Education in Cuba—an alternative educational discourse

Lessons to be learned

Bibliographic Data

ID11920125
AuthorsAnders Breidlid (0000-0002-7859-0691, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume37
Issue5
Pages617-634
Publication date2007-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCompare A Journal of Comparative and International Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7925 • E-ISSN: 1469-3623
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057920701582491
OpenAlexW2034110655
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited14

This article focuses on the Cuban education system, which is well known for its focus on inclusion and equality of opportunity, but also for its focus on political and ideological conformity. The economic crisis in Cuba has led to an educational crisis as well, both in terms of teacher shortages and a decrease in quality and in political/ideological commitment. In 2001 a comprehensive transformation of the education system in Cuba was introduced. This transformation followed in the wake of ‘the battle of ideas’, a campaign introduced to mobilize the youth for the defence of the revolution. The article critically examines the ideas and ideology behind the transformation policy and discusses the problem of ideological exclusion, despite the inclusiveness of the system (free education). Education in Cuba has not received a cent from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund since the revolution, but is still reputed to have one of the best school systems (if not the best) in the developing world. The article discusses this claim (what is meant by best?) and examines the lessons to be learnt from the Cuban educational experience. Its uniqueness in a global perspective—what the author defines as cultural capital more or less universally distributed—represents an alternative educational route that ought to be studied carefully by other countries in both the south and north

Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Cuban History and Society · Psychology

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