Education and Human Development in Latin America: Some Reflections from the Standpoint of Cultural Psychology

Economic programs aimed at improving education in Latin America have failed to deliver the promised results. The assumption that improving primary and secondary education will contribute to the eradication of poverty has discarded that the culture of marginalized social groups reduces the effectiveness of such endeavor. We explore the psychological aspects of culture-the beliefs, values, and meaning systems of any cultural group. We highlight how families living in poverty perceive schooling and its supposed benefits. These attitudes are transmitted to children in the socialization process. Another prevalent problem is the high proportion of adolescents who drop out of school. We look for an explanation in their internal representations of schoolwork and their motivation for doing it. We conclude that cultural beliefs should be taken into account in the planning of educational programs to aid children and adolescents from poor neighborhoods. They must be adapted to the cultural world of recipient groups.