Culture Study LLED 478C
Fiona Slade
REPUBLIC OF
República de Chile
CHILE
Statistics
“Por la razón o la fuerza”
CAPITAL
Santiago
AREA
756,950 km²
POPULATION
16,134,219 [2006 estimate]
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Spanish
After recovering from the
General Augusto Pinochet’s
17-year dictatorship starting
in 1973, Chile is now one of
South America’s most
prosperous and stable
nations. Chile’s economy is
one of the strongest in Latin
America. The Pinochet-era
constitution and judicial
system has
havesince
since been
been
revised, contributing to the
country’s economic and
political reforms that allow
for a more stable educational
standard visible today.
ADULT LITERACY RATE
92%- 95%
ETHNICITY
95% White and whiteAmerindian; 3% Amerindian;
2% Other
Overview of Educational System
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•
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•
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The education system in Chile encompasses public and private institutions, and includes
four schooling levels: Preschool, Primary/Elementary, Secondary/High School, Higher
Education.
The school year runs from March to November.
Students complete on average 1,200 classroom hours per academic year.
Dress at most schools is upscale casual. Students usually wear shirts, sweaters, slacks or
nice jeans most of the time.
The 2003 Constitutional Reform guarantees and requires 12 years of free education, up to
age 21.
Cultural Study LLED 478C
Fiona Slade
Evaluation and Credentials
EDUCATION LADDER →
½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½½
1→6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10 │ 11 │ 12 │ 13 │ 14 │ 15 │ 16 │ 17 │ 18 │ 19 │ 20 │ 21 │ 22 │ 23 │ 24
A
B
D
E
F F
G G H→ H→ I→ I→ I→
C
E G G
H→ H→
I→
The Chilean educational
system is based on a
credential system.
Credentials are awarded as
letters that appear
underneath the number of
years taken to earn that
credential on an educational
ladder. An arrow is used after
a credential letter in cases
where no maximum length of
study for a particular
program is specified, or
where the study time
is open-ended.
Grading Scale
All levels follow a 0 to 7 scale.
6-7.0 (Muy Bueno/Very Good) = 4.0/A
5-5.9 (Bueno/Good ) = 3.0/B
4-4.9 (Suficiente/ Sufficient) = 2.0/C
0-3.9 (Insuficiente/ Insufficient) = 0.0/F
Schooling Levels
1)Preschool(educación parvularia), attended by children less than 6 years old
2) Primary/Elementary school (educación básica), consisting of eight grades
3) Secondary/High school (educación media), consisting of four grades. Students choose
between two types of diplomas/credentials:
B Licencia de Educación Media
(License of Middle Education;
general science-liberal arts diploma):
Awarded by a Colegio
(Private High School) or a Liceo
(Public High School) after
completion of four years
of secondary academic education;
grants access to academic higher
education
C Técnico Medio (Middle Technician;
vocational-technical diploma):
Awarded by a Técnico-Profesional
(Technical
Professional High School) after
completion of four years of
secondary technical /
vocational education; grants access
to technical higher education
4) Higher Education (educación superior), which is received at universities, professional
institutes, or technical center
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Cultural Study LLED 478C
Fiona Slade
Student Expectations
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Teachers will dress professionally and arrive on time
A high level of immediacy:
behaviors that enhance closeness to and non-verbal interaction
intimacy:
between student and teacher (touching, eye contact ect.)
etc.
A mutually respectful relationship between teacher and student
Students expect democratic and group-work orientated
oriented classroom activities to the point that
it is not balanced with individual work
Access to learning resources such as computers and textbooks
Canadian Teacher, Chilean Student: Cultural
Differences in the Classroom
SCENARIO
CONFLICT
POSSIBLE RESOLUTION
A student stands very close
to you when asking for
clarification, and finds it
rude and confusing when
you back away .
Chilean students may feel
very comfortable standing
close to their teacher, while a
North American teacher
finds standing so close to
their student inappropriate .
Explicitly teach that personal
space and touching norms
are different where you are
from and that you do not
mean to disrespect your
students when you increase
the personal space .
When doing group work,
you notice that students in
your class do not work as
well when paired with a peer
from a different social class.
Chileans do not have friends
and do not often socialize
with people outside of their
social class.
Be active during group work
activities to help ensure that
everyone is participating.
Create larger groups so that
no student feels excluded
due to social class.
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Cultural Study LLED 478C
Fiona Slade
On Mondays especially,
students often have a hard
time focusing on learning
objectives because they like
to talk and socialize about
their weekends.
The maintenance of social
relationships in Chilean
culture is viewed as more
important than academics.
Create learning activities that
allow students to incorporate
and expand upon stories and
experiences from their
personal lives within the
classroom.
You hand out a worksheet
and give students directions
to work individually. You do
not permit them to work
together.
The students do not
understand and do not think
that it is fair that they are not
allowed to work in
collaboration.
Explicitly teach that your
classroom will involve a
combination of group work
and individual work in order
to identify where individual
students may be
experiencing difficulties, as
well as to ensure that all
students are contributing
equally and not relying on
peers during group work.
Provide positive feedback on
individual work to show
students that their individual
knowledge and opinions are
valued.
Recommended for Further Reading:
Cox, C. (2005). Innovation and
reform to improve the quality of
primary education: Chile. 2005
Education for all Global Monitoring
Report, Chilean Ministry of Education.
Warwick, J.M. (2009). CoConstructing Representations of
Culture in ESL and EFL Classrooms:
Discursive Faultlines in Chile and
California. The Modern Language
Journal, 93, 30-35.
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Cultural Study LLED 478C
Fiona Slade
References
BBC News. (2012). Chile Timeline.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1222905.stm
BBC News Country Profiles (2012). Chile Profile.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19357497
Centre for Intercultural Learning [Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada]
http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=cl#cn-1
Cox, C. (2005). Innovation and reform to improve the quality of primary education: Chile.
2005 Education for all Global Monitoring Report, Chilean Ministry of Education.
Culture Crossing.
http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=14&CID=42
Embassy of Chile. http://www.chile-usa.org/education.html
Feagles, Shelley M. (1999). A Guide to Educational Systems Around the World. Washington,
DC: NAFSA.
Gregersen, Tammy. (2006). A cross-cultural comparison of nonverbal teacher immediacy
and foreign language anxiety in Chilean and Russian English language classrooms.
Revista signos, 39 (62), 407-426.
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