Design and Implementation of the Degree in Multigrade Education in Mexico: Contributions to Initial Teacher Training

More than 40% of primary schools in Mexico are multigrade, that is, where there are more groups than teachers. The literature and evaluations prepared in the last five years in the country coincide in pointing out that one of the main problems faced by multigrade is the initial training of the actors who work in this type of school. Hence, recognizing the need to create a specific initial training program to work in multigrade schools, at the end of 2019, the National Pedagogical University formed a team of academics and researchers from various institutions and entities in the country who worked on the design of the Degree in Multigrade Education. The purpose of this article is to account for the training model and pedagogical approach of the program design and its implementation as of August 2022 in the San Luis Potosi Campus. The data comes from documentary sources and from the observation of the development of the program. The article highlights municipal management as part of the priority actions for implementation, the characterization of the group of students and the collegiate work of academics as a result of this degree, unique in Latin America.