Educators endorse major curriculum reforms in Mexico but are concerned that increased autonomy could trigger confusion among teachers, a study shows.
The Nueva Escuela Mexicana (NEM)-introduced in 2023- emphasizes inclusion and diversity and project-based learning.
A focus on indigenous cultures encourages the "rescuing" Mexican of children's roots, but could also bring reverse discrimination in less diverse regions where people may not relate so closely to indigenous languages and cultures.
Some of those who took part in the study also expressed confusion about the potentially excessive flexibility in the NEM's curriculum and pedagogy.
The study recommends those implementing the new curriculum execute a certain degree of rigidity over its curriculum and pedagogy to create a balance between the autonomy of individual teachers and schools and broader control. This is also necessary to provide both freedom and support and feedback for teachers.
The study says while many participants have embraced the autonomy, a total absence of guidelines or regulations may still trigger confusion among teachers.
Some interviewees-notably headteachers and teachers who observe and practice everyday teaching-expressed concerns about the perhaps excessive freedom teachers gained through the reform.
Some teachers also seemed confused that they had too much room for adaptation and sometimes considered it as a lack of structure and guidance.
The study is by Nozomi Sakata, from Hiroshima University, Nicholas Bremner, from the University of Exeter, and Lilia Sulema Bórquez-Morales, from the Universidad Autónoma de Queretaro, Mexico.
This is one of the first large-scale qualitative studies on the NEM. Fieldwork took place in three states: Nuevo León, Hidalgo and Chiapas between October 2023 and January 2024. Researchers visited 12 Mexican public primary schools and conducted a total of 79 individual and group interviews with 169 participants. This included 23 teachers, 12 head teachers, 1 deputy head teacher, 3 local teacher trainers, 4 local supervisors. They also conducted 24 group interviews with pupils, as well as 11 group interviews with parents.
Dr Bremner said: "The NEM's emphasis on Indigenous community was more welcomed in the south of the country but less so in the North, where there are not so many Indigenous communities. Participants who did not identify themselves as having an indigenous background seemed to distance themselves from the weight put on Indigenous values and traditions in the NEM.
"The reform was seen as offering a solution to one of the important problems extant in society, specifically in relation to diverse Mexican cultures and traditions considered to be "lost." Some participants told us the NEM helped "rescue" their cultural roots-notably indigenous languages-by focusing on the local, contextualizing teaching and learning in everyday life, and granting autonomy to teachers.
