Exploring the public-private divide in education. The perspectives of affluent and disadvantaged upper-secondary students in Mexico City Seminar

Theme: Interdisciplinary, Involvement and Impact

I want to explore the traditional public-private school divide in Mexico which has been an underdeveloped topic. Especially in the Upper-secondary school phase, school dropout is the highest of the Mexican education system as only 47% of enrolled students manage to graduate. It could be argued that those who access and accomplish this level are already privileged regardless of the type the school they attend. However, in Mexico, as in many other countries, private schools of good quality are for the privileged sectors of society and public schools of lesser quality tend to cater to the working-classes.

I am going to explore prevailing notions of school segmentation from the point of view the students and staff in public and private colleges. My aim is to find out whether participants were satisfied with the educational experiences, opportunities, resources and support they receive in their respective institutions as well as their opinions with respect to school segmentation in Mexico.

The preliminary findings show a willingness of collaboration amongst participants, especially students, in order to break the current social divide permeating the school system in Mexico. Recommendations for policy and practice are also explored.