Pluribus Unum, of many one: Teaching and Learning for the Twenty-First Century. Educational Goals, Policies and Curricula from six Nations

Abstract

The book that is reviewed, belongs to Reimers and Chung, who propose interesting questions: Are subjects the appropriate means to develop competences? What is the appropriate role of didactic pedagogies, independent study, project-based learning and outdoor education, and How can a balance between these different ways of learning be achieved? According to the authors, the theorists who answer these questions regarding the effectiveness of the school in its axis of technical improvement, the nature of education for the life and purposes of education are Jullien, Pestalozzi, Quincy Adam, Mann, Lancaster and Dewey.
The authors choose Chile, China, Singapore, the United States, Mexico and India because they comprise 40% of the world's student population. The text allows us to infer that, based on the approaches of the authors, basic education in Mexico is not a priority in the political agenda. In 325 pages and six chapters, three positions are identified, the first refers to studies on the analysis of the effectiveness of the curricular approach, the second, describes in a broad manner, the public schooling, to identify curricular design models and promote acquisition of new competences and, the third, refers to the analysis on the expansion of empirical knowledge about a school competence, to help the student effectively.