Education, Economic Development and the Private Sectors

Extract

Rapid Modernization is Latin America's chief development requirement. Its costs and benefits are central questions for educators, developers and leaders to ponder and help answer.

Among the requirements of educational modernization is the adoption of curricula more pertinent to new social, political and economic needs than the outmoded curricula most schools and universities still have. Curriculum changes must also be accompanied by the introduction of new methods of instruction, improved physical facilities and raised academic standards. Another immediate challenge to the effectiveness of Latin American education, especially of universities, is the development of ways to engage facilities and faculties in significant service to public and private development activities. Contributions of educational institutions to the processes of national development no longer depend solely on their capacity to supply well-trained graduates. They must also contribute to the formulation and implementation of research and policy in the applied fields of government and industrial development.