Presentation for a session with Master's students at the University of Portsmouth. March 19, 2024 Based on a book chapter titled "Normativas de Educación a Distancia en México" by García Quezada, Espinosa de la Rosa & Padilla Rodríguez (in press)

1. Evolution of distance
education in Mexico
FROM PRINTED MAGAZINES TO DIGITAL LEARNING

2. What comes to mind
when you think about
the 1920s?

4. Meanwhile in
Mexico…

6. What % of the
population in Mexico
was illiterate in 1921?
POPULATION: 14 334 780

7. 85% of the
population was
illiterate.
POPULATION: 14 334 780
(Departamento de la Estadísticas Nacional, 1921;
Centro de Actualización del Magisterio en la Ciudad de México, 2023)

8. How big is Mexico?

9. Comparison courtesy of
https://www.thetruesize.com

10. Radio education (1924 → 1968)

11. Who would teach?

12. Who would teach?
WHOEVER COULD READ AND WRITE!

13. DISTANCE
EDUCATION

14. Rural
Teacher
Magazine
Biweekly publication from 1931

16. Education was political.

17. Rural Teacher
Magazine
▪ Used it to share official info
▪ Included teachers’ proposals and ideas to
organize rural schools
▪ Exam at the end of the magazine, which
learners could send via mail to the Directorate
of Cultural Missions (deadline: 1 month from
publication)
▪ Face-to-face final exam at the end of the
academic year, which served as evidence to
obtain the degree
(Bosco Hernández & Barrón Soto, 2008; Copado, 2022; Ruiz Lagier, 2013)

18. 1936-1940

19. Federal Institute
of Teacher
Training
▪ Started in 1945 with 46
regional centres
▪ Courses via mail: distance
education became more
structured
(Bosco Hernández & Barrón Soto, 2008; Centro de Actualización del Magisterio en la Ciudad de México, 2023)

20. Teachers got booklets with an exam.
(Bosco Hernández & Barrón Soto, 2008)

21. During the holidays, teachers completed their studies with
intensive face-to-face courses.
(Bosco Hernández & Barrón Soto, 2008)

22. Over 100k GCSE teachers
trained in 26 years
(1945-1971)
(Centro de Actualización del Magisterio en la Ciudad de México, 2023)

23. Telesecundaria: TV school
Since 1968
For 12-15 year old students in remote or rural areas
(Coordinación General @prende.mx, 2020)

24. 15-minute TV programmes
accessed via satellite or
internet
35 minutes of work guided by
a face-to-face teacher
TELESECUNDARIA
LESSON
(Coordinación General @prende.mx, 2020)
A single teacher for all subjects per level

25. Telesecundarias remain current.
Prevalence of TV (currently 91.2%
of Mexican homes have a TV)
+18k centres (6 out of every 10
public secondary schools)
+1 million students (20% of all
secondary students)
Teacher reports of lacking the
required equipment, knowledge
and training to support students
Limited students’ digital literacy
(Dirección General @prende.mx, 2020; INEGI, 2023; Ramos Ramón & Frías López, 2019)

26. Founded in 1950 with 26 higher education institutions (currently 211 members*)
Proposed the Master Plan of Open and Distance Higher Education in 1998
▪ Emphasised the affordances of using technologies and online resources
▪ Recognised the potential of distance education (flexibility, diverse learning spaces)
* There are currently 5,936 universities and higher education institutions in Mexico (Statista Research Department, 2023)

27. Open and distance education initiatives
Sistema de
Universidad
Abierta y a
Distancia
•UNAM, 1972
Sistema de
Enseñanza a
Distancia
•UV, 1980
Universidad
Virtual
•ITESM, 1997
Sistema de
Universidad
Virtual
•UDG, 2004
Universidad
Digital del Estado
de México
•Gobierno del Estado
de México, 2012

29. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

30. 30

31. What challenges did your
educational context face
during Covid-19?

32. Digital
literacy
Internet
Devices
???
Requirements
for online
learning

33. Primary &
secondary
schools with
electricity, water
and toilets
2020-2021
National average: 62.8%
(MejorEdu, 2020)

34. A-Level schools
with electricity,
water and
toilets
2020-2021
National average:
62.8%
(MejorEdu, 2020)

35. Primary &
secondary
schools with
computers used
for teaching or
learning
2018-2019
National average: 54.3%
(MejorEdu, 2020)

36. Primary &
secondary
schools with
Internet access
2019-2020
National average:
37.3%
(MejorEdu, 2020)

37. What % of Mexican
households had Internet in
2020?

38. Households with Internet, 2015-2020
Percentage
of
households
(INEGI, 2021)
Internet users: 72% of the population

39. What % of British households
had Internet in 2020?

40. 96% of British households
had Internet in 2020.
(100% OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN)

41. Technology as the
big saviour?

42. Technology as the
big saviour?
NOT REALLY

43. ▪ Internet ▪ Television ▪ Radio ▪ Textbooks
+639 MILLION VIEWS FROM 150 COUNTRIES
(SEP, 2022)

44. Distance
education
during
Covid-19
Content-based learning
Emergency remote teaching
Poor digital literacy
Poor infrastructure

45. Learn
more…

46. After the crisis…
Online education was legally recognised as an educational option.
Before the crisis…
The General Law of Education established
▪ Modalities: Schooled, non-schooled, blended
▪ Options: Open education, distance education
(Acuerdo número 18/11/18, DOF 27/11/2018)

47. Is online learning
distance education?

48. Online Distance

49. Educational Digital Agenda
Teacher training Digital culture
Digital educational
resources
Connectivity &
infrastructure
Research &
innovation

50. What % of the
population in Mexico
is illiterate today?
POPULATION: 126 014 024

51. 4.7% of the
population is
currently illiterate.
POPULATION: 126 014 024
(INEGI, 2020)

52. Final
thoughts…

53. Where does Mexico stand in
PISA (Programme for
International Student
Assessment)?

54. Mexico’s results in PISA (Programme
for International Student Assessment)

55. UK’s results in PISA

56. Is it a fair
comparison?

57. What does the future of
distance education hold?

58. Evolution of distance
education in Mexico
@BRENDAPADILLA