I. Identification

The Issue

Distance education in Mexico is not a new occurance. Before advanced telecommunication infrastructures, before high-speed Internet connections, Mexico had correspondence courses, utilizing radio frequencies and post offices as early as the 1940s. This case study will seek to analyze Mexico's distance education access, funding, technologies and report relevant trends in this particular education method. Problems with distance education, including child labor laws, geographical and cultural boundaries and other issues, will be discussed.

2. Description

Education In Mexico

At present day 2001, education in Mexico is available to a majority of people, yet educational institutions and students suffer at the hands of economic difficulty, geographic boundaries, cultural differences, and uninforced child labor laws. This difficulty is not a recent development. It was in the 1970s that Mexico experienced an "education shortage." According to a report from the United Nations, it became obvious that there was a growing and accelerating demand for education at all levels with which the available resources were not equipped to deal.[1] Many systems throughout the country sought to find a solution, and in 1972 the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico created its Sistema Universidad Abierta, in English: the Open University System. ("Open education” is more or less synonymous with "distance education.”) Other institutions followed suit. The Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, which offers degree and associate student programs, was one of them. Another distance education program is offered through the Instituto Latinoamericano para la Comunicacion Educativa (ILCE). ILCE is regulated by Ministry of Education, which gives final approval to all of distance education programs, according to Jorge Duran, ILCE director of regional affairs.[2] ILCE maintains several national distance education programs under the name PROED (Programa de Educacion a Distancia), including: Red Satelital de Televison Educativa; Red Escolar de Informatica Educativa; and Videoteca Nacional Educativa. Each programs offers a different type of distance education curriculum or method of delivery:

Red Satelital de Televison Educativa (EDUSAT)	A satellite television system that transmits 10 education channels and has the capacity to transmit six more.
Red Escolar de Informatica Educativa	An Internet-based service that connects schools all over Mexico and offers materials and multimedia services to teachers and students.
Videoteca Nacional Educativa	Audiovisuals from the Direccion General de Television Educativa, which includes EDUSAT.

As is evident from the chart, Mexico uses a variety of teaching technologies, from satellite television, the Internet, and audiovisuals. EDUSAT is a free television program offered to citizens of Mexico, which is similar to other public education in Mexico.

However, before these facilities were in place, Mexico lacked secondary schools in rural areas toward the middle 1900s. This led to the development of Telesecundaria in the 1960s, according to the United Nation's report. The Telesecundaria used television and print media as its main teaching tools. The United Nation report states, "Local communities set up teleaulas or television teaching schools. Ex-primary schoolteachers coordinated the classes but direct instruction was provided via the television broadcasts. In this way education [was] being provided to thousands of school children who would otherwise either not have obtained a secondary education or have migrated to urban areas."[3]

In 1987, enrollment in the telesecondaria was at 408,000, with a graduation rate of 86 per cent, which was 7 per cent higher than traditional secondary education completion in Mexico. The program’s number of students doubled in the 1990s, with more than 800,000, a testament to its growing popularity.[4] Traditional secondary education in Mexico is slightly gaining ground within the 15- to 19-year-old age group. In 1990, there were about 9.6 million people in this age group, of which almost 96 per cent were literate. In 1995 more than 10 million students of this age group were reported, yet the literacy rate.[5] However, literacy does not require attending a secondary school.

In 1990, the Secretaria de Educacion Publica de Mexico reported only about 4.2 million students attending a secondary school, with 1.7 million earning a high school certificate.[6] In the 1995 school year, there were almost 4.7 million secondary students, with more than 2 million students earning high school certificates. Clearly, there is a wide gap between Mexico's literate students and Mexico's post-primary school educated students. There are several trends that account for this.

Mexico's Education Pitfalls

The quality of education in Mexico is difficult to determine. Numerous factors influence this: variance in teacher ability, curriculum deviations, financial restrictions, and others. According to a United State's Department of Instruction Report, there are many ways to measure a country's success rate at providing education at the primary level, the most common are primary school enrollment and attendance ratios.[7] According to this report, net primary school enrollment ratios describe the percentage of primary school-age children who are registered in school. Primary school attendance ratios estimate the percentage of primary school-age children who are actually attending school. Mexico, similar to the Philippines, has a 100 per cent net primary school enrollment ratio. However, only 84 per cent of those students reached the fourth grade in 1990 - 1995. This ratio is not an absolute figure as the error margin is high. This is noted in the report: "...while Mexico and the Philippines both report net primary school enrollment rates of 100 per cent, in Mexico, 84 per cent of enrolled primary school children reach fifth grate, and some 1.5 to two million children between the ages of six and 14 either are not regularly attending school or have dropped out."

Child labor issues have been widely investigated and discussed by multinational organizations such as the Organization of American States, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank. And there have been many efforts by governing bodies to increase academic attainment at these levels – distance education being key to these efforts.

More Mexican institution began offering distance education courses. In 1992, a project called Universidad de Distancia from the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac was piloted. Before 1992, the university even offered a degree in philosophy via distance learning. The following are a list of distance education institutions reported by the United Nation's report:

Instituto Maurer

Hemphill Schools

Universidad de Monterrey, Programa de Investigacion y Desarrollo Educative

Universidad del Valle de Atemajac

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Sistema Universidad Abierta

Universidad Pedagogica Nacional, Sistema de Educacion a Distancia

While there is a rise of distance education resources, several factors inhibit the development of such institutions: geography and culture being two.

A Geographically Challenging Perspective

Geography and local population seem to be major determinates in whether a student attends school. In the 1990s, 12 per cent of school-age children in areas with under 15,000 inhabitants did not attend school, versus 4 per cent in areas with over 15,000 inhabitants.[8]

To demonstrate the difficulty of establishing effective distance education programs in geographically distant areas inhabited by indigenous populations, the Organization of American States published a report, "Multilingual, Long-Distance Community Education in Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara."[9] This study is particularly relevant because it addresses two issues hindering distance education: geography and culture. The region in northern Mexico known as the Sierra Tarahumara covers an area of more than 26,000 square miles and lies principally in southwestern Chihuahua.[10] The altitude of the region varies greatly from 9,000 feet to 1,640 feet, creating great climatic differences with temperature ranging from -20 degrees F to 113 degrees F.[11]

Indigenous people of the region inhabit the Sierra Tarahumara. Population estimates range from 250,000 to 340,000, depending on the extent of the area.[12] Indigenous people numbered 74,716 in 1990 and live in 1,500 communities in 23 counties. The Raramuri form the largest indigenous group in the Sierra Tarahumara and is the primary audience of the community education program.

Long-distance education in this case study consisted of radio transmissions. The program is called Radio XETAR, "The Voice of the Sierra Tarahumara." Not all has gone smoothly with this program. Technical difficulties are still present. The program was originally scheduled to operate with 10,000 watts of power on the AM frequency of 889 kHz; however, interference with a commercial radio station began operations with only one-fifth of the allotted watts. With only 2,000 watts available, the broadcasting range of Radio XETAR was severely limited, and the program was not able to reach the intended audience. In 1995, the wattage was increased to between 6,000 and 10,000 watts on an AM frequency of 870 kHz. However, severe weather, deep canyons, and high mountain ranges have caused poor receptivity, as reported by the OAS in 1995.

While there are many problems with this program, it is a good example for other pilot programs. Luis Urias Hermosillo, a scholar and former director of the Chihuahua Museum of Popular Culture, established the program in 1981. He was appointed by the National Indigenous Institute, according to the Organization of American States. The National Indigenous Institute established a network of radio stations that serve indigenous populations throughout Mexico.

Hermosillo's project is a unique project, and the Organization of American States' study sought to evaluate the impact of these broadcasts based on the economic, political and sociocultural development of the people.[13] Sociolinguistically, the program strives to meet the linguistic needs of several regional variations. The program broadcasts in Spanish, but also transmits Upper Tarahumar to the Raramuri in high elevations; Lower Tarahumar in lower elevations; Guarojio in the western Chihuahua and southwestern Sonora and O’Odam to the Northern Tepehuan.

History, civics, medicine, agriculture, music, and culture were specific topics the program was to cover in these dialects. Hermosillo indicated in 1991 that some federal school officials prohibited Radio XETAR from being received in stationary schools, even though the broadcasts could have benefited students, because some music was considered a Catholic influence.

Computer Technology and Telecommunications in Mexico

Distance education in Mexico has grown in the last three decades, with several institutions offering a variety of courses via different communications methods. While radio and mail correspondence courses have been popular communication methods before, the development of wireless technologies and the growing popularity of the Internet will play an important role in increased distance education offerings. Already, the telephone has played a critical role in health-care education and access. At the Ninth Conference of Spouses of Heads of State and Government of the Americas, health-care education via telephone lines was discussed in-depth. The Pan American Health Organization was part of the conference.[14] As reported at the conference, in 1997 the Instituto de Siguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado introduced a teleradiology program that uses satellite lines. The Instituto finances the health care of public-sector workers and has cut costs by 30 percent using the satellite system. More important to this research, though, is that the program also uses the satellite link for educational purposes, and is exploring the possibility of conducting telesurgery.

Computer technology and telecommunications could become the cornerstone to distance education in Mexico, as well as all parts of the world. Telecommunications infrastructure allows potential students to communicate via several modes: tele-conference, Internet, fax, and many others. Currently, Mexico has 12 telephone sets for every 100 inhabitants and a modern digital telecommunications infrastructure that includes 1,000 miles of optical fiber and numerous international links.[15] Also, Mexico has satellites with continental coverage and a computer system that includes 4.2 million installed computers, 600,000 of which have Internet access.[16] Although the number of Internet users in Mexico is growing, it is limited by the number of personal computers, according to Ortiz. It is estimated by 2002 that educational institutions will have more than one million Internet access accounts in Mexico.[17] Almost all primary and secondary subjects are taught via advanced technology; as well as online textbooks and reference materials through ILCE.

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4. Draft Author

Lisa Campeau

March 1, 2001

II. Legal Clusters

5. Discourse and Status

Distance education is regulated though the Ministry of Education. Even programs administered through ILCE are subject to final approval from the Ministry. The government regulates distance education in addition to traditional education.

Primary education in Mexico is compulsory. Mexico, similar to South Africa, requires nine years of education (six years of primary and three years of secondary).[18] Mexico has provisions in its laws that make education essentially free in public schools. After completing the compulsory education at 14, children are allowed to work, as the minimum work age is 14.

Open and distance education in Mexico is legally based on the individual and social principles stipulated in Article 3 of the Mexican Constitution. According to Dr. Victor Guerra Ortiz, Mexican law regards distance education as one of the official education models upheld by the General Education Law, the National Development Plan for 1995 – 2000, and numerous programmes derived from these laws.[19]

6. Forum and Scope

The Organization of American States has been influential in helping Mexico'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."[20]

7. Decision Breadth

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

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, buy 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: North America

b. Geographic Site: Western North America

c. Geographic Impact: Mexico

The country covers an area of 1,964,375 sq. km., of which 1,959,248 sq. km. are on the mainland and 5,127 sq. km. are islands. The geographical layout of Mexico is very irregular and is characterized by mountains, plains, valleys and plateaus. The highest mountains in the country are its main volcanoes, the highest being Pico de Orizaba at an altitude of 5,610 meters above sea level.[21]

10. Sub-National Factors: Yes

11. Type of Habitat: Temperate

IV. Trade Clusters

12. Type of Measures: Regulatory

13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect

14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact

a. Directly Related to Product: Education

b. Indirectly Related to Product: No

c. Not Related to Product: No

d. Related to Process: Education and Culture

15. Trade Product Identified: Education and Culture

16. Economic Data

Some studies linking economic data to the level of education available in a certain country have attempted to surmise a country's commitment to education by funds poured into schooling. The U.S. Department of Instruction report states that these figures provide an indication of a country's relative emphasis on education as compared to other national priorities. In the period 1993 - 1997 Mexico spend 4.9 per cent of its GNP on education. Mexico's government spent 23 per cent of its budget on education from 1990 - 1997, as compared to the Philippines' 15 percent. Mexico's gross domestic product was US$ 483, 671.7 in 1999, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estroistica Geographia e Informatica Mexico.[22] During that year, the main economic sectors were reported as follows, according to the same data:

Farming and Livestock	5.0 per cent
Industrial Sector	28.2 per cent
Service Sector	66.8 per cent

17. Impact of Trade Restrictions: Low

Mexico currently exports its distance education resources without regulation from the WTO. Those seeking distance education employment in Mexico may have problems securing a visa from the Embassy of Mexico. Citizens of FTAA countries require a professional card issued by the Direccion General de Profesiones in the Ministry of Education. These countries include all of Latin America and the Caribbean and the United States. There are other restrictions that may prohibit professionals from working in Mexico, most importantly denied extensions of the 30-day pass.

18. Industry Sector: Education and Culture

Education and Communications

19. Exporters and Importers: Mexico and Many

While the WTO has not taken up distance education as a trade product, Mexico has taken aggressive steps to export its extensive distance education programs to other Latin American countries. EDUSAT and Telesecondaria already have a large presence in Latin America, where more than 500 rural facilities exist. As of 2000, about 23,000 residents of Latin America had participated in Mexico’s programs. In the near future, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Venezuela will integrate EDUSAT and Telesecondaria programs.[23]

Canada has also taken steps to export its distance education technology to Mexico, although on a much smaller scale. International Datacasting Corporation announced in August 2000 that it had signed contracts with ILCE and the Virtual University of the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrery. These contracts do not involve curriculum but rather provide technology infrastructure and solutions. ILCE placed an order to build a high-speed data teleport to deliver distance education and Internet content to Mexico and all of Latin America. This is evidently a sign that Mexico plans to profit from its distance education initiatives. While Mexico is exporting to Latin America, the Canadian International Development Agency is also lending formal support to International Datacasting to establish new Latin America markets.

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

VI. Other Factors

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. Also, work ethics regarding learning and / homework may influence the success of a program. Language is also another cultural issue affecting the importance of culture. As mentioned in the Radio XETAR project, indigenous peoples in Mexico needed a program designed for linguistically diverse groups.

26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No

27. Rights: Yes

Human rights is very relevant to the issue of education in Latin America and also Mexico itself. Many education courses focused at university-level students are funded by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission / Court, in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank or the Organization of American States. As important, a person's right to an education could be a considering factor when determining the need for a distance education program.

Also, programs that allow women and minorities the access to equal educational standards is a human rights issue. These vulnerable populations are more likely than others not to have access to educational institutions, especially at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

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.

VII. Internet Resources

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

[5]Instituto Nacional de Estradistica, Geografia e Informatica, Mexico

[7]Department of Instruction Report. United States.

[9]Dennis J. Bixler-Marquez. Organization of American States.

[14] Pan American Health Organization Conference notes, 1997.

[18] United States Department of Instruction Report.

[20]Organization of American States. Summit of the Americas Plan for Action.

[21] Embassy of Mexico Information Sheet. 2001.

[22]Statistics available at www.inegi.gov.mx/difusion/ingles/acercamexico/aspeco.html

[23] Statistics available at www.ilce.edu.mx (Spanish only).

Mexico Case Study