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Tufts University

Publication Date

Fall 2007

Program Name

Chile: Education and Social Change

Abstract

This field study investigation analyzes student expectations in two different high schools located in the municipality of Quinchao, province of Chiloé, Chile. The main objective of the study attempts to confirm or negate that the principal influences that can motivate or unmotivate a student to continue studying in higher education reside in the culture, actors, and relationships of both school and family. Observations and personal interviews are used as qualitative measures, and two different surveys directed at both the students and teachers of each school are used and analyzed for the existence of statistical differences between different groupings of students. The analysis is divided into four principal sections that reflect the findings of the study: expectations in general, the influence of family, the influence of school, and a fourth influence discovered in the execution of the study that rationalizes the influence of the inherent inequalities within the Chilean educational system, specifically how they appear in Quinchao. It is concluded that although the schools provide a great source of support for the formations of their students’ expectations, the influences and distinctiveness of the families have a stronger impact in the valorization and future perspectives of the students. Furthermore, the dynamics of the educational system are determined responsible for an exaggeration of the social inequality in the area, manifested in the systemic inequalities of student-learning, and consequently student expectations.

Disciplines

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Latin American Studies

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