Education in Cuba - an alternative educational discourse: lessons to be learned?

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Title: Education in Cuba - an alternative educational discourse: lessons to be learned?
Authors: Breidlid, Anders1 anders.breidlid@lu.hio.no
Source: Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education. Oct2007, Vol. 37 Issue 5, p617-634. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Education, *Supply & demand of teachers, *Teacher recruitment, *Ideology, Cubans, Equality, Social attitudes, Sociology
Geographic Terms: Cuba
Abstract: This article focuses on the Cuban education system, which is well known for its focus on inclusion and equality of opportunity, but also for its focus on political and ideological conformity. The economic crisis in Cuba has led to an educational crisis as well, both in terms of teacher shortages and a decrease in quality and in political/ideological commitment. In 2001 a comprehensive transformation of the education system in Cuba was introduced. This transformation followed in the wake of 'the battle of ideas', a campaign introduced to mobilize the youth for the defence of the revolution. The article critically examines the ideas and ideology behind the transformation policy and discusses the problem of ideological exclusion, despite the inclusiveness of the system (free education). Education in Cuba has not received a cent from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund since the revolution, but is still reputed to have one of the best school systems (if not the best) in the developing world. The article discusses this claim (what is meant by best?) and examines the lessons to be learnt from the Cuban educational experience. Its uniqueness in a global perspective - what the author defines as cultural capital more or less universally distributed - represents an alternative educational route that ought to be studied carefully by other countries in both the south and north. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Education in Cuba - an alternative educational discourse: lessons to be learned?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Compare%3A+A+Journal+of+Comparative+Education%22">Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education</searchLink>. Oct2007, Vol. 37 Issue 5, p617-634. 18p.
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  Data: This article focuses on the Cuban education system, which is well known for its focus on inclusion and equality of opportunity, but also for its focus on political and ideological conformity. The economic crisis in Cuba has led to an educational crisis as well, both in terms of teacher shortages and a decrease in quality and in political/ideological commitment. In 2001 a comprehensive transformation of the education system in Cuba was introduced. This transformation followed in the wake of 'the battle of ideas', a campaign introduced to mobilize the youth for the defence of the revolution. The article critically examines the ideas and ideology behind the transformation policy and discusses the problem of ideological exclusion, despite the inclusiveness of the system (free education). Education in Cuba has not received a cent from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund since the revolution, but is still reputed to have one of the best school systems (if not the best) in the developing world. The article discusses this claim (what is meant by best?) and examines the lessons to be learnt from the Cuban educational experience. Its uniqueness in a global perspective - what the author defines as cultural capital more or less universally distributed - represents an alternative educational route that ought to be studied carefully by other countries in both the south and north. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/03057920701582491
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 617
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Supply & demand of teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher recruitment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ideology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cubans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Equality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sociology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cuba
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Education in Cuba - an alternative educational discourse: lessons to be learned?
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            – D: 01
              M: 10
              Text: Oct2007
              Type: published
              Y: 2007
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              Value: 37
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              Value: 5
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            – TitleFull: Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education
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