Public School Reform in Puerto Rico: Sustaining Colonial Models of Development

by Jose Solis

Overview

Puerto Rico's colonial history under the United States has shaped the character of development and education in that territory. In 1898, when the United States invaded Puerto Rico, the language, culture, and development of the latter was arrested by a colonialist mandate involving the social, political, and economic spheres. The role that the development of a mass public school system would play in sustaining colonial relationships was seen as paramount. Since then the developments in public school reform policies have contributed to and have been defined and determined within the linguistic and ideological framework of the colonizers' conceptualization of development for Puerto Rico. If development is more than growth, and if it includes self-determination and cultural expression within the context of political and economic arrangements, then Puerto Rico remains a classic example of colonialism 500 years after Columbus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313289781
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/21/1994
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Education , #60
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Lexile:	1570L (what's this?)

About the Author

JOSE SOLIS is Assistant Professor of Education at DePaul University in Chicago. He was born and raised in Puerto Rico and has taught in public and private schools as well as at the university level. He has written numerous articles and taught education in Puerto Rico.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Self-determination and Puerto Rico
Development: Two Models
Reconstituting the Economy: "Orthodox" Development as a Form of Control
Silencing the Culture
Economic Growth and Underdevelopment
Changing Schools in a Changing Economy: The Response of Vocational Education Initiatives
Looking Ahead: Current School Reform Initiatives
Bibliography
Index