MACILE is the first program in the Dominican Republic specifically designed to advance engineering education in K-12 classrooms in LAC in the DR. It emerged in 2007, partly due to the recognition that in the Dominican Republic the educational infrastructure is basic, and the country must be an innovative actor to achieve sustainable economic expansion in the renewable energy based global economy of the 21st century. Thus, integral to the MACILE’s mission is the commitment to empower teachers and students through competitive education, not only to better their own lives, but also to participate in the Dominican Republic's emergence as an active and influential member of the world community. There is a growing awareness in the role that sustainable expansion and resource development can play in the future, and through MACILE, COSOLA seeks to encourage this awareness.
MACILE’s mission is to nurture the talents of young people from poor communities through collaborative efforts, by providing them with learning environments that challenge them to have a thirst for understanding and knowing, rise to the highest educational standards, and make a difference in a new world. This mission embodies four main objectives.First, instill in the students the drive to excel in K-12 education and encourage them to pursue studies and careers in Mathematics, the Sciences, and Engineering. Second, develop a cadre of educators that can lead the way toward continuous improvement in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and language education in the public schools. Third, increase access to high-quality pre-college STEM education for talented students through (i) a preparatory school, (ii) scholarships, and (iii) mentoring; thus contributing to bridge the knowledge divide between the privileged few and the disadvantaged majority. Forth, encourage students, teachers, and leaders to be driving forces for real change and improvement in their communities.
MACILE also recognizes the need to make serious effort to harness the enormous talents existent in poor communities in less developed countries. Developing this wealth of human capital is not only vital to foster scientific and technological development in these countries in the 21st century but it also fulfills a fundamental human right. Denying poor children the right to access good quality education is to condemn this vulnerable population to a world without hope. Quality education elevates hope.
The first region of operation of MACILE is in Hitabo-Nigua (Ytabo), located 20 miles southwest of the capital, Santo Domingo, with an estimated student population of approximately 11,800 (from informal records). The parents of these students have, on average, completed through the 5th level of primary school (preliminary results from survey conducted in 2007). Less than 50 % of students that complete 8th grade continue to high school and less than 60% of those entering high school will graduate.
Like in the rest of the country, schools in Ytabo operate under precarious conditions, lacking essentials like well prepared mathematics, science, and languages teachers; safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation; appropriate school facilities and textbooks; electricity; and an adequate school-day. In addition to these conditions, learning at public schools in Ytabo is also impaired by limited parental involvement and growing socio-economic ills (i.e., high unemployment, crime, HIV/AID, drugs, alcoholism, and noise) affecting the communities (2007 survey).
Contrary to the United States, where the standard infrastructures for mathematics and science are matured and significant resources are devoted annually to develop more advanced STEM curricula,4, 5,6 the Dominican Republic has yet to begin this process. Far reaching educational reforms adopted since the 1980s contain no clear standards that reflect the country’s needs and expectations in K-12 mathematics, science and technology education. The country is still struggling to define a science and technology vision. Its budget for technological and scientific research and development is dismal as is the budget for educational research. Indeed, the overall educational budget in the DR has never been higher than 2.7% of GDP in any period1. This scenario does not seem to emphasize research as an integral part of the education budget.
The educational reforms have also failed to improve access to quality education. In the DR access to good quality education is reserved for the privileged few that can afford the high tuition and fees charged by the elite private K-12 schools. Public K-12 schools place at the bottom of the quality scale nationally and internationally.2,3. While accessibility for children age 6-13 has increased substantially over the past 15 years (91% enrollment), that for 14-17 years old has remained relatively low (36.5%). In 2005, 65.5% of the 15-19 years old had completed 8th grade or beyond and less than 60% of those enrolled graduated from high school. In rural areas and less advantaged marginal communities like Ytabo the high school graduation rate remains less than 50%.1,3 This failure has contributed to an increase in the child labor force (a serious issue in the DR) and reduced the level of schooling of the population, which is about 9 years for individuals born in 1970. Unfortunately, this environment has serious detrimental consequences for the country. The underprivileged of the DR is a vital force to the success of the country.
Introducing engineering education in K-12 classrooms under these conditions is clearly challenging and requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary and comprehensive system-based approach with process-specific strategies that consider continuous improvement over time. This model also has to introduce and refine standards and guidance that can lay a foundation for building effective K-12 science, mathematics, technology, and engineering curricula. The MACILE model follows this approach, but in a limited scale. MACILE is not intended to be a large program in terms of the number of students and teachers directly served. Rather, it targets two critical groups: (ii) talented students in the top 20% of the class and (ii) teachers that want to excel in their field. The multiplicative effects of these groups – once properly empowered to lead in the classrooms, businesses, and the communities – is expected to have far reaching impacts, creating and increasing opportunities for many more children to access better education.
References
[1] Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). 2008. Review of National Policies for Educations: Dominican Republic. Paris, France: OECD. www.oecd.org/publishing
[2] Gajardo, M. 2007. Education for all 2015: Will we make it? Dominican Republic: Country case study. Profile commissioned by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. UNESCO
[3] UNESCO. 2000. First International comparative study on language, mathematics, and associated factors. Laboratorio Latinoamericano de Evaluación de la Calidad de la Educación. 2nd Report. Chile
[4] International Technology Education Association (ITEA), ed. 2000/2002. Standards for technological literacy: Content for the study of technology. Reston, VA: International Technology Education Association.
[5] Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 2001. Massachusetts science and technology/engineering curriculum framework. Malden, MA: Massachusetts Department of Education. www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html
