Transforming Mexico’s Public Education: Advancing Social Mobility Through Innovative Educational Models

Summary

In 2024, Fundación Azteca committed to expanding its successfully proven educational model over the next six years in Monterrey Mexico’s public lower and upper secondary schools. The project will enrich Mexico’s national public education system by prioritizing character development, value creation, inclusive education, and social mobility. It will also foster liberty through evidence-based pedagogy and service-based learning aligned with the United Nations sustainable development goals. By leveraging various educational programs and workshops; consistent and ongoing teacher training in innovative pedagogies; digital immersion initiatives; and educational events, Fundación Azteca and its valuable partners will equip more than 800 students with relevant, 21st century, skills such as courage, adaptability, problem-solving, independence, and critical thinking.

Approach

Fundación Azteca (FAZ) crafted the Azteca Educational Model to enrich the Mexican educational framework through a supplementary program in public secondary schools selected by state governments for outstanding students that centers on Character Development, Social and Environmental Value Creation, and Liberty. The model utilizes digital infrastructure and innovative methodologies.
Currently active in 18 public schools across Mexico and 2 in Guatemala, FAZ serves over 7,000 students, addressing dropout rates and educational disparities. Recently, FAZ inaugurated an Azteca school in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, aiming to grow in capacity and educate 860 underprivileged students. FAZ’s implementation plan spans 24 quarters, encompassing curriculum design, infrastructure setup, model execution, and coordination efforts.
From August to July, FAZ implements the model through three pathways: curricular, cultural, and academic extension. The curricular pathway covers the entire target population, focusing on character and liberty development, value creation pedagogy, classes in Technology, Global perspective, English, and Life Skills. Activities span pre-educational planning, teacher professionalization, curriculum classes, evaluations, and reports. The cultural pathway promotes the model’s principles via school-wide transversal interventions, involving equipment, connectivity, maker classrooms, and training for teachers, parents, and other community actors. The academic extension pathway enhances students’ profiles through voluntary programs, workshops, and projects throughout the school year.
FAZ designs and implements quality extracurricular classes; covers staff salaries and administrative expenses; conducts diverse workshops; hosts educational, outreach events; and conducts formative workshops for the general public, focusing on the students’ parents. Additionally, FAZ provides innovative capacity-building

Action Plan

Over a span of six years, the project follows a structured timeline with quarterly cycles aimed at continual improvement and expansion:

Year 1
Q1: Onsite inspections, budget approvals, vendor validations, curriculum design, and distribution and setup of electronic devices. These foundational steps set the groundwork.
Q2-Q4: Implementation phases, focusing on comprehensive teacher training, integration of digital tools into classes, and introduction of the Aztec Model. Ongoing monitoring of students’ academic progress and device usage, and sessions aimed at achieving an 80% teacher certification rate in Apple education.

Year 2
Q5: Planning activities begin with inspections for expansion, securing budget approvals, vendor validations, curriculum updates, and distribution of setup and electronic devices.
Q6-Q8: Activities mirror Year 1’s efforts, emphasizing teacher development, enhancement of digital skills, and further integration of the Aztec Model. Continuous monitoring and feedback sessions, drive improvements to sustain educational quality and meet the 80% teacher certification goal.

Year 3
Q9: Planning includes inspections, budget approvals, vendor validations, ongoing curriculum refinements, and electronic device distribution and setup.
Q10-Q12: Implementation phases repeat established processes, focusing on teacher training, skill advancement, and consistent application of the Aztec Model. Continuous monitoring and feedback ensure adjustments are made to optimize learning outcomes and maintain teacher certification standards.

Years 4-6
Q13-Q24: Quarterly activities continue with inspections for expansion, securing budget approvals, validations, and curriculum adjustments for evolving educational landscapes. There is sustained implementation of the Aztec Model, focus on teacher training, electronic device deployment, and digital skill enhancement. Monitoring and feedback mechanisms persist to refine strategies and ensure educational excellence.

Background

Mexico boasts one of the world’s largest educational systems, encompassing approximately 35 million students, over 2 million teachers, and 266,000 schools (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 2022) . Despite its extensive coverage, educational standards remain subpar. Recent PISA test findings indicate that Mexican students fail to meet high competency levels in mathematics, reading, and science, with 66%, 47%, and 51% of students scoring below Level 2 in each of these topics respectively (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023) . Socioeconomic disparities significantly impact academic achievement, with disadvantaged students trailing behind their advantaged peers by 58 points in mathematics (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023) .

While primary school completion rates stand at 97%, rates decline in secondary (92.9%) and high school (70.2%) , accompanied by dropout rates of 2.5% and 9.2%, respectively (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 2022) . The reasons for dropouts are multifaceted, encompassing personal, familial, socio-community, and macroeconomic factors (Kattan & Székely, 2015) . Inadequate resources, substandard educational quality, and a dearth of labor market incentives significantly contribute to dropout rates (Kattan & Székely, 2015) .

To tackle these challenges, interventions targeting student retention and enhancing public education quality at all levels are imperative. Such efforts are vital for nurturing a skilled workforce and advancing national development agendas.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

To successfully implement this model across multiple schools, the foundation is seeking funding most importantly for technological equipment. Additionally, international exposure would be beneficial to share its work, create new alliances, and facilitate potential scaling up and knowledge-sharing., FAZ recognizes the success and impact of its educational system and wishes to share not only best practices and expertise, but also the model itself so it can be adapted, replicated and scaled up in more public schools in Mexico and other countries.