An analysis of the relationship between higher education and development by applying Sen's human capabilities approach : the case of three technological universities in Mexico

Reading for a PhD at York could not have been possible without the financial support of the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (Conacyt) and, more recently, of the Secretariat of Public Education (Sep). I thank both institutions for helping to meet my academic objectives. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Haleh Afshar who taught me how to deal with the complexity of the academic world by giving me constructive comments and criticisms that have improved the quality of this dissertation. No doubt, Haleh has been a key person to improve my “functionings” as a researcher. Many people contributed at different points during the writing of this thesis. I am particularly grateful with doctors Roberto Rodriguez, Pablo Latapí Sarré, Rollin Kent, Carlos Muñoz Izquierdo, Felipe Martinez Rizo, Hugo Casanova, Julio Boltvinik, Fernando Arias Galicia and professors A. H. Halsey, Hugh Lauder and Walter W. MacMahon who kindly replied my e-mails or gave me part of their time to listen to my concerns about education and development (my apologies if I missed somebody). In constructing the research techniques I received the advice of Dr. Lorenza Villa. When I had problems, especially with some economic techniques, Alfonso Mendoza and Maria Elena Garcia were always in the mood of helping. During the pilot study and the field work, I received invaluable support from Dr. Arturo Nava, Jorge Acoltzi, Rosario Tapia, Javier Herrera, Gildardo Villalobos of the General Coordination of the UTs. I would like also to thank the logistic support of my friends of the GMCE: Silvia Coria, Dulce, Felipe, Eva Ruelas, and, my “eternal supervisor” Salvador Ruiz de Chávez. To apply 717 questionnaires and conduct more than a hundred interviews would have been an impossible task without the logistic support and facilities provided by the UTs. I am very grateful with Ing. Roberto Reyes, Nicolás Serna, Pascual Torres, contadora Ornelas, Esthela Maldonado and Alejandra of the UT of Neza; Mtro. Javier Hernández, Carlos M. Beckwith, Miguel A. Cruz, Gisela Girón, Angélica, Lorena and Horte of Tula; and Lie. Héctor Tiscareño, Juan Manuel Montañez, Paco, Daniel, Ricardo, Axel, Don Rafa, Jorge Marabotto, Amparo, Aurora, Claudine Ruiz-Esparza, Maru Robledo and Mónica Reyes of the UT of Aguascalientes. To my close friends Max Niño, Juancho Barron and Arturo Flores for their enjoyable company during this “academic” experience. Thanks, too, to those employers who illustrated with their particular visions this work. During the data collection process, I was very fortunate in meeting many committed graduates from Neza, Tula and Aguascalientes. Many thanks to all, this work is dedicated to them. Special thanks must go to Professor Amartya Sen with whom I had the chance to discuss a piece of this work. His comments were extremely useful in the final stage of my studies. To Heloise Brown, Sarah Marshall and Sam Clark for their remarkable proof reading. I would like also to thank the administrative and academic staff of the Department of Politics at York, especially, to my backup supervisors; Dr. Neil Carter, in the kickoff of the PhD, and Dr. Rob Aitken during the second half. Very special thanks to my family and friends for their love and support. They have flashed my life with happiness. To Deborah Fabri for her unconditional support and for sharing with me the sunshine of England

Em busca de novas explicações sobre a relação entre educação e desigualdade: o caso da Universidade Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl

Ao explicar a relação entre a desigualdade e a educação sob as perspectivas funcionalistas, se corre o risco de deixar de debater a forma em que os indivíduos atuam no interior das estruturas sociais. Esse artigo, portanto, se propõe a utilizar a perspectiva das capacidades humanas de Amartya Sen para explicar a relação entre desigualdade e educação superior no México. Para este estudo, foi escolhida a Universidade Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl (UTN), cujos egressos adquirem um tipo de capacidade (ou liberdade) que lhes permite recriar continuamente, até certo ponto, as formações sociais em que se inserem e atuam. Essa ação constitui um primeiro passo para a redução da desigualdade. No entanto, a medida que os jovens intervêm em seu mundo e traçam suas próprias rotas de desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional com o propósito de alcançar maior bem-estar, as oportunidades sociais e econômicas se restringem. Tal fato traz como consequência a divisão de um grupo de profissionais com aspirações similares, mas com níveis econômicos diversos, surgindo, assim, um novo tipo de desigualdade.  Aqueles estudantes com um nível de renda mais alto cumprem com maior facilidade suas aspirações, se comparados àqueles jovens que enfrentam limitações econômicas. Ainda que a UTN contribua de maneira substancial para a redução da desigualdade de capacidades, também é necessário prestar atenção ao âmbito institucional, político e econômico que rodeia esta universidade para ampliar o entendimento da desigualdade dentro do campo educativo

Social participation in public schools of Mexico: A literature review

A pesar de una ola de democratización, la participación ciudadana en las escuelas de México no se ha desarrollado. Algunas investigadores (Flores-Crespo, 2006; Latapí, 2004; OCE, 1999, 2008, 2010; Santizo, 2011; Veloz, 2003) han explicado este fallo con el argumento de que (1) el Estado mexicano ha fallado en crear ajustres institucionales bien articulados y (2) la ciudadanía no puede prosperar debido a la herencia del régimen autoritario (1920-2000). Recientemente, esta dependencia ha sido cuestionada por autores como Acevedo y López (2012) o Zurita (2008, 2010). Este artículo presenta una revisión de la literatura que muestra que ambas explicaciones, la basada en la dependencia del Estado o la que hace referencia a la perspectiva culturalista, son demasiado estrechas para explicar por qué la participación social en las escuelas mexicanas siguen siendo un problema. Es necesario un enfoque más integral. En este sentido, se comentan algunos elementos clave para analizar las políticas públicasDespite a wave of democratization, citizen participation in Mexico´s schools has not been developed. Some scholars (Flores-Crespo, 2006; Latapí, 2004; OCE, 1999, 2008, 2010; Santizo, 2011; Veloz, 2003) have explained this failure by arguing that (1) the Mexican state have failed in creating well-articulated institutional settings and (2) citizenship cannot flourish due to the legacy of the authoritarian regime (1920-2000). Recently, such path dependency has been questioned by other authors such as Acevedo & López (2012) or Zurita (2008, 2010). This literature survey shows that both explanations (those based on State-dependency and those based on a culturalist perspective) are too narrow to explain why social participation in the Mexican schools still being a problem. A more comprehensive approach is needed. In this sense, some key elements of renovated way of analysing public policy are commente

Movilidad subjetiva, capabilities y educación

How have the perceptions of a group of Mexican university graduates changed over time? And what kind of decisions could these graduates take when their subjectivity has been modified? This article addresses both questions by focusing in the life path of a group of associate professionals from one of the technological universities in Mexico. In doing so, the need of taking into account both subjective (perception) and objective (monetary income) variables in the study of social mobility is stressed. The capabilities approach (Sen, 1985, 1987, 1999, 2009) is applied because of the focus on individual rationality and the freedom an individual has for choosing what she/he values for her/his life achievements. A longitudinal study is designed to analyse the social mobility, and it is found an upward trend in subjective mobility among the participants, which is closely related to the observed objective mobility, according to what has been supported by previous studies. These findings argue that the group of university graduates have lifted their own expectations about education, therefore, their actions to support a new generation is potentially real, and due to the successful outcomes they have experienced, their perceptions of education are positively related to what they value the most. This may enhance the social function of the technological higher education in Mexico, but further analysis is required.Este artículo responde a la pregunta de cómo han cambiado ciertas percepciones a lo largo de la trayectoria de vida de seis egresados con el título de Técnico Superior Universitario de una universidad tecnológica de México y qué decisiones están tomando a partir de este cambio de subjetividad. Para ello, se discute la importancia de combinar variables subjetivas (percepción) con las de tipo objetivo (ingreso) en el estudio de la movilidad social. Se elige el enfoque de las capabilities (Sen, 1985, 1987, 1999, 2009) como el marco de análisis primordial dado su énfasis en la racionalidad individual amplia, así como en su aporte conceptual referido a la libertad sustantiva para elegir estilos de vida valiosos. Por medio de un estudio longitudinal de panel, se recaba información para dar cuenta de un patrón de movilidad subjetiva ascendente, la cual mantiene su relación con la de tipo objetivo, tal como lo han documentado otros estudios. Además, se observa una relación positiva sobre sus percepciones acerca de la educación y sus logros. La manera en que los egresados de esta universidad perciben sus libertades y las de sus hijos lleva a pensar en una función social de la educación superior tecnológica que merece un mayor debate y además, demanda estudio con poblaciones más extensas para constatar los hallazgos aquí reportados

The substitution of Carrera Magisterial: a public policy learning process?

This article analyses the substitution process of the Carrera Magisterial (CM) Program by the new Programa de Promoción en la Función por Incentivos en Educación Básica (PPFIEB) in Mexico. These programs are based on an incentive scheme for elementary teachers in recognition to their work since 1992. Due to the absence of theoretical references in the field of the public policy in education, it is the aim of this article to find out if the adequacies to this economic incentive scheme respond to a policy-oriented learning process (SABATIER; EIBLE, 2007). A retrospective analysis of the teachers‟ professional policies has been conducted, specifically of the CM program and its changes from its creation in 1992 until its substitution in 2015. Based on our analysis it is concluded that it seems to exist a policy-oriented learning process in the substitution of the CM by the PPFIEB. However, there two relevant points to highlight here: first, CM has changed more for political reasons than for scientifically proven evidence. Second, the new Program (PPFIEB) seems to take into account part of this evidence but without a complete incorporation of it

Análisis de políticas públicas en educación básica de personas jóvenes y adultas. Un estudio comparativo entre Brasil y México

Con el objeto de analizar el proceso de implementación de las políticas públicas en la educación básica de personas  jóvenes y adultas en Brasil y México en los primeros años del siglo 21,  se elaboró una investigación que prestara especial atención al papel de las ideas de los distintos actores que participan en el proceso. Para ello se utilizó una metodología de tipo cualitativo y de análisis comparado entre ambos países. Como marco teórico se utilizó el marco de coaliciones promotoras de Paul Sabatier y Hank Jenkins-Smith (1988). La investigación evidencia que para ambos países ha sido difícil incorporar nuevas formas de operación y en consecuencia con pocas posibilidades para transitar hacia cambios significativos en la implementación de las políticas . También se muestran claras diferencias entre una implementación centralizada, con una débil red de política en México, y otra con amplia participación de los distintos actores sociales en Brasil

Influencia familiar en la elección de carreras STEM (Ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas) en estudiantes de bachillerato

Society experiences scientific and technological changes that are forcing economies to focus their attention on the development of human capital with a profile in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This article aims to demonstrate the influence of the family (mother or guardian father or guardian and siblings) on the choice of STEM careers in high school students during their second and sixth semester, since choosing a career is an individual and family decision. A total of 1,759 students from six different high schools were interviewed, through a non-probabilistic sampling, by quotas. The results show that the mother or guardian is the figure that most influences the choice of a STEM career compared to the father or guardian. It was thought that siblings could have a greater effect on students, however, the results show that it is not significant that they have siblings or that siblings can influence their choice. However, it is necessary to go deeper into the study of older brothers who graduate from STEM degrees and the effect this has on the younger brother’s election, an aspect that was not addressed in the investigation. The study did not delve into variables such as the type of career and the labor role played by parents and whether or not it is related to STEM areas. In conclusion, families must carry out non-formal activities that help awaken interest in science and increase their cultural capital from an early age.La sociedad experimenta cambios científicos y tecnológicos que están obligando a las economías a centrar su atención en la formación de capital humano con un perfil en ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM por sus siglas en inglés). Elegir una carrera es una decisión de tipo individual y familiar, este artículo tiene como objetivo conocer la influencia de la familia (madre o tutora, padre o tutor y hermanos) en la elección de carreras STEM en estudiantes de segundo y sexto semestre de bachillerato. Se entrevistó a 1 mil 759 estudiantes de seis bachilleratos distintos, a través de un muestreo no probabilístico, por cuotas. Los resultados muestran que la madre o tutora es la figura que más influye en la elección de una carrera STEM en comparación con el padre o tutor. Se pensó que los hermanos podrían tener un efecto mayor en los estudiantes, no obstante, los resultados muestran que no es significativo que tengan o no hermanos y que estos puedan influir en la elección de carrera. Sin embargo, es necesario profundizar más en el estudio de los hermanos mayores que egresan de carreras STEM y el efecto que esto tiene en la elección de los hermanos menores, aspecto que no se abordó en la investigación. El estudio no profundizo en variables como: el tipo de carrera y el rol laboral que desempeñan los padres y si está o no relacionado con las áreas STEM. Se concluye que las familias deben realizar actividades no formales que ayuden a despertar el interés en la ciencia y aumentar su capital cultural desde edades tempranas

Resilience of a warm-temperate fucoid to a simulated marine heatwave: Exploring the interplay between life stages and tissues in relation to emersion.

Oral communication presented at Symposia 8 "Algal photosynthesis, carbon fixation and respiration"Marine heatwaves (MHW) represent one of the main climatic threats for seaweed assemblages, altering their functioning, structure, and ecosystem services. Experimental simulations allow to assess the potential impacts of MHWs, given the unpredictability of these events and frequently, the lack of responsive workflows to access the target population during these events. This study explored the ability of the warm-temperate intertidal fucoid Fucus guiryi to respond to a simulated MHW. We aimed to evaluate the intraspecific response of different life stages (adult/juvenile/recruit) and blade types (vegetative / fertile−receptacles) in response to emersion, and to ascertain whether previous moderate MHWs in the area might impact its recruitment. The experimental design accounted for daily thermal and emersion fluctuations considering the most intense registered MHW event and maximum air temperatures in the study area. Photophysiological evaluation revealed that receptacles were the most resilient tissue to the combined effects of heat and emersion, followed by canopy-protected embryos. Vegetative apices and plantlets exhibited marked declines in Fv/Fm, ETRmax and NPQmax close to the MHW peak, due to the additive stressors, while embryos were more affected by the end of the experiment. During the recovery and end phases, recruit density dropped by 50% in the MHW treatment, being 80% of extruded structures unfertilized egg packets, while in the control treatment recruitment was successful and up to 35-times higher. Fucus guiryi was able to recover from the MHW, but more intense and frequent events might affect their reproductive output and compromise its long-term survival.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Temporal and spatial variability in population traits of an intertidal fucoid reveals local-scale climatic refugia

Global change is imposing significant losses in the functional traits of marine organisms. Although areas of climatic refugia ameliorate local conditions and help them to persist, the extent to which mesoscale effects contribute for intraregional variability on population traits and conservation is uncertain. Here we assess patterns of conservation status of Fucus guiryi, the main intertidal habitat-forming seaweed in the Strait of Gibraltar (southern Spain and northern Morocco). We investigated the demography, reproductive phenology, and morphology at northern and southern side populations. Population traits were compared seasonally within populations from each side, and at spatial scale in early summer 2019. In the last decade three populations became extinct; two marginal populations had dispersed individuals with a narrower fertility season and miniaturized individuals below 3 cm; and five populations showed variable density and cover with more than 20% of reproductive individuals over the seasons. Highest density, cover, morphology, and reproductive potential was detected at one population from each side, suggesting local-scale climatic refugia in upwelling areas located inside marine protected areas. Southern recruits were more warm-tolerant but grew less at colder conditions than northern ones, revealing a mesoscale heterogeneity in thermal affinities. This study evidenced functional losses and distinct reproductive strategies experienced by F. guiryi at peripheral locations and urges to prioritize its conservation and restoration at contemporary climatic refugia.We thank the Plant Culture unit of SCAI-UMA for providing culture chambers, particularly Dr Lara Jim ́enez for her technical assistance. The authors thank the anonymous reviewer that helped us improve the first version of manuscript. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Warming rate shapes the thermal tolerance of freshwater phytoplankton.

The impact of global warming on phytoplankton species in freshwater ecosystems could vary depending on their capacity for adapting and acclimating to changes in temperature. To make better predictions under different global warming scenarios, it is crucial to perform long-term experiments where the selection of new genetic variants could occur in addition to potential gene expression changes. Here we aimed to explore the differential evolutionary potential of two freshwater phytoplankton species growing under increasing temperatures, the bloom forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Kützing and the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii P. A. Dang. We performed an evolutionary ratchet experiment lasting over 60 generations to detect the limit of resistance to high temperatures of both species. Populations were initially maintained at 25 ºC and then subjected to a slow (+2 ºC) or to a rapid (+4 ºC) temperature increase. To characterize the increase in thermal tolerance of the derived populations, we compared the growth rate and photosynthetic performance of derived and ancestral populations at control (25 ºC), sublethal and lethal temperatures of ancestral populations. We observed that slow warming facilitates the increase of thermal tolerance of both species. Specifically, the lethal temperature of ancestral populations was only surpassed by derived populations under slow warming conditions. Thermo-tolerant derived strains showed higher photosynthetic capacity than ancestral ones at high temperatures, but at the cost of a limited capacity to dissipate energy via non-photochemical pathways. Our results suggested that the rate of global warming could modulate the thermal tolerance limit and resilience of phytoplanktonic species and alter the primary production and resilience of freshwater ecosystems.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech