Mauricio Pino-Yancovic, Luis Ahumada, Josefina DeFerrari, Fernanda Correa and Juan Pablo Valenzuela
This research paper explores the value of collaborative inquiry networks of headteachers and curriculum coordinators to cope with 2020's coronavirus pandemic in Chile…
Abstract
Purpose
This research paper explores the value of collaborative inquiry networks of headteachers and curriculum coordinators to cope with 2020's coronavirus pandemic in Chile. Specifically, the authors describe the main challenges that networks identify in their contexts, the collaborative practices performed by different schools to address these challenges, and the influence of the networks on the innovative responses of teachers in their own schools.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a mixed-method study from a complementary stance using different methods and data of a project implemented with a total of 54 headteachers and curriculum coordinators. The data sources were participants' individual reports, the network teams' reports of their collaborative inquiry projects, and a short open-ended questionnaire responded by teachers that did not participate directly in the networks but benefited from their work. The data were analyzed using content analysis, categories were created to organize and describe the main findings.
Findings
Participants of the networks reported that their active participation in the collaborative inquiry allows them to share knowledge among different schools and has helped them to support innovative practices in their own schools. Specifically, they have reported that collaborating has permitted them to maintain a pedagogical focus, foster distributed leadership within the school communities, provide them with greater autonomy, and develop skills to favor the emotional containment of their teams. Inquiry teams perform diverse collective practices; they designed and applied virtual surveys, planned and implemented virtual workshops with teachers, and generated meaningful reflection about formative assessment and pedagogical practices.
Originality/value
This work offers insights into how the Chilean school system has responded to COVID-19 challenges and shows how despite the negative aspects of the pandemic, it has become an opportunity to recognize and enhance teachers' professional development through the collaboration among different schools. Most headteachers and curriculum coordinators reported that an active collaborative inquiry changed how they used to think about their leadership and strengthened the value of professional relationships to address extremely difficult challenges as a result of the pandemic. These lessons can be taken for the future, to rethink and rebuild educational systems.
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David Andres Munoz and Juan Pablo Queupil
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of secondary education schools in Chile. Since the early 1980s, several educational reforms have been passed with the main…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of secondary education schools in Chile. Since the early 1980s, several educational reforms have been passed with the main objective of improving the quality, equity and efficiency of the Chilean education system. This has initiated a debate about the efficient use of public educational resources. In response, this study provides insights into identifying the most efficient types of schools based on a set of different inputs and outputs.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative research study used data envelopment analysis (DEA), which estimates a single index of efficiency to identify schools performing at superior levels compared to other schools with similar characteristics. Two sets of models are created for evaluating efficiency. The first set of analyses provides a longitudinal efficiency comparison based on student performance on two national standardized tests as outputs, and the second model incorporates socioeconomic characteristics of students attending different schools as inputs in the efficiency estimation.
Findings
Based on the longitudinal models, it was found that private schools are more efficient and more consistent in maintaining their efficiency over time than other types of schools. In addition, when accounting for socioeconomic factors, publicly subsidized schools were more efficient than public schools.
Practical implications
The Chilean parliament is currently discussing new educational reforms that focus on more efficient use of educational resources to improve educational quality and equity. The results provided in this study generate useful evidence for policymakers and other stakeholders regarding school efficiency and the appropriate allocation of public resources to support diverse students served by different types of secondary educational institutions.
Social implications
Education is a key factor affecting social mobility and socioeconomic improvement of societies. Schools are called upon to improve their performance to promote these social goals. Accordingly, more novel forms of research on efficiency are necessary to assess how well schools are transforming their inputs into performance outputs.
Originality/value
This study provides a longitudinal analysis of educational efficiency using DEA with a national data set of Chilean schools to evaluate how consistent the schools are in maintaining their levels of efficiency over time. In addition, one DEA model accounts for a social “vulnerability” index at the student level to better understand how efficiently secondary schools use their resources. The insights gained provide data-driven answers to support more informed educational decision-making and policy processes in Chile.
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Juan Pablo Sarmiento, Catalina Sarmiento, Gabriela Hoberman and Meenakshi Chabba
This study aims to assess knowledge retention of the graduates of the online graduate certificate on local development planning, land use management and disaster risk management…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess knowledge retention of the graduates of the online graduate certificate on local development planning, land use management and disaster risk management (PDLOTGR, the abbreviation of the certificate's Spanish title). The certificate was offered to practitioners and faculty members of Latin American countries since 2016.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors reviewed the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) method to develop a specific approach, which included the preparation of a KAP survey, a composite KAP index and three sub-indices. The survey targeted two groups: (1) experimental group, composed of the certificate's 76 graduates, and (2) control group, comprised of 25 certificate's candidates, who had not yet undergone the training/intervention. The statistical analysis included a one-way multivariate analysis of variance to compare the mean scores on the KAP index and sub-indices for individuals in the experimental and control groups.
Findings
The study results showed significant differences in the knowledge sub-index between those who had completed the PDLOTGR training and those who had not, while the attitudes and practices sub-indices did not show significant differences. When using the KAP index, a statistically significant difference was also observed between the two groups.
Originality/value
Perceived knowledge assessment offers an acceptable and non-intimidating option for evaluating continuing education and professional development programs associated to disaster risk. It is particularly helpful in determining whether an intervention or program has a lasting impact. It is not, however, a substitute for direct knowledge assessment, and the use of other methods to evaluate the performance of a capacity building program's graduates.
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Juan A. Correa, Pablo Gutiérrez, Miguel Lorca, Raúl Morales and Francisco Parro
This paper aims to study the effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) on academic and labor market outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) on academic and labor market outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a rich data set of administrative records for test scores, individual background and adult earnings of a cohort of agents, covering a period spanning the agents' upper-secondary education and their early years in the labor market.
Findings
The authors find that students with the highest SES obtained a 1.5 standard deviations higher score in the college admission test than students who had the same academic outcomes in the eighth grade test but belong to the lowest SES. Similarly, among students that obtained the same scores in the college admission test, those with the highest SES earned monthly wages 0.7 standard deviations higher than those with the lowest SES.
Originality/value
The findings highlight that family socioeconomic background continues to influence outcomes during individuals’ upper secondary education and early years in the labor market.
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Carolina Andrea López-Rosas and Angélica Espinoza-Ortega
The purpose of this paper is to characterize the consumers of mezcal in México based on their motivations, identifying different groups of consumers and their demographic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to characterize the consumers of mezcal in México based on their motivations, identifying different groups of consumers and their demographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire based on the Food Choice Questionnaire was applied to 310 consumers: 154 directly to mezcal consumers in three “mezcalerías” (mezcal bars) and 156 through five social networking communities of mezcal consumers. The data obtained were analysed using multivariate statistics, factor and cluster analysis.
Findings
The results show that the search for tradition is the determining buying motivation, whereas quality seals do not exert a significant influence. Four profiles of mezcal consumers can be identified according to their consumption patterns: consumer linked to the territory, traditional consumer, consumer in transition and social consumer. The predominant demographic characteristics in the four consumer groups described a male, between 20 and 39 years old, single, childless, with professional education and employed. The overall results reveal a consumer who shares the quality criteria established by mescal-producing communities and is strongly interested in traditionally processed drinks.
Originality/value
In México, there are two important distilled drinks, tequila and mezcal. There is ample research on the first one, but there is less research on mezcal, despite it has an annual increase of 45 per cent in consumption. Most of the research work has been focused on aspects of diversity, sustainability and productivity, but there are not studies on the factors that affect mezcal consumption. Thus, this paper aims to characterize the consumers of mezcal, based on their motivations.
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Graciela Bensusán and Maria Lorena Cook
The July 2, 2000, electoral victory of Vicente Fox of the opposition National Action Party (PAN) as president of Mexico marked an historic turning point in that country’s…
Abstract
The July 2, 2000, electoral victory of Vicente Fox of the opposition National Action Party (PAN) as president of Mexico marked an historic turning point in that country’s political development. The ouster from power of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after seventy-one years promised to rupture the long-time alliance between organized labor, the state, and the PRI. A transition to a democratic political regime would create new opportunities for the struggling independent labor movement in Mexico. More importantly, a political transition would make possible for the first time a shift away from an authoritarian-corporatist system of industrial relations toward a democratic model of labor governance.
Lizbeth Salgado and Dena Maria Camarena
The main objective of this paper is to analyse the relationship between innovation and traditional concepts to explain the phenomenon of traditional food with innovation from a…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this paper is to analyse the relationship between innovation and traditional concepts to explain the phenomenon of traditional food with innovation from a market and consumer behaviour perspective in the Mexican context.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is carried out in two phases: (1) analysis of the offer in distribution and (2) consumer research. First, a mixed observation technique in the offer of traditional foods with innovation was carried out. The data were recollected from 24 companies' websites and was complemented with information from main distribution chains of the city of Hermosillo (Mexico). Second, a survey was carried out with 310 Mexican consumers. The data obtained were analysed using bi-variable and multivariable techniques.
Findings
The findings from the websites showed that there are 19 traditional products with innovation that are marketed through this medium, while 39 traditional products with innovation are offered in distribution chains. Of all foods, 61% showed innovations in ingredients and materials. Also, the consumer evaluations identified three segments: the consumers orientated towards innovations, convenience and health (42.2%), those orientated towards sensory innovations (39%), and those more inclined towards innovations in marketing and availability (18.7%).
Research limitations/implications
The research considers a partial perspective of the agri-food chain and not an integral vision, it is limited to a specific area and to certain traditional foods.
Practical implications
The symbiosis between innovation and tradition is identified from the perspective of supply and demand. The trend that exists in the market regarding the types of innovations and the gaps that exist regarding environmental elements are recognized.
Social implications
The data obtained in the research generate information for business decision-making and entrepreneurship; in addition indicates new dietary and consumption patterns. It also provides knowledge about innovation and tradition, and highlights the relevance of traditional food.
Originality/value
This study tries to fill a gap in the literature by focusing on the market and consumer behaviour perspective for traditional food with innovation.