4. Draft Author
Lisa Campeau
March 19, 2001
II. Legal Clusters
5. Discourse and Status: DISagreement and INPROGress
6. Forum and Scope: MULTINATIONAL and COSTA RICA
The Organization of American States has been influential in helping Costa Rica's federal officials development educational programs. At the Summit of Americans Plan of Action, the theme of education as the key to progress was widespread. The participants agreed that: "by the year 2010 universal access to and completion of quality primary education for 100 per cent of children and access for at least 75 per cent of young people to quality secondary education, with increasing percentages of young people who complete secondary education, and assume responsibility for providing the general population with opportunities for life-long learning."[12]
7. Decision Breadth: MEMBERS OF OAS
The Organization of American States issued standards that governments will follow:
• Implement targeted and inter-sectoral education policies ... focus specifically on groups at a disadvantage in the areas of education ... with attention to women, minorities and vulnerable populations.
• Establish ... national standards to evaluate the quality of education ...
• Develop comprehensive programs to
improve and increase the level of professionalism among teachers and school
administrators ...
• Strengthen educational management ... encourage the mass media to contribute to bolstering efforts being made by educational systems ...
• Establish or improve ... educational strategies relevant to multicultural societies ...
• Develop ... social organizations ... that foster the development of values
• Promote access to and use of the most effective information and communication technologies in education systems, with special use of computers ... Special attention shall be paid to the ethical imperative of including the most vulnerable sectors. To that end, distance education programs shall be strengthened and information networks established.
• Make efforts to increase the availability of teaching materials ... seek to use technology to link schools and communities as a way of establishing ties in the Hemisphere ...
• Further scholarship and exchange programs ...
For this case study, it is important to recognize that the Organization of American States is calling for an increase in distance education, especially for the benefit of women, minorities, and vulnerable populations.
8. Legal Standing: TREATY
At the summit, it was requested that the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank, with other multinational agencies, provide support for programs and initiates that are consistent with the aforementioned goals. The Inter-American Development Bank is especially encouraged to work with member countries to increase the amount of lending for primary and secondary education, by more than doubling the quantity over the next three years. Also, members at the summit requested that the Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission on Latin-America and the Caribbean develop and strengthen regional cooperation in areas such as distance education, using, among other means, satellite technology; internships and exchange programs; and the development and use of information technology for education ...
Upon reading these mandates, it is evident that the summit sets clear standards for using distance education to improve standards. However, it is questionable if these mandates will be followed, as member states of the Organization of the American States are fully recognized as sovereign nations.
III. Geographic Clusters
9. Geographic Locations
a. Geographic Domain: NAMERICA
b. Geographic Site: SOUTH AMERICA (SNAMER)
c. Geographic Impact: COSTA RICA
The country covers an area of 464 km by 259 km (288 miles by 162 miles). Costa Rica maintains seven provinces, 81 cantons, and 449 districts. The main provinces are San Jose, Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Puntarenas, Limon, and Guanacaste. As of 1998, Costa Rica housed 3, 510, 637 people, with a population density of 68.7 inhabitants per square km (177.9 per square mile).
10. Sub-National Factors: Yes
11. Type of Habitat: TROPical
12. Type of Measures: REGulatory
The WTO may take up educational services soon. This process was already begun in 1994, as can be seen in the signing of the WTO of the General Agreement of Trade Services, which aimed at the liberalization of trading in services, according to an EI/PSI Joint Publication.[13] Since the signing, there has been open discussion to encourage international trading of education services, treating them as if they were simple goods. As the EI/PSI report, the trade of services, in light of the immaterial nature, is more varied than material goods. The variety can been seen within the educational sector:
• Study Abroad;
• Education delivered by foreign teachers;
• Long-distance education between countries; and
• Creation of foreign establishments.
In addition, the global trade of education services is experiencing an extremely rapid growth, encourage by the accelerated development of new information technologies.[14]
Since the definition of services covered by the GATS excludes services provided under government authority and without a commercial purposes (Article 1.3 of the GATS), one could believe that education remains outside the scope of the agreement. This is not the case.[15] To meet the criteria to be excluded from the application of the GATS, the education system of the country in question must be completely financed and administered by the Sates, and, moreover, must not have any commercial purpose. Therefore, under these criteria, it could be determined that distance education in Costa Rica, specifically UNED, falls under regulation by GATS, as it is partly funded by the government and partly funded by commercial income. In terms of the Agreement, the WTO identifies four forms of trade in services[16]:
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The consumption abroad by the citizens of a member country on the territory of another member country. In the education sector, the most common example is undertaking a course abroad. When a student from a given country A takes a course in country B, the latter is deemed to be exporting education services to country A. |
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The commercial presence of a service supplier from a member country on the territory of another member country, enabling the supplier in question to provide a service that is on that territory. In the education sector, the activities carried out by foreign universities or other institutions fall within this category. Thus, when an institution from country A is implanted in country B to perform education activities in the latter, country A is exporting its services to country B. |
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The presence of natural person enables a form of trade resulting from the mobility of people from one member country which supply a given service in another country. As far as education is concerned, courses offered by foreign teachers are a classic example of this. When a teacher from country A teaches in country B, his or her own country becomes an exporter of education services to country B. |
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The cross-border supply of service from the territory of a member country to another member country. In the case of the education sector, distance education is included in this category. When the institution of given country A provides distance education courses to another country B, then country A is deems to be exporting educational services to country B. |
These terms are a general framework and “an agenda to progressively liberalize international trade services.”[17] What is worrisome about this liberalization is that many services traditionally supplied by the public sector will fall into the hands of the private sector, which could undermine its accessibility and aggravate social inequalities. Many feel that education should be a public right and fear that if education becomes a profit-driven market many could suffer.
13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: INDirect
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related to Product: YES
b. Indirectly Related to Product: NO
c. Not Related to Product: NO
d. Related to Process: YES
Education and culture.
15. Trade Product Identified:
Education and Culture
16. Economic Data
Educational services as defined by the WTO are not a major export, according to the Embassy of Costa Rica. Main traditional exports include coffee, bananas, meat, and sugar. Non-tradition exports include software, computer chips, textiles-drawback systems, food industry items, textiles, fish and shrimp, pineapple, and pharmaceutical products. These products partly comprise the GDP per capita in 1997 of US$ 2, 081 million.
17. Impact of Trade Restrictions: LOW
18. Industry Sector: SOTH
Education and Communications
19. Exporters and Importers: Costa Rica, Canada, and Many
As it is increasingly evident that education has indeed become a commodity to be regulated by the WTO. Already, UNED has sold its services to the Universidad Andivar de Guatemala. This type of sale could fall under WTO control.
Costa Rica is not only exporting is distance education; it is importing them as well, mainly from Mexico. An agreement with ILCE allows Costa Rica to use Mexico’s Television Educativa (Educational Television). In July 1999, the agreement allowed Costa Rica to use videos from Mexico to broadcast in Costa Rica. Anticipated impacts from the Free Trade of the America Agreement are generally positive. As stated in the agreement between Mexico and Costa Rica:
Article 9-13 in Mexico/Costa Rica: Professional Services Objective: This annex aims to establish the rules that the Parties will have to observe in order to reduce and gradually eliminate, in their territory, the barriers to the supply of professional services. Coverage: This annex will apply to all measures that are related to the criteria for the mutual recognition or revalidation of titles and licensing for the professional exercise. Revision: The Parties will periodically revise, at least once every three years, the application of the provisions of this annex.[18]
This agreement allows Mexico and Costa Rica to establish that a teacher licensed in Mexico can teach in Costa Rica. However, this agreement does not explicitly dictate that other countries, such as the United States and Canada, will enjoy this privilege.
V. Environmental Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type: Education and Culture
21. Name, Type and Diversity of Species
Humans
22. Resource Impact and Effect: MEDium and REGulatory
23. Urgency and Lifetime
24. Substitutes: Alternative Education
25. Culture: Yes
Culture is a distinct issue in distance education. As one examines the implicitness of culture, it is evident that there are many layers to "culture": language, behavioral norms, work ethics, and others. A regional dialect can prevent a distance education program from succeeding because the language barrier can be too much for a program to overcome. In Costa Rica, the official language is Spanish. However, the country has four native languages: Bribri, Cabecar, Guaymi, and Maleku (Guatuso). There is no documentation to support that any distance education programs are offered in any of these native languages. This suggests that either the entire population is proficient in Spanish or the Costa Rican government is hoping to acculturate indigenous people.
A second cultural factor involves social units within a conventional educational system. As Borden (1983) notes, "when a student attends a conventional university [or educational institution], he or she becomes a member of a social unit that has many facets ... the conventional student has a social unit within which s/he functions." Distance students demonstrate difficulty in establishing social units within their educational setting. "If for no other reason then numbers of available students, the distance student find it very difficult to develop this type of social network in which to find an identity." On the other side of this cultural coin, there is evidence that small social units have developed within a village, and may turn into active social forces in the outlying areas of change.[19]
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: Yes
27. Rights: Yes
28. Relevant Literature
Amundsen, Cheryl. 1993. "The Evolution of Theory in Distance Education" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Bates, Tony. 1984. "Trends in the Use of Audio-Visual Media in Distance Education Systems" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Bates, Tony. 1993. "Theory and Practice in the Use of Technology in Distance Education" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Beare, Hedley. 1984. "Education by Satellite: Australian Possibilities" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Boyd, Gary. 1993. "A Theory of Distance Education for the Cyberspace Era" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Carty, Joan. 1991. "Latin America and the Caribbean: A Survey of Distance Education 1991." International Centre for Distance Learning. UNESCO.
Cummins, Jim and Dennis Sayers. Brave New Schools: Challenging Illiteracy Through Global Learning Networks. 1995. St. Martin's Press. New York.
Escotet, Miguel. 1984. "Adverse Factors in the Development of an Open University in Latin America" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Evans, Terry and Daryl Nation. Eds. 1989. Critical Reflections on Distance Education. The Falmer Press. Philadelphia.
Evans, Terry and Daryl Nation. "Educational Technologies: Reforming Open and Distance Education" in Reforming Open and Distance Education: Critical Reflections from Practice. Eds. Terry Evans and Daryl Nation. 1993. St. Martin's Press. New York.
Farrell, Glen M. 1999. "The Development of Virtual Education: A Global Perspective." Open Learning Agency. Canada.
Garrison, Randy D. 1993. "Quality and Access in Distance Education: Theoretical Consideration" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Gibson, Chere C. 1993. "Towards a Broader Conceptualization of Distance Education" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Harris, David. "Distance Education at the Margins" in Reforming Open and Distance Education: Critical Reflections from Practice. Eds. Terry Evans and Daryl Nation. 1993. St. Martin's Press. New York.
Holmberg, Borje. "Theory and Practice of Distance Education. 1989. Routledge. New York.
Jarvis, Peter. 1993. "The Education of Adults and Distance Education in Late
Modernity" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Keegan, Desmond. Foundations of Distance Education. Second Edition. 1990. Routledge. New York.
Keegan, Desmond. 1984. "On Defining Distance Education" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Ljosa, Erling. 1993. "Understanding Distance Education" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Perraton, Hilary. 1984. "A Theory for Distance Education" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Peters, Otto. 1993. "Distance Education in a Post-Industrial Society" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Rumble, Greville. 1984. "Economic and Cost Structure" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Snowden, Barry L. and John S. Daniel. 1984. "The Economics and Management of Small Post-Secondary Distance Education Systems" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Stewart, David. 1984. "Distance Teaching: A Contradiction in Terms?" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Verduin, John R., Jr. and Thomas A. Clark. 1991. Distance Education: The Foundations of Effective Practice. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco.
Vertecchi, Benedetto. 1993. "Structural Analysis of Distance Education" in Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. Ed. Desmond Keegan. Routledge. New York.
Wagner, Leslie. 1984. "The Economics of the Open University Revisited" in Distance Education: An International Perspective. Eds. David Stewart, Desmond Keegan and Borje Holmberg. Routledge, New York.
Walker, Rob. "Open Learning and the Media: Transformation of Education in Times of Change" in Reforming Open and Distance Education: Critical Reflections from Practice. Eds. Terry Evans and Daryl Nation. 1993. St. Martin's Press. New York.
American Society for Training and Development
American Association for Higher Education
American Council on Education
Association for Advancement of Computing in Higher Education
Canadian Association for Distance Education
eProacte
Instructional Telecommunications Council
International Council for Educational Media
International Council for Open and Distance Education
Learning Resource Network
The Distance Education Training Center
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications
lacampeau@yahoo.com
[1] ----. “Education in Costa Rica.” Infocostarica Staff. 2000.
[2] Embassy of Costa Rica. 2001.
[3] Infocostarica.
[4] Presented at the 24th Annual Convention of The International Studies Association. 1983.
[5]Borden 1983.
[6]Borden and Tanner 1979 in Borden 1983.
[7] Astrid Fischel. “Politics and Education in Costa Rica.” Presented at the Centre of Latin American Studies, Saint Antony’s College. Oxford, England.
[8]Borden 1983.
[9]Borden 1983.
[10] O.M. Murillo Ugalde. “Costa Rica: Higher Distance Education in Costa Rica.” Universidad Estatal a Distancia. Costs Rica.
[11]1998.
[12]Summit of Americas Plan.
[13]“The WTO and the Millennium
Round: What is at Stake for Public Education?”EI/PSI Services.
[14]EI/PSI Services.
[15]Ibid.
[16]Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Information can be found at http://www.alca-ftaa.oas.org/cp_serv/english/p3_s5.asp#mcr.
[19]Borden 1983.