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' LIBRA A A
Michigan State
University

 
      

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled
AN ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES OF SCIENCE
EDUCATION IN VENEZUELAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
presented by

LUIS BELTRAN MATA GUEVARA

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

PH.D. degreein SEC. ED. 8 CURR.

 

 

 

 

0-7839

 

ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
IN VENEZUELAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
BY

Luis Beltran Mata Guevara

This study investigated the evolution of the official
objectives of the 1944 elementary school program in science
education, as prepared by the Ministry of Education. In
addition, this study generated the mechanisms for arriving
at a new set of objectives for the elementary school science
program in Venezuela.

The elementary school program in science was created
by a general executive decree in 1944. Since that time, the
school system has been following that program and its set
of objectives. The rapid progress of science and technology
during the same period raises a question of the adequacy of
the 1944 objectives for the science education program of
Venezuela.

This study was conducted as an historical research.
The data were synthesized in relation to the evolution of
objectives. This study established the facts, and determined
trends which the data suggested; generalizations were derived

from the data. The collection, synthesis, and application of

Luis Beltran Mata Guevara

the data followed three steps: a) consideration of known
data, b) seeking new data from known sources, and c) seeking
new and previously unknown data. The procedure used to
obtain primary and secondary resources was direct correspon-
dence with agencies in the United States of America and
Venezuela. In addition, the investigator made two trips to
Venezuela, where he contacted government agencies and com-
missions; visited educational institutions; and collected
papers, books, and official documents. The sources of data
were official Venezuelan publications, UNESCO publications,
publications of the Organization of American States, unpub-
lished papers of the Ministry of Education of Venezuela,
Venezuelan books, and American books.

Among the findings of this study were the following:

There was essentially no science subject-matter in
the Venezuelan curriculum during the period from 1492 to
1943; education was theological, scholastic, humanistic, and
dogmatic. The elementary school science plan of 1944 was
prepared by a commission composed of foreign and Venezuelan
scholars. The major purpose of the science program was to
help the student-citizen to understand his relationship to
the environment; to teach him basic scientific principles;
and to generate, encourage, and stimulate his interest in
science. The external influences of American—French edu—
cation and internal educational forces were the sources of
the objectives. The 1944 science program objectives were

suited to the general and particular needs of the country.

Luis Beltran Mata Guevara

The role of the Ministry of Education has been the
main impetus in the development of education in Venezuela.
The 1944 plan was carried out by the Ministry of Education
from September 7, 1944, until July, 1971. During this per-
iod, Venezuelan elementary education had some problems.

The number of teachers and schools was not sufficient to
meet adequately the educational needs of the student popula-
tion. Furthermore, the schools available were poorly
equipped and the staff frequently lacked the necessary
preparation to carry on a satisfactory program.

The 1944 educational plan was actually known by only
800 teachers during the nineteen years from 1944 to 1963.
Studies on the implementation of the 1944 plan have shown
that even these teachers did not apply the educational objec-
tives of the plan, and there was little the Ministry of
Education could do, with a lack of personnel and facilities
and an inadequate educational budget.

A mechanism was formulated which described the
creation of a National Science Education Commission (NSEC)
and a Science Education Commission (SEC) in each school
region or community. By analyzing the present needs of
Venezuela and its students, the school's environment, and
the educational system, one can arrive at a set of science

education objectives for the Venezuelan elementary schools.

AN ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVES OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

IN VENEZUELAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

BY

Luis Beltran Mata Guevara

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum

1972

Copyright by
LUIS BELTRAN MATA GUEVARA
1972

DEDICATORIA

. i -
Para m1 esposa, Maria, y mis

hijos, Marlon, Patricia, y Luis.

ii

AC KN OWLE DGMENT S

The writer wishes to express his sincere acknowledg-
ment to Dr. Julian R. Brandou for his aid, guidance, and
assistance during all the steps of this study. Thank you,
Dr. Brandou, for your help.

The investigator also wishes to express his appre-
ciation to the members of his doctoral committee, Dr. Harry A.
Eick, Dr. Clarence Minkel, and Dr. William Sweetland, for
their assistance in the development of his program of study,
and their advice throughout the duration of his studies.

The author is also grateful to the Ministry of
Education of Venezuela for its financial support during
his studies. The writer wishes to thank the personnel of
the Departamento de Becas, especially Mr. Guillermo Da Silva
and Mrs. Sara Mendoza, whose cooperation was indispensable.

The writer is also grateful for the cooperation of
the personnel of the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center
at Michigan State University.

Finally, sincere appreciation is extended to
Mrs. Sue Cooley for her aid in the typing and editing of

this dissertation.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES. . . . . . . . .

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . .

LIST OF APPENDICES. . . . . . .

Chapter

I.

II.

/ III.

INTRODUCTION. . . . . .

Venezuela . . . . . .
The Problem . . . . .
Need for the Study. .
Methodology . . . . .
Procedures. . . . . .
Delimitations of th

Stu

dy.
Organization of the Study .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

IN VENEZUELA FROM 1492 to 1943.

Education During the Period from

1492 to 1800. . . .

Education During the Period from

1801 to 1870. . . .

Education During the Period from

1871 to 1936. . . .

1936 to 1943. . . .
Summary . . . . . . .

0

Education During the Period from

THE 1944 SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM. .

Objectives of the 1944 Science

Education Program .
Source of Objectives.

Implementation of Objectives.

The Role of the Ministry of Education .

The Relationship of Objectives to the
Needs of Students and the Country . .

Page
vi
vii

viii

FJH
tokwocnoxmrd H

H
.5

14
17
20

25
31

32
' 32
33
36
43

51

Page

IV. MECHANISMS FOR GENERATING NEW OBJECTIVES
FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION IN VENEZUELAN
ELEMNTARY SCHOOLS O I O O O C C O O O O C C O 5 3

The Present Needs of Venezuela

and Its Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Considerations in Arriving at a Set

of Science Education Objectives . . . . . . 62
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

V. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY. . . 87
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Implications and Recommendations

Of This Study 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 92
Areas for Further Research. . . . . . . . . . 94

BIBLIOGRAPHY. O O O O O I I O O O Q 0 O O O O O O O O O 96

APPENDICES. O O O O O O O O O O Q 0 O O O O O O O O O O 104

Table

2.1.

LIST OF TABLES

Educational Budgets in Venezuela from
1869—1870 to 1887-1888. . . . . . .

Educational Budgets from 1890—1891 to
1899—1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Venezuelan Student Population During
the 1968-1969 Academic Year . . . .

Estimation of the Urban and Rural
Population of Venezuela . . . . . .

Estimated Rural and Urban Population,
According to Age Group. . . . . . .

Distribution of Active Population by Age.

Estimated Population for 1975 . . . .

Manpower Provided by Different Levels of

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Distribution of Population and Educational

Facilities by Region. . . . . . .

vi

Page

21

23

55

55

56
58

58

6O

65

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
1. Map of Venezuela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

2. Organizational Structure of the Ministry
of Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

3. Relationship of the NSEC, SEC, and the
Ministry of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

vii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix
A. The 1944 Science Program Objectives . . . . . .

B. Quantitative Evolution of Elementary
Education, 1944-1970. a o o o o o o o o o o O

C. Summary of the Revision and Implementation
of the Objectives Set Forth in the 1944
Official Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. Report of Science Education Commission
at CONICIT. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O 0 O

E. Support of the U.S.A. and International
Agencies in Science Curriculum Projects . . .

viii

Page

105

107

109

112

115

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter begins with a general description of
Venezuela: its history, government, economy, demography,
and manpower. The nature of the problem; the need for this
study; the methodology; and procedures, limitations, and

organization of the study are also presented.

Venezuela

 

Venezuela was discovered by Columbus on his third
voyage to America in 1542, when he found the mouth of the
Orinoco River.l Venezuela has 1,750 miles of coastline,2
and is located on the north coast of South America, within
the Tropical Zone, and between latitudes 0°45' and 12°12'
North, and longitudes 59°45' and 73°09' West of Greenwich.
The area of Venezuela is 352,150 square miles. It is the
sixth largest country in South America and is approximately
one and one-half times the size of Texas.

Physically, Venezuela may be divided into several

quite distinct regions. The most simple division is into

 

lJosé Gil Fortoul, Historia constitucional de
Venezuela (Caracas: Editorial Las Novedades, 1942).

 

2Venezuela Up-to-Date, Winter, 1971-1972.

 

1

the Cordilleras, the lowlands and uplands of the northwest,

 

tho Llanos lowlands reaching to the Orinoco, and the uplands
and highlands of the Venezuelan Guiana beyond. Within these
regions, subdivisions such as the Orinoco delta may be dis-
tinguished.l There are four principal climatic zones ——
tropical, moderate, cool, and cold. The temperature rarely
exceeds 95° Fahrenheit anywhere in the country, and the
capital city, Caracas, has an average temperature of 69°
Fahrenheit.2 In certain mountainous areas, however, there
is perpetual snow.

Formerly, Venezuela was a part of Gran Colombia,
which was formed of four political and geographical units:
Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador. Gran Colombia
became an independent country in 1811, when a group of patri-
ots declared the country's independence from Spain. Venezuela
became an independent nation by secession from Gran Colombia
after 1830. Several internal revolutions disrupted the young
country and some twenty constitutions and many dictatorships
followed before much stability developed.3 Since 1958, Vene—
zuela has had a democratic government.

Venezuela is a Federal Republic, politically divided
into twenty states, one Federal district, and two Federal

Territories. The president is elected by direct popular

 

lPreston E. James, Latin America (4th ed.; New York:
The Odyssey Press, 1959), pp. 63-98.

 

2Venezuela Up-to-Date, op: cit.

 

3Gil Fortoul, op. cit.

vote for a five—year term. The legislative branch is bicam-
eral and is comprised of the Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies, which together form the National Congress. Like
the president, senators and deputies are elected by popular
vote. Proportional representation is provided for each
state. The judges of the Supreme Court are named by the
National Congress.

Venezuela today has approximately eleven million
inhabitants, and its population is increasing at the rate of
3.4 per cent annually. The economic statistics of Venezuela
include a birth rate of 44.2 per thousand, and a death rate
of 6.7 per thousand, with a life expectancy at birth of sixty-
six years. The above figures clearly indicate the fact that
the Venezuelan population consists mostly of youths.

Venezuela has petroleum, iron ore, gold, diamonds,
copper, bauxite, manganese, coal, salt, marble, timber, and
fisheries among its natural resources. Agricultural prod-
ucts are coffee, cocoa, corn, rice, sugar, tobacco, cotton,
sisal, and sesame.1 Venezuela's livestock production reached
seven million cattle in 1971.2 Important industries are
found, such as the production of textiles, cement, steel,
petro-chemicals, building materials, food and pharmaceutical

products, fats and oils, cigars and cigarettes, beer, tires,

 

1Ministerio de Fomento, Direccion General de Esta-
distica y Censos Nationales, Anuario Estadfstico (Caracas:
1962). See also: Venezuela Up-to-Date, 0p. cit.

2Ibid.

 

 

tubes, auto parts, shoes and clothing, electrical appliances,
and most consumer goods. Can manufacturing, packing, sugar
refining, flour milling, and automobile assembly plants have
developed. Venezuela exports some of these products, the
most important of which are crude petroleum and refined prod-
ucts, iron ore, coffee, cocoa, canned fish, corn, sisal, gold,
diamonds, hides, steel pipe, and shoes.1 The gross national
product of Venezuela was fourteen billion dollars in 1962.2
The annual gross per capita income in 1970 was 820 dollars.3

According to official reports, 52.2 per cent of the
present Venezuelan population is under twenty years of age.
In 1969, the utilization of natural resources gave employment
to 29.1 per cent of the active population, industry employed
24.6 per cent, and government and commerce employed 46.3 per
cent. The rate of unemployment is 7 per cent.

The Venezuelan educational system is structured into
four levels of education: pre-school, elementary school,
secondary school, and higher education. The pre-elementary

school (age 3 to 6) is of three years' duration; the elemen-

tary school (age 7 to 14) six years; the secondary school

 

1Ministerio de Fomento, Anuario Estadfstico (Caracas:

 

1970).

2Ministerio de Fomento, Direccion General de Esta-
dfstica y Censos Nacionales, op. cit.

3CORDIPLAN as reported in E1 National, August 3,
1971, p. D_Zo

41bid.

 

5Ibid.

five years; and higher education requires two to seven years
of schooling, depending on the major field of study.

At the secondary school level, several types of prep-
aration are found: regular high school, elementary school
teacher training, industrial education, commercial education,
social education, agricultural education, arts education,
and musical education. In Venezuela there are four types
of institutions of higher education: universities, pedagogi-

cal institutes, military schools, and politechnical schools.

The Problem

 

Educational development in Venezuela has been expand-
ing so rapidly that it could be described as explosive.

In the past twelve years, elementary school enrollment has
tripled, and five times as many students are now pursuing

a higher education.1 Even if Venezuela had developed a supe-
rior educational planning office ten years ago, the country
would still not be able to attend to the expanded educa-
tional needs.

The present elementary school program in science was
created by a general executive decree in 1944. Since that
time, the school system has been following that program and
its set of objectives. The rapid progress of science and
technology during the same period raises a question as to the

adequacy of the 1944 objectives for the science education

 

1Memoranda of the Ministry of Education, 1958-1970.

program of Venezuela. Thus, it appears to be important to
conduct an historical study of the evolution of the official
objectives of the 1944 elementary school program in science
education, as prepared by the Ministry of Education. In
addition, this study will attempt to generate the basis for
a new set of objectives for Venezuelan elementary school
science, which can be assessed in terms of their potential
consequences.
In development of the argument, this study seeks
to answer the following specific questions:
1. What was the elementary school science plan of 1944 and
how did it originate?
2. How well was the 1944 plan suited to the general and
particular needs of the country?
3. What was/is the role of the Ministry of Education?
4. How well has the 1944 plan been carried out?
5. What mechanisms can be used to arrive at a set of
science education objectives for the elementary school?
6. What new objectives of science education are needed for
Venezuelan elementary schools?
7. What conclusions and recommendations evolve from this

study?

Need for the Study

 

No previous study has dealt with an evaluation of
the objectives of the 1944 elementary school science program

in Venezuela. Without such a study, the educational

literature of Venezuela is incomplete and a critical analysis
of the curriculum is nearly impossible. Furthermore, since
it is important to generate new science objectives to

enable Venezuela to obtain a better product from its ele-
mentary schools, the base for any new ideas must be care-

fully established.

The establishment of a new set of objectives draws

its justification from the fact that:

. . . it becomes apparent that the traditional
elementary school science curricula are seldom ade-
quate in concept or purpose to help children meet the
demands of our modern scientific-technological-industrial
society. Without new approaches to elementary school
science teaching we run the danger of having children
become strangers within their own culture.
The following are crucial questions that should be periodic-
ally asked and adequately answered by any society that places
utmost value on the development of its young: What should we
choose to teach from all the science that is known? To
what ends? How should it be taught? Under what instruc-
tional conditions?

By carefully delineating the historical context of
the elementary school effort, condensing the fabric of
present-day Venezuela, and examining the best of current
educational practice, one can approach answers to these

questions. This study is planned to provide the needed

analysis.

 

lPaul Hurd and James J. Gallagher, New Direction in
Elementary Science Teacher (Belmont, California: Wadsworth
Publishing Company, Inc., 1968), p. 2.

 

Methodology

 

This study has been conducted as historical research1
on the evolution of objectives of the 1944 elementary school
science program in Venezuela and focuses on the mechanisms
for arriving at a new set of objectives for the elementary
school science program in Venezuela.

Historical data are synthesized in relation to the
evolution of objectives, rather than merely accumulated or
summarized. The goal of this study, then, is not only to
establish the facts, but also to determine trends which the
data may suggest and generalizations which can be derived
from the data.

The collection, synthesis, and application of the
data follow these steps:2

I. Collection of data

1. Consideration of known data (sources such as
official Venezuelan publications, UNESCO pub-
lications, OAS publications, unpublished papers
of the Ministry of Education of Venezuela, and
U.S.A. publications)

2. Seeking new data from known sources
a. Primary sources (Official Program of 1944

for the elementary schools)

 

lGeorge Mouly, The Science of Education Research
(New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1970), pp. 207-232.

 

2David Fox, The Research Process in Education (New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969).

 

b. Interviews and discussions with Ministry of
Education Office of Planning
c. Teachers in the public school of each state
capital
d. Secondary sources (papers from EDUPLAN)
3. Seeking new and previously unknown data
a. Internal memoranda of the Ministry of
Education
b. New materials published by UNESCO and OAS
c. Interviews and discussion with new agencies;
for example, the Sub-Commission on Science
Education of the Ministry of Education.
II. Synthesis of data
III. Interaction of synthesis and additional search for
data or examination of data, including two extensive
trips to Venezuela during the period of the study
IV. Completion of descriptive phase of research
V. Completion of interpretative phase of research
VI. Application of findings to present and future cur—

riculum objectives.

Procedures

 

Primary and secondary resources were gathered by
corresponding with agencies in the United States and Vene-
zuela. A preliminary visit to the offices of the Organiza-
tion of American States in Washington, D. C. gave several

important leads to sources of information. The basic

10

literature search was expected to include the Venezuelan
Ministry of Education and specifically the Office of
Planning. Accordingly, a trip to Venezuela was arranged
early in the study, during August, 1971.

One initial contact made during the original Washing-
ton visit was with Mr. Ismael Rodriguez, a member of the
Science Education Sub—Commission. Therefore, his office was
made the first stop in Venezuela. He indicated that the
major planning had just begun in science education and
directed the investigator to the Office of Educational
Research within the Planning Office of the Ministry of Edu-
cation. There Mr. Ramon anongo was able to provide statis—
tical data on the public schools. Mr. PInongo also pointed
out that there was a lack of basic research information on
the effectiveness of Venezuelan science education, and encour-
aged the investigator to pursue a more general course than
that represented by a limited historical study. He further
promised to forward what material was available on the
present school program.

The investigator was invited to participate in a
major meeting of the entire Science Education Sub-Commission.
This session enabled one to identify the progress of the
Commission to date, and to understand the problems they found
in planning for an effective science program. The members of
the Sub-Commission had arranged a meeting with CONICIT for
later in the week and they asked the investigator to accom-

pany them to this session.

11

At the CONICIT meeting the Science Education Sub-
Commission was joined by representatives from industry,
pedagogical institutes, universities, and staff members from
CONICIT, including Dr. Olinto Comacho. At this session the
investigator was asked to review the present situation in
Venezuela and to sketch his proposal. The group encouraged
him to pursue the ideas presented, through his study, and,
hopefully, to be able to suggest a mechanism for implement-
ing the concepts. Dr. Comacho was sufficiently impressed to
offer a CONICIT scholarship towards the completion of the
study.

The Sub—Commission offices had collected a great deal
of general information on the history of the 1944 plan and
other documents. The investigator began a systematic study
of these materials while planning for a series of actual
site visits throughout the country. Funds to conduct the
visits were obtained through the Vice—Minister of Education,
Mr. Pedro Contreras, after he heard of the purposes of the
study and the need for current information.

The visitations included most state capitals and a
number of elementary schools located in rural areas. Among
the places visited were Caracas, Valencia, Maracay, Cumané,
La Ascuncion, Coro, Barquisimeto, Maturin, Ciudad Bolivar,
Corpito, Valera, Mérida, San Cristobal, Maracaibo, Machiques,
and Comibos. Altogether, over 100 schools were visited and
though it was the Vacation period, more than 200 educators

were interviewed.

12

In addition to the materials examined at the Sub-
Commission offices, several days were spent at the Biblioteca
Nacional in Caracas. This source provided the original docu-
ments needed to establish the historical context of the 1944
plan and the evolution of Venezuelan science education objec-
tives.

A shorter second visit was possible in December of
the same year. Little additional data were gathered; how-
ever, it was possible to visit some schoolrooms in action.
Two useful books on educational law were located during this
trip, and a few points were confirmed with the Planning

Office staff.

Delimitations of the Study

 

l. The study was limited to the elementary level science
education program.

2. All the elementary schools visited and discussed are
located in Venezuela.

3. The study was limited to the information provided by
the primary and secondary sources, and by the author's
personal observations.

4. The study was limited to description of the findings

and observations.

Organization of the Study

 

Presented in this chapter were Venezuela and its

educational system, a statement of the problem, the need for

13

the study, methodology, procedures, and limitations and
organization of the study.

Chapter II contains a discussion of curriculum
development in Venezuela from 1492 to 1943.

Development of curriculum from 1944 to the present
is described in Chapter III, with emphasis on the 1944
Science Education Program for the Venezuelan Elementary
Schools.

Chapter IV contains a discussion of the present
needs of Venezuela and its students, new ideas in science
education, and mechanisms for arriving at a new set of
objectives for the elementary school science program in
Venezuela.

In Chapter V are found a summary of the findings,
the conclusions, recommendations for further study, and

implications for curriculum development in Venezuela.

CHAPTER II

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

IN VENEZUELA FROM 1492 TO 1943

In this chapter, the growth of the educational sys-
tem in Venezuela from 1492 to 1943 is described. Special
attention is given to the role played by leading thinkers
in Venezuelan education, and to the growth and develOpment
of facilities, enrollment, and curriculum during this period.
Emphasis is given, insofar as possible, to development of

the science curriculum within the overall system.

Education During the Period from 1492 to 18001

For the first sixty years after the discovery of
Venezuela, the only educational program available to the
residents derived from the rudimentary efforts of the Catholic
missionaries. This missionary education was segregated in
that two different approaches were used, one for the white
population, and the other for the Indian population. The

elementary school curriculum was limited to a few subjects,

 

lAngel Grisanti, Resumen historico de la instruccion
pfiblica en Venezuela (II edicion; Bogota: Editorial Iqueima,
1950). See Antonio Arrais, Historia de Venezuela, Tomo I
(Caracas: Fundacion Eugenio Mendoza, 1954), pp. 280-284; and
Miguel Angel Mudarra, Historia de la legislacion escolar
contemporanea en Venezuela (Caracas: Ediciones M.E., 1962).

 

 

14

15

such as Catholic doctrine, grammar, mathematics, writing,
and reading. There was essentially no science subject
matter in the curriculum.

Science was only taught at the university level,
and there the method was inductive. During the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, Venezuela's most eminent educa-
tional thinkers understood the need to link politics with
education.1 They gave strong support to education, because
they believed education to be a way to develop the social
order. Most of them learned the ideas of European philoso-
phers. The ideas of Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza,
Leibnitz, Lavoisier, Berkeley, Locke, Condillac, Tracy,
Hartley, Lamarck, Kepler, Newton, Volta, Huyghens, Franklin,
Humboldt, Davy, Buffon, Bails, Kirwan, Bailly, and Brisson
were discussed.

Venezuelan education at this stage could be defined
as theological, scholastic, humanistic, and dogmatic.
Schools were located in churches and monasteries and gen-
erally, the schools had very few books and few students.
The first monastery school was founded in 1560, and its
curriculum was limited to the study of Spanish grammar,
morals, and the rudiments of Latin. The students were drawn

from the higher social classes. The first public school was

 

lSee Virgilio Tosta, Ideas educativas de venezolanos
eminentes (II edicion; Caracas: Ediciones Villegas, 1958);
Luis Perto and Luis Padrino, La escuela nueva en Venezuela
(Caracas: 1940); Armando Rojas, Ideas educativas de Simon
Bolivar (Madrid: Autores Venezolanos, EdIEiones Edime,
E. Sanchez Leal, 1955); and José Gil Fortoul, op. cit.

 

16

not established until some forty years later, when one was
Opened in Caracas.

Several educational thinkers contributed their ideas
to Venezuelan educational reform.1 Miguel José Lanz pre-
pared a report of public education for the Municipal Govern—
ment in 1800, and in this report he proposed certain reforms.
He asked for an educational system in which the learning
process was gradual and logical. He also asked for technical
and vocational training, giving emphasis to agricultural edu-
cation. Lanz believed in education as a fundamental factor
of development. He criticized the schools for their verbal-
ism and for their failure to attend to the agricultural and
mechanical sciences. Simon Rodriguez, a tutor of Simon
Bolivar, was also dissatisfied with the state of education
in Venezuela.2 He was convinced that the Western Hemisphere
transformation would have to be based on public education
and that education should develop "according to nature."

Another important early educational leader was
Andrés Bello, also a tutor of Simon Bolivar.3 His ideas in
education blended beautifully into the broadest concept of

humanism. He believed that the educative process is an

 

lVirgilio Tosta, Op. Cit.

2Emilio vazquez, Simon Rodriguez (Ica, Peru: Tipo-
grafia La Cultura, 1952); and Pedro Grasses, L05 escritos de
Simon Rodriguez (Caracas: Ediciones de la Sociedad Bolivar-
iana de Venezuela, 1953).

 

 

 

3Pedro Grasses, Andres Bello, El primer humanista
de América (Buenos Aires, Ediciones de Tridente, S. A., 1946).

 

l7

integral one, wherein science and letters are blended for

the attainment of the highest enlightenment and which insures
the greatest social good. Like Rodriguez and Lanz, he gave

a strong emphasis in the curriculum to the natural sciences,’
mechanical sciences, and agriculture. Naturally, Simon
Bolivar, as the student of both teachers, would be expected
to hold advanced ideas about education, and he did.1 He
believed that the provision of popular education was the
first and most basic responsibility of government. José
Maria Vargas, Firman Toro, Juan Vincente Gonzalez, and

Cecilio Acosta were other countrymen who pioneered efforts

to improve Venezuelan education.

Education During the Period from 1801 to 18702

Between 1801 and 1870, important gains were made in
educational reform. The history of this reform indicates
that a few influential educational thinkers provided much of
the impetus. The predominantly religious nature of the cur—
riculum began to be modified towards the inclusion of knowl-
edge with more practical significance. More civilians began
to enter the teaching profession, which before had been dom-

inated by the clergy.

 

l . .
ROjaS, op. c1t.

2Grisanti, op. cit. See: Angelina Lemmo, La
educacion en Venezuela en 1870 (Caracas: Universidad Central
de Venezuela, 1961); and Alexis Marquez Rodriguez, Dontrina
y proceso de la educacion en Venezuela (Caracas: 1964).

 

 

18

Describing popular education during the nineteenth
century in the Western Hemisphere, Montovani wrote:

The idea of popular education was the basic idea
which helped to build the Western Hemisphere towns.
Before the Revolutionary War, there was not a clear
idea in pOpular education; however, some intellectual
persons had it. The doctrine of popular education has
been the intellectual support of the democratic founda-
tions.

In 1811, the new government made several executive
decrees designed to create public schools. The fundamental
objective of these decrees was the develOpment of a curric—
ulum including the arts, mechanical vocations, and family
education.2 Implementation was not to occur, however, for
there were not enough schools nor teachers. In 1821, another
executive decree created elementary schools to precede the
public schools in an educational program. Bolivar did
provide some financial aid for the implementation of school
objectives.3

At this time, the main purpose of education was to
develop good citizens. In order to achieve this purpose,
it was necessary to provide good teachers and develop good

school programs. Yet by 1831, there were still fewer than

100 schools.4 According to Antonio Leocadio Guzman,

 

1Juan Montovani, La educacionpopular en America
(Buenos Aires: 1958), p. 20. Quoted by Angelina Lemmo,

op. cit., p. 11.

2Lemmo, op. cit., p. 12.

3Ibid.

4Gil Fortoul, op. cit., Tomo II, p. 133.

 

 

l9

Minister of Internal Affairs (1830—1840), the elementary
schools could not improve because they lacked necessary
funds.1

By 1844, Venezuela had 1,218,000 inhabitants, and
only 11,969 students.2 In 1848, Caracas had 121 schools,
most with insufficient educational materials to carry on a
satisfactory program.3 During this period, science subject
matter was found only in the university and generally was
taught only for the medical students.4

In 1858, just before the outbreak of the civil war
in Venezuela, the same educational problem existed and the
majority of the population was still illiterate. During the
following ten years, the war continued, and educational con-
ditions worsened. On June 27, 1870, Antonio Guzman Blanco,
the new President of Venezuela, issued an executive decree
which provided free and compulsory education for all Vene—
zuelan students and considerable expansion of the number of
schools. I

The science education problem in Venezuela was

described by President Guzman as follows:

 

lMemoria del Ministerio del Interior y Justicia,
1838-1839-1840. As expressed in Lemmo, op. cit., p. 14.

2Pedro Grasses, Temas de bibliografia y cultura
venezolanes (Buenos Aires: Editorial Nova, 1953), p. 193.

 

 

3Memoria, op. cit., p. 16.

4Laureano Villanueva, Biografia del Dr. José M.
Vargas (Caracas: Edicion del Consejo Municipal del D. F.
Imprenta Nacional, 1954).

 

20

It is not justifiable that Venezuela, with its many
natural resources, is not able to provide a botany
course, a physics course, and a chemistry course which
can be applied to our agriculture and cattle raising.
Schools do not have a program of natural history and
natural science in relationship with Venezuelan neces-
sities.

Before this decree, in 1856 Cecilio Acosta, another

Venezuelan countryman, said in his book, Cosas sabidas y

 

cOsas por saberse:

 

Venezuelan universities are plants which produce
many wretcheds and academics. They have more formali—
ties than production. The teaching method is question
asking and the exercise is the answer to that question.
Graduate students, wiEh their degrees, are poor in
scientific knowledge.

Education During the Period from 1871 to 1936

 

Angel Grisanti3 summarized the period from 1871 to

1936 in his book, Historia de la instruccion publica en

 

Venezuela. During the academic year 1870-1871, 300 elemen-

 

tary schools, accommodating 10,000 students, were in opera—
tion. The Executive Decree of 1870 had provided compulsory
and free education, and for an expansion in the number of
schools. The effect of this decree became evident by 1885-
1886, when the number of schools had increased to 1,957
(1,312 federal and 645 municipal), with a total enrollment

of 99,466 children.

 

lGil Fortoul, op. cit., Tomo III, p. 28.

2Cecilio Acosta, Cosas sabidas y cosas por saberse,
Obras completos, Tomo III (Caracas: Empresa E1 Cojo, 1909),
p. 264.

 

 

3Grisanti, op. cit.

21

On December 18, 1881, Guzman issued an executive
decree which created the National Colleges. These colleges
provided secondary education and higher education programs.
They prepared professional people in the fields of engineer-
ing, medicine, law, and teacher education.1

In 1885, another type of school, called the Terri-
torial Institute, was created by executive decree.2 In
this institution, there was a special practical course of
natural science, taught during the weekends.

The educational budgets during the periods from

1869-1870 to 1887-1888 are shown in Table 1.

Table 2.1.--Educational budgets in Venezuela from 1869-1870
1887-1888.*

 

 

Year Allocation (Bolivars)
1869-1870 Bs. 112,716.00
1876-1877 Bs. 447,984.84
1880-1881 Bs. 1,624,465.20
1881-1882 85. 1,639,354.40
1883—1884 Bs. 2,500,621.00
1885—1886 Bs. 3,287,399.88
1887-1888 85. 3,343,991.88

 

*Miguel Angel Mudarra, Historia de la legislacion
escolar contemporanea en Venezuela (Caracas: Ediciones M.E.,
1962).

 

 

 

lLeyes y decretos reglamentarios de los Estados
Unidos de Venezuela, Tomo VII (Caracas: Congreso Nacional,
1899), p. 863.

 

 

2Gazeta Oficial, No. 3482 (Abril 8, 1885), 1-2; in
R. Gonzalez Baquero, Analysis del proceso historico de la
educacion urbana (1870-1932) y de la educacion rural en
Venezuela (Caracas: U.C.V., 1962), p. 24.

 

 

 

 

22

According to Table 1, the greatest allocation of
funds for education occurred during the 1887-1888 period.
However, this increment in the budget did not fit the edu-
cational needs of the country.

Teachers were now trained in the Education schools
created by the government. Their curricula included the
following subjects: writing and reading, with emphasis in
declamation; economy; methods of teaching; and history and
geography of Venezuela. The only requirement for admission
to these schools was the possession of an elementary school
certificate.l

There were three teacher education schools in Caracas
in 1876, and these were later divided by the government to form
others. However, these schools did not provide good results,
primarily because the federal schools were not attended
during these years.2 This was due to faulty organization
and administration of the educational enterprise, and because
of other national conditions, the teacher preparation prob-
lem, the lack of school programs, and lack of educational

materials.3

In 1893, the government observed that: "The Federal

Schools do not give the required education."4 In 1894, the

 

lMudarra, op. cit., p. 62.
2Baquero, 0p. cit., p. 92.
3Ibid., p. 27.

4
Leyes y reglamentos de los Estados Unidos de Vene-
zuela, Tomo VII, p. 845; in Marquez, op. cit., p. 80.

 

23

government devised another school program, with emphasis on
reading, writing, the metric system, geography, history and
constitution of Venezuela, physical education, civic educa-
tion, and agronomy (for rural schools). Methods of teaching
were suggested by the government for use in this program;
however the government did not supervise the proposed
methods and therefore the teacher continued to use the methods
of teaching he preferred.1

Table 2 shows the educational budgets during the

periods from 1890-1891 to 1899-1900.

Table 2.2.-—Educational budgets from 1890-1891 to 1899-1900.*

 

 

 

Year Allocation (Bolivars)
1890-1891 85. 3,758,696.75
1893—1894 Bs. 3,447,088.92
1894-1895 Bs. 3,242,513.60
1895-1896 Bs. 2,723,095.76
1898-1899 Bs. 2,693,682.00
1899-1900 Bs. 2,854,880.00

 

*Mudarra, op. cit., p. 82.

According to the figures in Table 2, there was a
major decrease in the educational budget during the period
from 1890 to 1900. Little improvement took place in
the educational system during this time.

According to the Laws and Regulations of Education

published by the Venezuelan Congress on January 3, 1899:

 

lLeyes y Reglamentos, op. cit., Tomo VII, p. 834.

24

Learning must be a practical exercise; books are
only guides in the learning process. The teacher must
prepare his lessons, and he must ask questions of his
students; correct answers must be demanded. The teacher
must teach his students methods of mental analysis.
A setback in Venezuelan education was the execu-
tive decree of February 18, 1903. The result was the closing
of all first-level schools (grades one through four).1

In contrast to the learning process prOpounded by

the Venezuelan Congress in the Laws and Regulations of

 

Education in 1899, Jose Gil Fortoul, the Minister of Educa-

 

tion, explained the characteristics of the Venezuelan edu-
cational system in 1912:
The routine of the Venezuelan elementary school
does not follow the rational education. It goes against
her. There is no scientific learning nor intellectual
work. This type of method impedes the school from its
proper functions. Books are read by students who learn
sentence by sentence, and repeat after the teacher.
There is no relationshi between the environment and
the students' learning.
Gil asked for constant supervision and a revision of the
program of study. However, this idea was not applied. One
year later, Guevara Rojas, the new Minister of Education,
said the elaboration of the school program is the main func-

. 3 . . . . .
tion of the teachers, leaVIng superVISIOn and any reVISion

for a later time.

 

lGazeta Oficial, No. 8,773 (Febrero 18, 1903), p. 2;
in Baquero, 0p. cit., p. 40.

 

2Memoria de Instruccidn de 1912, Vol. I, pp. xxxix-xli;
in Baquero, 0p. cit., p. 52.

 

3Memoria de Instruccidn, 1913, V01. I, p. xxiii; in
Baquero, 0p. cit., p. 54.

 

25

In 1918, 37,000 students were enrolled in the ele-
mentary schools, but only 191 students obtained their ele-
mentary school certificates. Thus, practically no students
were able to reach the fourth grade.1 Three years later
there were 55,000 children of elementary age in two Vene-
zuelan states, yet of these only 25 per cent were registered
in the elementary schools and only 11 per cent attended
school.2 Nothing was done by the government to solve the
problem. Between 1924 and 1932, there was no change in the
educational system.3

The educational budget for the 1924—1925 academic
year was 85. 2,699,610; in 1927-1928 it was Bs. 4,348,218;
and by 1935-1936 it had been increased to Bs. 6,000,000.
During the 1935-1936 academic year there were 1,349 elemen-
tary schools, with an enrollment of 137,000 students from a
potential student population of 689,288. This means that
only 19.9 per cent of the potential student population

attended school.4

Education During the Period from 1936 to 1943

 

In the sixty-six years from 1870 to 1936, the condi—

tion of Venezuelan education showed no real improvement. A

 

lMemoria de Instruccién de 1919, pp. xvii-xviii.

 

2Memoria de Instruccién de 1921, pp. Vi-vii; in
Baquero, op. cit., p. 64}

 

3Baquero, op. cit., p. 70.

4Ministerio de Educacién Nacional, Memoria, 1940.

26

report from Dr. Alfredo Smith, the first Minister of Education

after the Gomez regime, summarized the state of elementary

education:

And

At least 80 per cent of the pOpulation are illit-
erate and they are scattered throughout the country.
They are abandoned by the government, and a Ministry
of Public Education which is deaf to all private ini—
tiative that might lead toward the cultural settlement
of the Venezuelan people. All ideas for improvement
are frowned upon, and all independence of judgment or
of action persecuted. The schools are without furni-
ture and instructional materials; the towns have few
schools; the teachers are without any protection what-
soever and are submitted to the saddest kind of routine
since, for many years, no study has been given to the
technical aspects of school organization. The Ministry
administers the schools without taking into considera-
tion the improvement of teachers through vocational
courses. The Technical Inspectors are chosen by simple
favoritism and without any consideration to the formid-
able task which they have in the improvement of the
teacher and, thereby, of the schools.

he added:

Our primary school could be defined as: a teacher
who is more or less competent. The pupils lack even a
pencil or a table and find it lucky to get boxes to
sit on. As to methods, they are mostly varied, com-
pletely rudimentary, mechanical, and for the most part
memorization work. And the teacher acts with the most
absolute indifference. He is subjected to condemnation
and discharge in the face of failure when he is not
prOperly sponsored.2

In 1936, the new government increased the expendi-

tures for elementary education by 82 per cent, to a total of

9,000,000 bolivars. It created 694 new schools and added

 

1Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Labores y proyectos

 

para la reorganizacion de la instruccion publica (Caracas:

 

Cooperativa de Artes Graficas, 1936), pp. 3-4; translated

and

paraphrased.

2Ibid.

 

27

1,178 teachers. The Venezuelan government contracted the
services of a mission of Chilean educators to serve as

technical consultants to the Ministry of Education and to

organize courses in the field of teacher education.1

A new Minister of Education, Dr. Rafael Lopez, was
appointed in 1937. In his preliminary report of October,
1937, Dr. Lopez pointed out:

. The Venezuelan school consists, generally, of an
indifferently prepared teacher, a generally inadequate
classroom, and a set of furniture that in the majority
of cases fails to provide the minimum of comfort that
is necessary to make even modestly possible the work of
the school. The supply of books and instructional
materials, looked after with such preference in pro-
gressive schools, has been abandoned and relegated to
that resulting from the private initiative of the
teacher, and the individual sacrifice of the parents.

Dr. Lopez explained the grave nature of that educational

situation:

The result of this state of things is the almost
total absence of instructional materials and reference
works in the schools. Those children whose parents
have some financial means acquire some textbooks, but
the majority must be satisfied with the meager diet of
explanations by the teacher. The gravity of the prob-
lem is accentuated in an environment like ours, where
there are no satisfactory public libraries and where
the books and the magazines are beyond the economic
possibilities of our population. If to this state of
things is added the deficient preparation of the teach—
ers, the urgency of remedying the situation somewhat
will become evident, if the large sums that are being
paid for salaries, house rentals, and school furniture
are not to prove somewhat less than unfruitful.

 

1Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Memoria, 1938.

2Ministerio de Educacién Nacional, "Plan de trabajo"
(Caracas: Ministry of Education, October 18, 1937); trans-
lated and paraphrased. (Mimeographed.)

3Ibid.

 

28

Dr. Rafael Lopez was a good evaluator of the Vene-
zuelan educational problem. He tried to improve Venezuelan
education through special reforms, and by selecting special
personnel to help him develop a better education for Vene-
zuelans.

Specialists from other countries were brought
to Venezuela by the Ministry of Education. George Sanchez,
a former student of the Julius Rosenwald Fund of Chicago,
was named General Technical Advisor and Director of Insti-
tuto Pedagégico Nacional. At the same time, he was Chief of
the Research Division, which had two foreign specialists in
Elementary Education and School Administration.1

These foreign specialists made a great contribution
to Venezuelan education by completing the national system
of examinations, developing a more practical curriculum,
and establishing coeducation in all schools. However, the
strong influence of tradition limited the implementation of
their proposals.2

A quantitative development of elementary education
took place during the period from 1936 to 1945. Many schools
were founded, and many teachers were hired by the government.
There were 5,420 elementary schools in 1936, representing an

increment of 150 per cent over 1935. In 1937 there were

 

1Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Memoria, 1937,
p. xxii.

21bid.

29

1,594 elementary school teachers and 137,126 students, and
by 1945 these figures had increased to 9,786 elementary
school teachers and 338,907 students.1

In 1936 and 1938, the Ministry of Education brought
two Chilean educational missions to Venezuela. The impor-
tance of these missions was reflected in the improvement in
the quality of education. Their main purpose was to develop
new planning strategies and a secondary teacher training
school. The elementary schools received a new type of pro-
gram. The concept of the new school was built in two exper-
imental schools, "Gervasio Artigas" and "Venezuela." Courses
for teachers and principals in new methods of teaching, sem-
inars for technical inspectors, elaboration of new tech-
niques in the collection of statistical data, courses in
the development of educational materials, and teaching of
pre-school courses were given.2 To change the curriculum,
the group used as basic criteria the reports of some
teachers, the Opinions of some representatives of the com—
munity, and the economic conditions of Venezuela. But,
this study was not a scientific investigation in which cone

clusions were of some significance. The reforms were not

 

1Ministerio de Educacién, Memoria, 1936; and
Ministerio de Educacion, Anuario Estadistico, 1951;

in Marquez, Op. cit., p. 108.

 

2Marquez, op. cit., p. 113.

30

produced by a normal curriculum construction procedure,1
and it is not reported how the curriculum group develOped
the new strategies for elementary education in Venezuela.

It is important to examine Dr. LOpez's report of
1938 in order to understand some characteristics of Vene-
zuelan education which are still present.

It is no secret that the current organization [of
schools] does not respond to the modern concept of edu-
cation. Our school is essentially academic. It does
not prepare the child or the youth for the exercise of
civilian life. It limits itself to filling his mind
with information which, if it has value at all, is not
the only value, nor much less, the principal objective.

Referring to the teaching method, Dr. LOpez said:

The system of teaching reflects the system of exam-
inations. In these nothing is required other than the
repetition of that which is found in the texts. As a
consequence most students, confiding in their memory,
leave until the last day of school the acquisition of
the barest information.

Two years later, Dr. Arturo Uslar Pietri, then
Minister of Education, analyzed the educational system of
Venezuela. His research presents a clear definition and
analysis of Venezuelan education from 1800 until almost the

present time, if we compare his ideas with those of other

Venezuelan educational thinkers, such as Miguel José Sanz,

 

lNormal curriculum construction procedure is
defined by several American scholars and institutions as
the finding of students' needs, community needs, and
environmental conditions as bases for the establishment of
new approaches in curriculum.

2Ministerio de EducaciOn Nacional, Memoria, 1937,
p. 4.

31bid.

31

Simon Rodriguez, Dr. Alberto Smith, and others. Dr. Pietri
pointed out:

Many causes converge to frustrate, in part, the high
mission of our secondary studies. Among them, we enu-
merate the short duration of the program and the defects
of the curriculum, but there are certainly others of
greater weight. Our system of studies has had, by
uninterrupted tradition, a marked unilateral character.
From the primary level up to the university there is a
kind of continuous channel which denies to the pupil
any efficient exit other than that of the liberal pro-

fession. This country -- essentially agricultural,
ranching, mining, and seafaring by imposition of its
economic reality and its human geography -- in its sys-

tem of education has never turned, in efficacious ways,
toward preparing the human capital which those activi4
ties need. The men who could have gone to the country
or to the crafts, with multiple aptitudes and clear
sense find themselves dragged without any creative
decision, to the Liceo and later to the university, or
they remain among the discarded ones who then will try
out, without previous guidance, any old job. The defect
is an old one, but it stems from very old roots.
Attempts have been made to correct it, insofar as cur-
rent law allows, by creation of schools of arts and
crafts and introducing agricultural work in the rural
schools, but the effective reform would have to begin
through a complete diversification of primary education
-- to the end that the schools not empty themselves
completely in Liceo. But, in the meantime, the current
situation is taking to secondary education an increasing
contingent of nonvocational students who, in large part,
fail or complete the cycle in a mediocre way, occasioning
innumerable inconveniences, among which the grave moral
and pedagogical decline of the level of education is not
the least.

Summary

This chapter has contained an examination of the
nature and development of Venezuelan education during the
period from 1549 to 1943. Chapter III contains a discussion

of the 1944 Science Education Program of Venezuela.

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn Nacional, Memoria, 1940.

CHAPTER III

THE 1944 SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM

Previous science education reform programs proposed
for the Venezuelan elementary schools, and the general inad-
equacies of Venezuelan education prior to 1944 were dis-
cussed in Chapter II. This chapter deals with a description
of the 1944 Science Education Program. To accomplish
the purpose of this chapter, the objectives of the 1944
Program, the sources of these objectives, their implemen—
tation, the role of the Ministry of Education, and the
relationship of objectives to the needs of students and the

country are presented.

Objectives of the 1944 Science Education Program
As a result of the urgent needs of Venezuelan edu—
cation, the Ministry of Education published a new elementary
school program on September 7, 1944.1
The purposes and objectives of the basic science

portion of the 1944 Venezuelan Elementary Education Program

were quite modern. The major thrust of the program was to

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, "Programas de educacién
primaria," Gazeta Oficial, No. 98 (September 7, 1944).

 

32

33

help the student-citizen to understand his relationship to
his environment; to teach him basic scientific principles;
and to generate, encourage, and stimulate his interest in
science. Specific objectives for the teacher to aid in the
administration of the program were provided. These were
designed so that the student could logically analyze his
own basic body functions and understand the interdependence
and ecology of all forms of life. Such basic information is
intended to benefit both the student and the Venezuelan
nation by contributing to higher standards in health and
agriculture. As far as modern educational programs can be
compared among nations with different degrees Of industrial
and social develOpment, the 1944 Venezuelan Basic Science
Educational Program was very progressive in the scope of
its objectives and purpose. (See Appendix A for a complete

list of the 1944 Basic Science Program objectives.)

Source of Objectives

 

The preparation and formulation of the 1944 science
education objectives resulted from the external influences
of American and French education and internal social forces,
such as prOposals from Venezuelan educational organizations,
ideas of Venezuelan political parties, government policy,

and Venezuelan legislation.

34

American—French
Educational Influence

 

 

The improvement in the means of social communication
has promOted the diffusion of ideas. Many Venezuelan
educators received their educational background from
American and French educators. American—French methodologi-
cal approaches, as well as American—French pedagogical inno—
vations, were widely practiced. The ideas of Claparede,
Decroly, Kirpatrick, Dewey, and others were discussed within
the educational system. Some educational innovations such
as the Winnetka plan, the Dalton plan, and the ideas of
Cusinet and others guided the thinking of Venezuelan edu—
cators.l

Proposals by Venezuelan
Educational Organizations

 

Several Venezuelan educational organizations prepared
proposals for the study and change of the educational program.
The Venezuelan Teacher Federation (FederaciOn Venezolana de
Maestros), The Secondary School Teacher Union (UniOn de
Profesores de Venezuela), The Student Federation (Federa-
ciOn de Estudiantes Venezolanos), and the Writer Association
(AsociaciOn de Escritores) asked the government to study new

pedagogical ideas, review the overall educational program,

 

lMudarra, Op. cit., p. 149.

35

improve teacher training, develop new schools, and improve

. 1
teacher Income.

Government Policy

 

The determination and regulation of Venezuelan edu-
cational development have been important functions of the
Venezuelan government, and the educational system reflects
the desires and motivations of the government. Thus, it is
important to recognize that the Venezuelan government was
particularly receptive to new ideas concerning educational
matters in 1944. This circumstance was an important factor
in the governmental decision to bring foreign education
specialists to Venezuela once again, to improve and modify
the school programs.

A new education law was approved by the Congress in
1940. This law established the philOSOphy that education
must improve the physical and mental level of Venezuelans,
and must train all Venezuelans to develop their inventive
ability, intellectual capacity, and technical training. This
law also established the concept that the teacher must take
into account the students' environment and his social needs

in developing his classwork.2

 

1Prieto and Padrino, op. cit.

2Ministerio de EducaciOn Nacional, Memoria, 1940.

36

Venezuelan Legislation

 

The Venezuelan Constitution establishes the fundamen-
tals of education. Since the 1936 constitution, similar
articles have been included in each revision. The following
is typical:

Education would have as its main purpose the total
development of personality, the formation of good citi-
zens who are able to practice Democracy, improve cul—
ture, and develop the spirit of human cooperation. The
State will guide and organize the educational system to
fulfill the requirements pointed out above.

The special relationship between the sources of the
objectives, discussed above, and the objectives themselves
can be seen in the process by which objectives are deter-
mined. In this case, Venezuelan Science Education Program
objectives were developed by the Ministry of Education's
official commission, which was composed of foreign and native
scholars. This group formulated objectives based on an
analysis of the skills needed by pupils and their defi-
ciencies. The analysis was made using opinions provided

by community representatives, and from an analysis of the

adult activities for which the learners were being prepared.

Implementation of Objectives

 

When the 1944 Official Program was approved by the
Ministry of Education, there were 4,904 elementary schools,
298,349 students, and 9,070 teachers in elementary education.

(See Appendix B.) The situation of the Venezuelan elementary

 

1This statement can be found in the Constitution of
1936, Education Law of 1940 and 1948, and Provisional Law
of 1949 and 1955.

37

school was described by the Minister of Education, Humberto
Garcia Arocha, as follows:

In our country, according to the last census, there
are 787,812 children of school age. There are schools
for only 281,938; more than 505,000 children are unable
to enroll; 6,300 children go to Federal, State, Munici—
pal, Or private schools where there are no desks, where
a majority of the children sit on boxes, on boards, or
on the floor. Many of the schools lack water filters,
blackboards, and even maps of Venezuela. Furthermore,
there are only 3,969 teachers in service today. Only
an irresponsible person or a demagogue could promise a
solution to these problems in five or even ten years.

The conditions of elementary education in Venezuela
were analyzed by William Vogt, Chief of the Conservation
Section, Division Of Agricultural Cooperation, in 1946:

. . . Here, in Venezuela, the low educational level
of the vast majority of the country's citizens is one of
the highest stumbling blocks that an effective erosion
control program will have to clear. "Illiteracy" is a
relative term. It is estimated that 70 per cent of
Venezuelans are unable to read and write. It is prob-
able that at least 90 per cent are possessed of such a
limited education that natural resource conservation
will have to be strongly emphasized over a period of
several decades if the great mass of the people is to
understand the necessity for soil and water conserva—
tion.

He added:

. . . Venezuelan education in preparing men to cope
with problems of the land is gravely hampered by what
might be called its nationalistic point of view. Science
is inescapably international; yet a high proportion of
even trained technologists in Venezuela are unable to
read English, German, or Russian, three languages of

 

lHumberto Garcia Arocha, Minister of Education, Fall
1945; in Delia Goetz, "Education in Venezuela," U. S. Office
of Education Bulletin Number 14, 1948, p. 2.

 

2William Vogt, The Population of Venezuela and Its
Natural Resources (Washington, D. C.: Pan American Union,
December, 1946), p. 16.

 

38

extremely great importance to technical workers.

Many peOple seem to think that when a man has his col-
lege degree, he is educated. Science is developing and
progressing rapidly in many parts of the world, and
large numbers of the scientific workers in Venezuela
are as rapidly being left behind. They do not read
technical journals in even their own limited fields.
Indeed, outside of Caracas, facilities for them to keep

up with science are often nonexistent -- and I have
heard many complaints that facilities in Caracas are
far from satisfactory. Students emerge from Venezuelan

schools, or even from foreign institutions, with degrees
and titles, but without the student's habit of mind that
would not only keep them abreast of scientific develop-
ments throughout the world, but also continue to develop
their own innate capacities as they mature.1

That was the situation of learning in Venezuela dur-
ing the first two years of the 1944 Program. Lack of educa-
tional materials and books was a problem of great importance.
Many schools did not have textbooks, maps, charts, or
libraries. For manual training, few schools had materials
with which to work.

Curriculum was not standardized throughout the school
system, and not all schools applied the same method of
instruction. In some schools, the teacher selected his books
and required the students to give a word-for—word recitation,
which resulted in nothing but memory work.2 In a typical
school, the student found an anachronistic environment, one
in which the teacher's actions and style of conduct were

different from his own. He had to solve problems and do

assignments which had not been explained by the teacher.

 

1Ibid., p. 20.

2Goetz, Op. cit., p. 25.

 

 

39

The school did not seem to have a well—defined function, and
it did not give him an education he could relate to his own
needs. As a result, the student did not have an opportunity
to form a clear concept of his role within society.

Only 800 copies of the Official Program were orig-
inally published. Therefore, during the nineteen years fol-
lowing the inception of the Program, only 800 of the 30,000
teachers throughout Venezuela had a copy of the Program as a
guide by which to prepare their lessons.

A majority of the present Venezuelan teachers have
been educated by the old type of school, and their traditional
methods of teaching have a strong influence on the quality
of education received by their students. Besides, the Vene—
zuelan schools do not have the necessary educational facil-
ities which would facilitate the learning process according
to modern requirements. The student and the teacher use
imported books, which do not coordinate with the school
program, and which represent yet another type of approach
to the study of science.

Many educational movements were undertaken in the
1960's, in an effort to improve the quality of Venezuelan
education.

In November and December, 1962, the Directorate of

Elementary Education conducted extensive meetings and

 

lHilda LOpez, La escuela venezolana: Una institu-
ciOn en conflicto (Caracas: Pensamiento Vivo, S. A. Editores,

 

 

40

interviews with supervisors, regional councils of super-
vision, principal councils, teacher councils, and teachers
to assess the implementation of the Official Program. As
a result of those activities, the following conclusions
were drawn:

a. ImprOper use of Official Program is widespread;

the teacher does not teach the course content and

he does not apply the methodological recommenda-

tions;

b. It is important to distribute the Official Program
to the teachers; ‘

c. It will be necessary to provide facilities to imple-
ment the Official Program.

In 1963, a study was made of the educational mater-
ials used in Venezuelan schools.2 The study evaluated
COpybooks; that is, the children's own records of day—to-
day class activities. The findings showed that the copy-
books of second grade students often contained sentences
which had not been explained by the teacher. There were no
summaries about the subject, nor explanations of experi-
ences. The students merely transcribed books from the
teacher's dictations, and the content of these writings was
far beyond their grasp.

Teachers apparently did not follow the program recom-

mendations on methodology, either. The science program

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, Resumen General, RevisiOn
y actualizaciOn de los programas de educaciOn primaria
(Caracas: DirecciOn de EducaciOn Primaria y Normal, 1965),
p. 14.

2Gladys de Acosta, InvestigaciOn sobre materiales de
la escuela venezolana (Caracas: Universidad Central de
Venezuela, Instituto de Psicologia, 1965).

 

41

suggested direct observation, experimentation, and contact
for children with the natural environment. It was found
that the COpybooks were full of theoretical lessons, tech-
nical names, and word—for-word transcriptions of the science
books.

It is interesting to point out some conclusions of

a study conducted at that time by the National Council of
Universities.1 The results were drawn from an evaluation
of secondary school students, who reflect the science prep-
aration they received in elementary school.

Capacity of reason of Venezuelan student: He
repeats the lesson as it was dictated or written in
mimeographs. He does not read the textbook. Generally,
he studies in memory work; he does not analyze the

importance of ideas. After a few days, he forgets what
he has read.

Aptitude for practical work: When the student has
to make a laboratory experience, he does not start his
work with enthusiasm. He does not have aptitude far
cooperation, and he prefers to be a passive agent.

These evaluations of the elementary curriculum have

~-L--—— — W..—

resulted in the development of better teacher training pro—

 grams, the preparation Of new educatIOnal materials and

r—o—c
. -g._...r._.._.,_ .... ..

books, and some experimentation with new methods Of teaching.
One progressive step in the coordination of the

science curriculum was the publication of the second edition

 

1Consejo Nacional de Universidades, "Un estudio
acerca de los programas de bachillerato y de la prOporciOn
de materia vista cada afio en relaciOn a su contenido,"
in Olinto Camacho, "Bachillerato y universidad," EducaciOn,
No. 116 (1965). p. 23.

21bid.

 

42

of the Official Program in 1963. This step provided for the
distribution of sufficient copies of the Program to science

teachers throughout the country.

I. ...‘

During the 1970-71 academic year, a revised currich
ulum wasapgt into operation in the first, second, and third
grades. One aspect of the revised curriculum was the prep-
aration of a timetable of twenty—five class hours per week, of
which about two hours were devoted to science instruction.

The Ministry of Education is now working toward the improve-
ment of the curriculum at all other levels of education.

The following statement, given in 1970 by Hector
Hernandez Carabano, Minister of Education, summarizes the
revision and implementation of the objectives set forth in
the 1944 Official Program. For a complete report of the
revision and implementation of the objectives of the 1944
Official Program, see Appendix C.

These [revised programs] have subject—content and

methodological suggestions in which the learning process
is determined by the motivated initiative of the child.
Objectives of the new program are:
1. To give solid foundations to develop the learning
of instrumental subjects.

2. To make the child learn by himself all the indis-
pensable and useful ideas.

3. To develop active learning.

4. To emphasize objectives rather than content.

5. To improve the teacher-student relationship.

6.. To make an up—to-date program.

7. To make methodological recommendations according to

the newest approaches.
The structure of programs is determined by the
education law.

§

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, Memoria, 1970, p. xxxiv.

43

The Role of the Ministry of Education

 

It has been shown that since 1870 the Ministry of
Education has been directing the educational enterprise of
Venezuela, although its role has been subordinated to the
political and educational ability of the government members.
In qualitative terms, the real improvement in Venezuelan
education and the Special attention which has been given to
improving the quality of education have occurred during the
past twelve years.

! In 1966, the Curriculum Center of the Ministry of
Education was created.1 Since 1969 this office has been
working on plans and programs of education from kindergar-
ten through ninth grade. It developed the 1970 revision
of the curriculum, with the main focus on teachers, admin-
istrators, needs of the educational system, and educational
materials. This curriculum revision was preceded by several
educational research studies to evaluate various experimen-
tal and revised programs. Special attention has been given
to teacher and administrator training, to administrative
reforms, and to the acquisition of curriculum material, in
order to adapt the school system to its requirements..

According to the curriculum personnel, there is a
need for understanding and cooperation on the part of the

teaching personnel. The lack of cooperation on the part of

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, DirecciOn de Planamiento,
Departamento de Curriculum, "Reporte de Actividades" (Caracas:
Ministry of Education, 1971). (Mimeographed.)

44

the teaching staff is a result of their training, which was
developed under old-fashioned patterns of teaching methods.

Several activities were developed by the Ministry of
Education to improve the quality of education. A course on
the development of elementary school programs for the first,
second, and third grades was given in the Centro Interameri-
cano de CapacitaciOn Rural and in El Macaro. Research on
books and science education materials for the elementary
school was started in the Centro de CapacitaciOn Docente
El Macaro. This activity is helped by OAS. On July 15,
1970, the President of Venezuela issued an executive decree
which established the evaluation of every teacher who applies
for a job in the educational system.1

The Ministry of Education conducted courses to pre-
pare 126 principals and thirty-four advisors for elementary
schools. Workshops on modern mathematics, science method-
ology, evaluation of classwork, and other areas of concern
were also provided. Fifty teachers were trained in textbook
illustration, and 18,031 teachers were trained to instruct
pupils in the new programs.

The Ministry of Education has recently formulated a
four—point plan, in which the goals for the elementary

schools include: 1) An increase in the number of students

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, Memoria, 1970, p. 372.

2Ministerio de EducaciOn, Nuevos aportes a la reforma
educativa, by Hector Hernandez Carabafio (Caracas: Ministry
of Education, 1971), p. 33.

 

 

45

from 410,619 to 2,006,889 by the 1974—75 school year,1 and
2) An increase in the rate of retention by 50 per cent from
first grade to sixth grade. If successful, the program
should enable the rate of retention for the elementary
schools to reach 90.7 per cent by 1974-75.2

An executive decree was issued on June 12, 1970,
establishing a scheme for elementary pupil evaluation. A
uniform scale of nine points is now used to determine the
grade-point evaluation Of the student. Promotion in the
first three grades can be determined by attendance. If a
student has a 75 per cent attendance record or a 50 per cent
record, and has learned the basic ideas of the program, he
should be promoted to the next grade. From the fourth to
the sixth grades, the student must have at least a four—
point average. In any case, the student can only repeat an
academic year once, and will then be promoted automatically
to the next grade.

Teacher training is another aspect of the educational
program which is supervised by the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry recognizes that today's Venezuelan teacher does
not have adequate training according to present technologi-
cal and scientific knowledge. The Ministry named a commis-

sion in 1970 to study the curriculum for a new kind of science

 

lIbid., p. 86.

2Ibid., p. 87.

46

teacher.1 The Ministry of Education has made contact with
the National Council of Technological and Scientific Research
(CONICIT) to work on the development of science programs,
science books, and science educational materials.2 They
hope to determine the relationship between programs of study
and educational materials, highlight salient characteristics
of textbooks, and establish rules by which to select text-
books.3

A report of the Science Education Commission at
CONICIT on the needs of science education at the elementary
and secondary levels described the revised elementary school
programs. The report found that it is necessary to have
special personnel to apply the experimental programs, and
enough educational materials and well-equipped laboratories.
However, the elaboration and application of the new programs
have not been supported by systematic research to determine
a given set of hypotheses. (See Appendix D for the complete
text of the Report of the Science Education Commission at
CONICIT.)

Present Experimental
Elementary SciepgepPrpgram

 

1.:
__._.
1’

/

*"f'The Office of Educational Planning has been working

with the revision and implementation of the Elementary

 

1Ibid., p. 33.

2Ibid., p. 52.

31bid., p. 53.

47

Science Program. In September, 1966, the Commission of
Programs1 pointed out that a good program is one which Offers
the teachers the necessary guides by which to interpret,
develOp, and evaluate the curriculum. Therefore, it is
important to take into account the qualifications of educa-
tors, the resources of the school system, and the nature of
the curriculum in order to determine the characteristics of
effective learning programs.

Consequently, the Commission suggested the following
criteria for a usable program: The objectives of the program
must fit the social aspirations and behavior of the students.
The objectives have to be formulated according to the stu-
dents' needs, and must satisfy their individual differences.
These objectives must be clearly stated, and articulated by
ordinal importance. The program needs basic suggestions
which serve as methodological guides for teachers and must
'contain evaluation procedures, recommendations for educa-
tional materials, and a bibliography. The program must be
concise. The Commission followed most of these recommenda-
tions in preparing the revised programs.

;{ In November, 1969, the Office of Planning undertook
a prhject to review the curriculum of the elementary school.

As a result of this study, the Office of Planning made these

recommendations: a) To maintain the elementary school

 

1Ministerio de Educacidn, Oficina de Planeamiento
Integral de la Educacidn, Comisidn de Planes y Programas,
"Reporte de actividades: Recomendaciones sobre programas
para la escuela venezolana" (Caracas: 1966). (Mimeograph.)

48

curriculum according to the education law; b) To introduce
the orientation of each area according to the results of
experimental curriculum; c) To include physical education
and religious education in the curriculum; d) To divide the
elementary school into two cycles, one instrumental and the
other cultural; and e) To divide the classwork time into two

periods of 162 minutes each.1

Nature and Scope of
the Revised Program

 

 

Four years of revision have been planned by the
Office of Planning in order to identify the nature of the
program. The kindergarten through third grade program was
revised during 1969-1967. During the 1971-72 academic year
implementation of the program from fourth grade to sixth
grade was started.

The revision was develOped by the Commission as
follows: 1) Determination of subjects of the 1944 elemen-
tary school program, 2) Determination of the organization of
subjects, 3) Assignment of a time-period for each subject,
4) Assignment of 60 per cent of the time to language and
mathematics, and 5) Implementation of objectives.

In the revision of the elementary school curriculum,
the Commission made some criticisms about the nature of the

curriculum, and introduced the idea of specific objectives.

 

1Ministerio de EducaciOn, Oficina de Planeamiento

Integral de la EducaciOn, ComisiOn de Planes y Programas,
"Reporte de actividades: Revision de los programas de edu—

cacidn primaria" (Caracas: April, 1970). (Mimeographed.)

49

The Commission tried to avoid objectives which did not cor-
respond to the culture and introduced the vocabulary of
the new curriculum.

Three steps were used by the Office for the intro-
duction of the revised curriculum. The first was to
Obtain support from society, the second was to analyze
the 1944 Program of study, and the third was to use the
revised curriculum.

}/ In 1971, the Sub-Commission of Science made a report
of its activities, in which are found the following aspects
of the science curriculum.

In Venezuela, science had been taught using the
French model of teaching -- in other words, understanding
science as a conjunct of knowledge under different approaches,
in which the teacher lectured his students and they made
memory work of the material.

Science as a process should be understood as knowl-
edge by experience. So, the student will learn science in
the same way the scientist does. This idea has been devel-
Oped by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), and the science program of Venezuelan ele-
mentary schools has been developed following AAAS recommen-
dations?( Many advantages in this approach were seen by the
Sub-Commission of Science. The student learns science by
process, and he is an active person in the classroom. Also,
the student learns methods and techniques of work. However,

it is important to have adequate teachers and personnel in

50

order to apply the new science programs. Thus far, only

the teachers of experimental schools have received the neces-
sary intensive training in the new methods through seminars,
workshops, and courses given by the Instituto de Mejoramiento
Profesional del Magisterio and the Sub—Commission of Science.

The Science Sub—Commission formulated a special

course of science teaching methodology for the senior year i

of the teacher training program, in the hope of developing
better teacher motivation for the teaching of science. This g
Commission asked for the collaboration, as well as personnel %
and financial support, of the CONICIT in implementing the ‘
special methodology course.

The science education projects which have been devel—
oped in the United States (See Appendix B) have been the
basic foundation for the improvement of the science education
program in Venezuela. Various American organizations, such
as the University of Wisconsin, Ford Foundation, University
of Colorado, Florida State University, The Ohio State Uni—
versity, the Agency for International Development, OAS, and
UNESCO, are the most important collaborators in the develop—

ment of the new curricula in Venezuela by the Ministry of

Education.1

Several Venezuelan studies are using the educational

product-approach, measured through a national assessment

 

1Ministry of Education, Directorate of Planning,
Department of Educational Research, "Educational Research
and Curriculum Reform: The Case of the Venezuelan Assess-
ment Programs" (paper presented at the American Educational
Research Association, February, 1971).

3
i
l
l
l

51

program. The quality of educational output is related to
school expenditures, teacher characteristics, and community
characteristics.1 This national assessment approach was
developed by the Ministry of Education, following the ideas
of R. W. Tyler.2 The sampling techniques were developed
using the criteria of F. M. Lord, and specifications of the
methodology were prepared by D. M. Miller and R. G. Wolfe.3
Content validity, with respect to the curriculum program,
was prepared by R. F. Conry and the content analysis and
codification of the curriculum content were structured fol«

lowing the recommendations pointed out by Benjamin Bloom in

his book, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

 

As we have seen, American scholars have been helping
the Ministry of Education improve the curriculum of the
elementary and secondary schools. The Ministry of Education
reported the bibliographical support and the collaboration

0 I | I 5
of some American scholars and univerSIties, as well.

The Relationship of Objectives to the Needs
of Students and the Countpy
Looking at the needs of Venezuelan students, it is

found that they need to understand their physical world, and

 

lIbid.

21bid.

3Ibid.

4Ibid.

5Ibid.

52

have a scientific background which permits them to possess
the minimum requirements to start the secondary, technical,
and vocational courses of science. They must also be able
to develOp an attitude of inquiry.

Venezuela needs citizens with a scientific attitude,
who are able to find answers for daily problems -- citizens
who are able to protect their natural resources, who help to
improve technological development, who practice scientific
sanitary behavior, and who improve the social institutions
of the country.

Analyzing these needs and the objectives of the 1944
Program, it was found that there is a direct relationship
between objectives and needs. However, during the period
from 1944 to 1968, implementation and application of Program
objectives had no relationship to these needs. As a result
of review and revision of the original Program, it is
expected that student needs and the application and imple-

mentation of Program objectives will more closely coincide.

CHAPTER IV

MECHANISMS FOR GENERATING NEW OBJECTIVES FOR SCIENCE

EDUCATION IN VENEZUELAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

In this chapter, the present needs of Venezuela and
its students, as well as mechanisms for arriving at a set

of science education objectives, are described.

The Present Needs of Venezuela and Its Students

Venezuela, as an underdeveloped country, needs citi-
zens with basic technical, vocational, and agricultural
skills, which will provide the manpower to develop a better
economy for the country. It needs an educated people who
can help support and improve its democratic institutions,
who can improve the social interactions between institutions
and their constituents, and who are able to improve the
quality of Venezuelan life. Citizens with sufficiently broad
educational foundations can also better international under—
standing and cooperation, and contribute to the progress of
the hemiSphere and the larger world community.

According to the Central Bank of Venezuela, many
variables contribute to the pace of economic development:

the decisions of industry; the capacity of the market as a

53

54

determiner of production; the relationship between saving
and income; the relationship between investment and product,
importation and consumption; social and political conditions;
the development of economic incentives; and most important,
the inventive capability, work habits, and education of the
population.1

Since the demography of any nation is an important
factor in the economy, it is appropriate to begin with a
review of the Venezuelan pOpulation. Venezuela has consis-
tently had a high rate of natural increase (currently 3.5
per cent annually), which, when combined with a long life
expectancy, results in a population characterized by a high
percentage of youths. This circumstance has already had
several implications for the economy, and it is this pOpu-
lation that provides the base for great potential consump-
tion.

During the 1968—1969 academic year, the student
population was as shown in Table 4.1. The two major school
age groups are clearly not all in school.

In Table 4.2, the estimate of the relative urban
and rural populations, according to the Ministry of DevelOp-
ment, are shown. The migration of large numbers of persons
from the rural areas to the cities has produced the inter-

esting situation where even though population generally

 

1Banco Central de Venezuela, La economia venezolana
en los ultimos veinticinco afios (Caracas: Banco Central de
Venezuela, 1966).

 

 

55

increases, the total rural pOpulation is stagnant. As time
passes this will be aggravated by the growth within the
urban areas. The effects of this situation are considered
later in this section.

Table 4.1.--Venezuelan student population during the 1968-
1969 academic year.*

 

 

Age Population In School Out of School
0- 4 1,869,236 .0. one

5-14 2,715,504 1,625,654 1,089,850
15-19 1,040,954 377,091 633,853

 

*José Rafael Revenga, "La eficacia de la educaciOn
en Venezuela," in Venezuela panorama 1969. Una mirada a1
futuro (Caracas: Creole Petroleum Corporation, 1970), p. 48.

 

Table 4.2.-—Estimation of the urban and rural population
of Venezuela.*

 

 

Total Urban Rural
Year Population Population % Population %
1961 7,612,327 5,164,125 67.84 2,448,202 32.16
1965 8,722,212 6,240,544 71.55 2,481,668 28.45
1970 10,398,907 7,874,763 75.73 2,524,144 24.27
1975 12,433,970 9,866,623 79.35 2,567,347 20.65
1981 15,202,626 12,582,459 82.77 2,620,167 17.23

 

*Ministerio de Fomento, DirecciOn General de Esta—
distica, in Tomas Carrillo, PoblaciOn y desarrollo economico
(Caracas: Banco Central de venezuela,71967), p. 121.

 

56

Table 4.3 shows another compounding phenomenon of
the pOpulation shifts, which bears heavily on the schools.
Not only are people moving to the cities, the number of
school age and pre-school age children is increasing more
rapidly in the cities than in the country. The resources to
educate these additional children are not available to the
extent necessary in the urban areas.

Table 4.3.--Estimated rural and urban population, according
to age group.

 

 

Urban Population Rural Population
Year Age % %
0- 4 65.36 34.64
5- 9 61.52 38.48
1961 10-14 63.29 36.71
15-19 69.53 30.47
0- 4 68.65 31.35
5- 9 64.45 35.55
1965 10-14 67.48 32.52
15-19 72.67 27.33
0- 4 72.20 27.80
5- 9 69.13 30.87
1970 10-14 70.62 29.38
15-19 75.71 24.29

 

There is still another relationship which should be
examined in connection with the school age groups, which is
the number of such youths engaged in active employment. In

1961, the general census gave the following statistics:

57

86.7 per cent of the active population was employed and 13.3
per cent was unemployed. The employment situation for 1975
is projected to be 94.7 per cent of the active population
employed and 5.3 per cent unemployed, while the employment
by economic areas is expected to be: agriculture, 20 per cent;
petroleum and mining, 1 per cent; industry, 35 per cent; and
services, 44 per cent.1

During the 1969-1970 academic year, there were
1,681,947 students in the Venezuelan elementary schools. Of
these, 1,396,103 students were in urban schools, and 285,844
students were in rural schools.2 In the same academic year,
65,118 students were less than seven years old, 1,569,848
were between eight and fourteen years old, and 46,981 were
fifteen years old and over.3 In Venezuela, there were
10,755,000 inhabitants in 1970.4 If one accepts the rate of
activity of 47.7 per cent5 for the total population of ten
years old or over in 1970, it can be seen that only 20.3 per

cent of the population between ten and fourteen years old

could be actively working.

 

lCORDIPLAN.

2Ministerio de Educacion, Memoria, 1970, p. xvi.

3Ibid., p. xv.

4Tomas Carrillo, Poblacion y desarrollo economico
(Caracas: Banco Central de Venezuela, 1967).

5United Nations, U. N. boletin estadistico de America
Latina (New York: United Nations, 1969).

58

Tomas Carrillo, one of the foremost Venezuelan econ-
omists, disagreed with the preceding CORDIPLAN employment
projection.l According to him, by 1975 the distribution of

the active population by age should be as shown in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4.--Distribution of active population by age.

 

 

 

Age Males Females Total
10-14 38,000 8,000 46,000
15—19 321,000 92,000 413,000
20—44 2,210,000 740,000 2,960,000

 

The population for 1975, as estimated by the

same author, is shown in Table 4.5.

Table 4.5.-—Estimated population for 1975.

 

 

 

Age Males Females Total
10-14 960,000 755,000 1,715,000
15—19 643,000 617,000 1,260,000
20-44 2,242,000 2,181,000 4,423,000

 

According to these tables, the Venezuelan population

will be 12,433,970 inhabitants in 1975. Of this population,

 

lCarrillo, op. cit.

59

3,419,000 persons will be working; 9,866,623 inhabitants
(79.35%) will be living in the cities.

The CORDIPLAN (Presidential Planning Office) pre-
diction-has followed an evolution according to past economic
development. The rate of employment for industry is high,
and it is likely to increase still more as further industrial-
ization of Venezuela occurs. The situation is agriculture is
less optimistic, according to the pattern followed during the
1941-1950 period. Farm employment should account for 10 per
cent of the total activity according to the CORDIPLAN.
Carrillo, on the other hand, said that the CORDIPLAN projec—
tions should ideally be as follows: agriculture, 15 per cent
of employment for 1975; petroleum, 1 per cent; industries,

35 per cent; and services, 49 per cent.

If the rate of activity1 of the ten to fourteen year
old group were to be zero, that is if all were in school,
agriculture would support some percentage of sub—employment,
and unemployment would not be high overall. If the fifteen to
nineteen year old group is diminished, that is if more indi-
viduals are withdrawn from the labor market, the immediate
effect will be a reduction in agricultural workers. After
they have returned to the active population it is expected

that a great increase in productivity will occur. However,

 

lActivity means capability to work.

60

the overall effect on employment will be high unemployment
for the entire pOpulation.l

The industrial area and the services area are
expected to be the major sources of employment in 1975.
For that year, the manpower provided from different levels
of education is expected to be as shown in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6.--Manpower provided by different levels of
education.*

 

 

 

Level of Education Number Per Cent
University 55,076 1.56
Secondary 164,563 4.67
Elementary 924,723 26.26
Others 2,377,638 67.51

 

*CORDIPLAN, Estudio de los recursos humanos de
Venezuela, Caracas, 1968.

 

 

Persons with an elementary school education will
provide the greatest percentage of manpower in relationship
to the other levels of education. The manpower provided
by "others" (which means persons without any schooling
experience and persons without the elementary school cer—
tificate) represents the greatest percentage of the active

pOpulation. It is evident that it is important to develop

 

l . .
Carr1llo, op. c1t.

61

an elementary school program which will provide the basic
skills needed for adaptation to any type of work training.

The quality of education is a determinant of the
development of any country. The quantity of educational
services is representative of any educational system. In
the case of Venezuela, the quantity of educational services
has been increased by the Ministry of Education year by
year, yet the quality factor has stagnated.l This implies
the use of a large volume of resources which do not con—
tribute to the improvement of the quality of employees
needed by the country. One of the functions of the elemen—
tary school is to guide the student for his future role
within society, and the schools must move to recognize this
function.

Taking into account the figures presented in Tables
4.4 and 4.6 and the CORDIPLAN projections, as modified by
Carrillo, the need for technicians and agrarian workers in
Venezuela is seen. The Venezuelan economy has depended upon
the international petroleum exchange. However, the predin
tions point out that industry, agriculture, and services
will be the most important areas of employment. If the
elementary school is to prepare students for the country's

future needs, it is important to develop a science program

 

lJosé Rafael Revenga, "La eficacia de la educacion
en Venezuela," in Venezuela panorama 1969. Una mirada a1
futuro (Caracas: Creole Petroleum Corporation, 1970), p. 49.

 

62

in the elementary school which fulfills the minimum science
requirements to start any technical and vocational education.
The 15—19 year old group should be enrolled in vocational,
industrial, or other secondary schools to gain more advanced
knowledge and training. Finally, the present work force may
need to be redistributed to maintain production in certain
areas while this takes place.

To accomplish the goal of preparing students for
the country's future needs, Venezuelan schools will need
adequate educational facilities and personnel, which means
well-trained teachers, good programs of study, laboratories,
libraries, educational materials, buildings, and sports
facilities.

Considerations in Arriving at a Set of
Science Education Objectives

 

It is important to distinguish the meaning of goals
and objectives in this study. Goals are the final products
expected by the system, or its several major parts; and
objectives are the ways to obtain these goals. The major
relationship between goals and objectives will be demon-
strated as specific goals and objectives are examined. The
formulation of a set of science education objectives for the
elementary school requires the analysis of two important
factors which affect the school. These are the environ-

ment and the educational system.

63

It is impossible to omit an analysis of the environ-
ment when a set of science education objectives is prepared.
This analysis should include the local natural resources,
the community's goals, and economic goals of the system.

The educational system is another aspect to con-
sider. This includes the administration's goals, the
teachers' goals, national educational goals, and the deter-
mination of available educational facilities. Naturally,
the main focus of education, the students, also has to be
analyzed when a set of science education objectives is

being prepared.

The School's Environment

 

The following map of Venezuela (Figure 1) depicts
the educational regions. Table 4.7 shows the distribution
of the population and educational facilities of Venezuela,
according to region.

It is interesting to observe that the majority of
the population is in the North-Central region of Venezuela.
This has been caused by migration of the rural population
to the urban areas. This migration has caused such popula—
tion growth in these areas that local education facilities
are not sufficient to provide adequate conditions of learnv
ing. At the same time, some regions which are rich in
natural resources, such as the South and Guiana regions, do

not have enough population remaining to exploit these

64

 

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66

resources. The development of schools with appropriate
curriculum to provide the regional population with a edu—
cation suited to the exploitation of their own resources
is an important consideration. Additionally, one must
provide a basic education, particularly in the elementary
schools, to enable some mobility in the population. Vene—
zuela cannot hope to reverse the migration to the cities,
but perhaps it can reduce the rate of migration through a
program of educational planning.

If a scheme to effectively combine local and national
goals is to be considered, Venezuela will need a mechanism
which can account for variation in facilities and other var-

iations in the country.

Economic Goals

 

The whole strategy of development is determined by
concentration on the human factor, which has opened up new
approaches in development.

Venezuela has the following economic goals:

1. To develop a rate of economic increase which
is greater than the rate of natural population increase.
To accomplish this task it is important to use better
educational and legal mechanisms to provide a better dis—
tribution of wealth.

2. To develop better levels of employment.

67

3. To develop new possibilities of exportation and
improve the present exportations.l

Since 1917, Venezuela has developed a petroleum
industry, in which foreign companies have made the major
investments. The development of the petroleum industry
brought as a consequence the transformation of the national
economy. Coffee, cacao, and other agricultural products
were formerly the main sources of export income. The
increase in petroleum exports brought a decrease in the
relative value of agricultural products, and an accompany-
ing decrease in farm activities.

Even though the growth of agricultural production
was 89.4 per cent between 1945 and 1964, and the yield per
hectare (4.04 acre) was increased by 23.7 per cent, this is
less than is needed to support a proper share of the
economy.

The growth of animal production was 218 per cent
between 1945 and 1964. Fishing activities had a production
of 55,000 tons in 1945, and this amount increased to 110,000
tons in 1964, an increment of 102 per cent.3 However,

according to the Central Bank, Venezuela has not yet reached

 

lJulio Sosa-Rodriguez, "E1 desarrollo integral de
Venezuela," in Venezuela panorama 1969. Una mirada a1
futuro (Caracas: Creole Petroleum Corporation, 1970), p. 12.

 

2Banco Central de Venezuela, op. cit., p. 28.

3Ibid.

68

adequate productivity. The main causes of this problem are
the great percentage of the population living in urban areas,
and inadequate agricultural and technical training.1 Because
of this lack of training, the bulk of the present production
still is achieved by primitive methods of exploitation.
Petroleum production2 increased 144 per cent between
1940 and 1964, petroleum exportation4 increased 106 per cent,
and refining4 increased 421 per cent during the same time.
The price of each barrel5 of petroleum was $1.00 in 1944,
and it reached a top price of $2.70 in 1957. The price per
barrel has decreased since 1958, and in 1964 it was $2.04.
The Venezuelan government has made some administrative
policies to increase its control over the petroleum industry
in order to get better benefits for the country. This
measure was to counteract the strong influence of the petro—
leum industry on the Venezuelan economy. Ninety per cent
of all foreign investment was in the petroleum industry,
and 50 per cent of the Venezuelan income from this invest-

ment was paid out as interest on loans during the 1945—1964

 

1Ibid., p. 29.

2Ibid., p. 50.

3Ibid.

4Ibid.

5Ibid., p. 52.

69

period.1 Sixty-seven per cent of the total income tax
was provided by the petroleum industry during the same
time, but the petroleum industry has not provided a large
amount of employment. It has only employed about 30,000
workers during recent years,2 or less than 1 per cent of
the active population.

The development of mineral production has had two
defined stages, according to the Central Bank of Venezuela.
The first step was characterized by the exploitation of
gold, diamonds, coal, salt, and other minerals whose pro—
duction has stagnated; and the second stage began with the
exploitation of iron in 1950. As a consequence of this
second stage, mineral production increased 30.6 per cent
between 1950 and 1960.3 The characteristics of this indus-
try have determined an investment in production of one bil—
lion bolivars. There are no data which give a precise
estimation of employment, but about 4,000 persons have been
working in this area.4 Seventy per cent of the mineral pro—
duction currently goes to the U.S.A. It is hOped that the

metallurgical industry will be increased, to obtain better

economic results from mineral production.

 

lIbid.

21bid.

3Ibid., p. 73.

41bid., p. 74.

70

It is known that Venezuela has two billion metric
tons of iron ore, and that it contains 62 per cent iron.
The iron mines are characterized by facilities for extrac—
tion, transport, and reduction.1

Gold, diamonds, and coal exploitation showed a

2 That circum—

decrease in production during 1950-1964.
stance has promoted the importation of these minerals to
satisfy the Venezuelan industrial and domestic demand.
According to the figures pointed out above, it is
seen that Venezuela has important resources, among them the
petroleum industry and the steel industry, which contribute
to the economy of the country in terms of money. However,
the percentage of employment held by these industries is
only 1 per cent of the active population. The situation of
the gold, diamond, and coal industries is being evaluated,
since these resources are not well exploited and the indus-
tries are potential sources of employment. Agriculture
and livestock sources do not fulfill the needs of the country
because of the lack of technical personnel.
Since the economic goals of the system are repre-
sented by the development of wealth, these considerations

represent sources for real criteria to formulate science

education objectives. However, in previous formulations of

 

lIbid.

2Ibid., p. 73.

71

science education objectives for the elementary school,
these factors have not been considered. Consequently, it

is important to determine the natural resources of the
school's environment and take them into account when the
science curriculum objectives are formulated. The idea is
not to provide a community outlook on employment for local
needs, nor to plan objectives designed to provide vocational
training for jobs. The idea is to prepare science curric—
ulum objectives, which take into account the environmental
conditions in such a way that the students get basic science

skills related to the environment.

CommunityfiGoals

 

The formulation of science education objectives
should take into account the goals and aspirations of the
community. Education is one of the values of the Venezuelan
society, and the first concern of Venezuelan education is
the educational objectives the school has for its children.
The educational objectives of the science education program
should be centered in the goals, aspirations, and ambitions
of the peOple of the community. These goals have their
origin in the customs, morals, and traditions of the com—
munity itself.

James B. Conant pointed out:

One needs only to visit such a school to be con-

vinced that the nature of the community largely deter-
mines what goes on in the school. Therefore to attempt

 

72

to divorce the school from the community is to engage
in unrealistic thinking, which might lead to policies
that could wreak havoc with the school and the lives
of children. The community and the school are insep-
arable.

It is recognized that Venezuelan communities want
citizens who can help them improve and develop. Since each
community and social class has different needs and goals,
it is necessary to determine these goals and needs when the
science curriculum objectives are prepared. In order to
determine the community's goals, the science curriculum
committee should develop a series of meetings with the
community and maintain continuous communication.

The goals of the different social groups of Vene—
zuelan society are well known. The main goals of members
of the higher social class of Venezuela are to increase
their political power, to increase their participation in
Venezuelan affairs, and to receive more money from their
investments. This social class is formed of bankers,
merchants, and industrialists.

The main goals of the middle class of Venezuela are
to maintain political control, to develop better living and

working conditions, to improve the Venezuelan economy using

its natural resources, and to maintain democracy. This

 

1James B. Conant, Slums and Suburbs (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1961), p. 21. As quoted by
J. Galen Saylor and William M. Alexander, Curriculum Planning
for Modern Schools (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc., 1966), p. 77.

 

 

 

73

social class is formed of professional workers, such as
lawyers, engineers, economists, doctors, educators, and
journalists.

The main goals of the lower social class of Venezuela
are to have better working and living conditions, and to
become educated. This social class is made up of farm work-
ers, street workers, and unskilled people.

Taking into account the educational regions as geo-
graphical divisions, it is seen that each educational zone
or region has well—defined natural resources and industrial
characteristics.

The Capital Region is characterized by an agriculture
in which lettuce, carrots, potatoes, and sugar cane are the
principal products. Industries producing foods, dairy
products, shoes, and clothes are present in this zone.

The Central Region presents different agricultural
resources, such as sugar cane, trOpical fruits, tobacco,
corn, and beans; and industries which produce foods, dairy
products, paper, tires, soaps, oil, petroleum, beef, and
furniture.

The Central-Western Region has as resources rice,
sugar cane, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, goats, and potatoes;
and petroleum refineries, furniture plants, and dairies are
important industries.

The Zulia Region is one of the rich zones of Vene-
zuela. In this region, agriculture has several products,

such as bananas, corn, beans, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes,

74

and tropical fruits. Dairy farming is productive enough to
supply the other zones, and there are ranches devoted to the
production of cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats. The petroleum
industry produces a great volume of petroleum products.
There are coal deposits in the northern section of the
region, but these are not exploited.

The Andes Region has an agriculture formed by the
cultivation of coffee, potatoes, cacao, sugar cane, corn,
vegetables, and bananas. The livestock industry produces
enough beef to supply the local demand. Industries which
produce shoes and dairy products are also found.

The Southern Region is characterized by a rudimen-
tary agriculture, a good livestock resource, and different
kinds of wood used in construction and furniture.

The North-Eastern Region presents a variety of nat-
ural resources, with emphasis on the cultivation of differ-
ent vegetables and tree crops. The principal products are
coffee and cacao, and some forests which include groves of
mangrove trees. This zone has a strong petroleum industry
like that of the Zulia Region, and an asphalt lake. On
Margarita Island, fishing is an important economic activity.
The salt produced in Sucre state satisfies the national
demand.

The Guiana Region is notable in terms of natural
resources, but is the most sparsely settled in Venezuela.

Many minerals, hydro-electric potential, and places for the

 

75

develOpment of a good agriculture and livestock production
system are found in this region.

Considering the natural resource characteristics of
each region, one can see that it is impossible to divorce
the school from its environment. One function of the school
is to prepare each individual for adulthood in his society.
This function should be provided by the school, taking into
account the natural resources available. Therefore, the
school should incorporate relevant environmental considera-
tions into the curriculum. For example, the child who lives
in the Zulia Region should have a science education curric-
ulum oriented to the petroleum industry, as well as a basic
science curriculum which permits him to acquire other types
of skills which he can utilize in another environment, should
he move. Increasing the experiences of the child in his
environment will increase the economic potential of the
community.

In summary, each community and social class has dif—
ferent needs and goals. The natural resources of each
region are determinants of the needs of each community. The
school should take into account these aspects when the
science curriculum is prepared. This procedure should also

give the community a better economic development.

Educational System Goals

 

The educational system has its own goals, determined

by different components of the system, of which the education

76

law is the most important. However, the voice of curriculum
Specialists and educational psychologists should be taken
into account and their ideas incorporated for better develop-
ment of science curriculum objectives.

Many scholars ask for a basic teaching model,1 in
which instructional objectives, entering behavior (student's
knowledge before instruction begins), instructional proce-
dures, and performance assessment are the fundamental com-
ponents. The educational objectives of any system are the
general goals of education, while the instructional objec-
tives represent specific behavior students acquire through
instruction.2 The instructional objectives must be stated
in terms of observable human performance, and these objec-
tives generally become explicit. The statement of explicit
objectives is determined by the nature of the verbs used in
the objectives themselves. Verbs of observable actions are
desirable.3

The description and analysis of educational and
instructional objectives are important factors in the devel—
Opment of objectives. When the teacher establishes an
instructional objective, he has to identify the final per-

formance in which the student accomplishes the objective.

 

1John P. De Cecco, The Psychology of Learning and
Instruction (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1968), p. 12.

 

 

2Ibid., p. 31.

3Ibid., p. 34.

77

Then the teacher must describe the conditions under which
the performance should be attained by the student. Minimum
requirements for the accomplishment of behavior must be
described by the teacher.1 Therefore, the teacher should
identify classes of behavior associated with the objectives.

It is useful to include the ideas of important
science organizations when a set of science education objec—
tives if formulated. Three aspects of the scientific enter-
prise were identified by NSTA (National Science Teachers
Association) as essential for the science curriculum. They
are described as follows:

1. Descriptive science or natural history, because
it provides the basis for scientific inquiry and plays
so prominent a role in a child's conventional experi—
ence;

2. Science proper, because of its intellectual
challenge, which should be a primary goal of scientific
education; and

3. Technology, because it serves so well to illus-
trate the practical application of scientific principles
and because of its impact on modern society.

The organization and structure of Venezuelan educa-
tion is determined by the Ministry of Education according to
the education law. (See Figure 2 for a diagram of the
organizational structure of the Ministry of Education.)

The Venezuelan educational system presents four

levels of public and private education: pre-elementary

 

lIbid., pp. 42—53.

2"The NSTA Position on Curriculum Development in
Science," circulated by the Curriculum Committee of the
National Science Teachers Association, as quoted in
Beauchamp, 0p. cit., p. 145.

78

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

 

 

Autonomous

 

Institutions* ““““““ 7 Minister

 

 

INCE
INCIBA

 

 

 

 

 

National Council
"""" 7 of Universities

 

 

 

 

 

General
Directorate

 

 

 

 

J

Executive & Consultant
Directorates

Planning Directorate
Administrative Directorate

Elementary School &
Normal Directorate

Secondary Educ., Higher
Educ., & Special Educ.
Directorate

Industrial Educ. Directorate

Control & Evaluation
Directorate

 

 

 

*Key: IPAS

l

 

Consultant Offices

Legal Adviser

University Secretariat

 

 

 

Social Institution of Social Welfare of

the Ministry of Education.
IND = National Institute of Sports.

INCE
INCIBA

National Institute of COOperative Education.

National Institute of Culture and Arts.

Fig. 2.--Organizational Structure of the Ministry of
Education.

79

education (ages 3 to 6), elementary education (ages 7 to

14), secondary education (ages 15 to 20), and higher educa-
tion. The curriculum and function of each level of education
are established by the rules of the Ministry of Education.
Venezuela has a national curriculum which each school uses.
The function of each member of the educational system is

well defined by the Ministry of Education.

Administrative goals.——The major goals of the gov-

 

ernment are to develOp a better sense of responsibility on
the part of its citizens, to decrease the drop-out rate,

to increase the rate of retention within the school system,
to improve the quality of education, and to use education in
service to the community.

Teachers' goals.--The Venezuelan teacher has as his

 

major goals the following: to provide better education,
to be considered in curriculum construction, and to have
freedom in selecting his own methods of teaching.

Students' goals.-—The major goal of Venezuelan ele-

 

mentary school students is to finish their elementary educa-
tion in order to be admitted to the secondary schools. They
also wish to have better methods of learning and a different
system of evaluation.

Educational facilities.-—It is evident that the

 

Venezuelan educational system does not have enough facili-
ties to provide education to the total student population,
despite the large expenditure provided by the government

during the past ten years. Looking at the distribution of

,n -- ll . IIIIIIII

80

educational facilities around the country, it is evident
that it does not contribute to improvement of the quality of
employees needed by the country. Therefore, determining the
needs, adjusting the science curriculum to the materials
available in the local environment, and sharing materials
among regions will make it possible to provide an adequate
science education to the elementary school students through-
out the country.

In summary, the development of better citizens, the
participation of the teacher in curriculum construction and
development, the increase in the rate of retention in the
school system, and the preparation of students for secondary
school are the major goals of the elementary educational
system.

It has been suggested that it is important to con-
sider the educational system, and to analyze its goals and
components. This analysis should provide the needed infor—
mation to prepare a set of science education objectives for
the elementary school. It is necessary to do these analyses
in order to ensure national achievement, resolve conflicts,
and develOp apprOpriate science objectives for the elemen—
tary school to meet the goals of the system. To consider
the factors of the school's environment and the educational
system, a mechanism for the formulation of a set of science
education objectives will be needed. The following mechanism

is proposed.

81

Step 1. Create a National Science Education Com-
mission (NSEC), with characteristics as outlined below.

1. The NSEC should be formed by representatives
from social forces such as business, industry, military,
church, school, universities, pedagogical institutes, and
other scientific and educational organizations. The members
of NSEC should possess the minimum requirements of a profes-
sional degree (B.A.), citizenship, experience in education
(an advanced degree in curriculum or science education is
desirable), and a certain degree of natural proficiency.

2. The NSEC should develop a general plan of study
in which the major focal points should be curriculum con-
struction and improvement, teacher training, philosophy of
Venezuelan science education, and foreign science curriculum
developments. The mechanisms for developing this plan should
include provision for:

a. A determination of the natural resources.

b. Weighting priorities in relation to the develop-
ment or exploitation of any natural resource. For example,
if Venezuela wanted to increase mineral production, what cur-
riculum moves would be best?

c. NSEC-sponsored workshops attended by Venezuelan
educators and representatives of industry, commerce, and
the community.

d. Interchange of ideas with the major representae

tives of U.S.A. science curriculum projects.

82

e. Subsidy of systematic experimentation, with
trials of curriculum innovations under Venezuelan conditions.

f. Take into account: economic goals of Venezuela,
educational goals, and students' goals.

Step 2. To maintain the local inputs to the NSEC,
it is important to create a regional science education commis-
sion (SEC). This SEC should consist of the principal, rep-
resentatives of science teachers, a representative of the
Ministry of Education, and representatives of the community.

-The functions of the SEC should be the determination
of natural resources of the community, economic goals of the
community, and the students' goals. To accomplish its func-
tions, the SEC should organize meetings with the community
and students to promote a climate conducive to the formula-
tion of science education objectives. Conferences and
meetings in which scientific and educational scholars point
out their ideas should be prepared by the SEC.

The SEC should pursue the following steps in order
to formulate the local science education objectives:
a) Weigh the needs of the community and determine priorities.
b) Identify the content and skills needed for science edu-
cation. c) Take into account the national science education
objectives formulated by NSEC. d) Formulate the objectives,
considering the recommendations of educational psychologists
and science education specialists. e) Promote a climate
conducive to the implementation of science education objec-

tives.

83

To promote a climate for the implementation of
science education objectives, it is necessary to create an
atmosphere in which the teachers and the community feel free
to develop their ideas. The teacher should have the freedom
to select his own teaching methods and to determine minimum
requirements for the accomplishment of certain tasks.

The SEC should have regular meetings at the beginning
of each academic year. It should review the science educa-
tion objectives of the preceding academic year, then incor-
porate those objectives which were developed through the
workshOps, meetings, and conferences given during the vaca-
tion period.

The SEC should promote revision of subject—matter
content, to improve the regional science education curricu-
lum.

The SEC should work in direct relationship with the
NSEC. The prOposed relationship of the NSEC, SEC, and the
Ministry of Education can be seen in Figure 3.

The NSEC should be advisory to the Minister of Edu—
cation, and the Minister of Education should implement the
recommendations proposed by the NSEC. 3 7") l
h The General Directorate coordinates the activities
of the other directorates under the direction of the Min—
ister. Each directorate has a specific function. For
example, the Elementary School and Normal Directorate takes
care of the educational demand at this level of education in

qualitative and quantitative terms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

84

 

 

 

 

 

 

NSEC \
I \
SEC \
\
\
Autonomous _________ Minister of _
Institutions Education
General
Directorate

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Council
of Universities

 

 

 

 

Executive & Consultant
Directorates

 

 

 

 

 

Consultant Offices

 

Fig. 3.--Relationship of the NSEC, SEC, and the Ministry

of Education.

 

 

85

The Consultant Offices, such as Legal Advisor and
University Secretariat, are aides of the Minister in the
formulation of new executive decrees and laws, as well as
in the determination of educational policy.

The autonomous institutions work in the areas which

their respective names imply.

Summary

This chapter contains an examination of the present
needs of Venezuela and its students, and the mechanisms for
arriving at a set of science education objectives.

The demography of Venezuela, the distribution of
student pOpulation, the distribution of working population
according to economic activity and age, the relationship of
employment to the school population, and the relationship of
employment to the school curriculum are analyzed to deter—
mine the needs of Venezuela and its students.

To accomplish the goal of preparing students for
the country's future needs, a mechanism for arriving at a
set of science education objectives is prOposed.

The analysis of the environment and the educational
system are the principal elements which must be taken into
account when a set of science education objectives is formu—
lated. The creation of the National Science Education Com-
mission and the regional Science Education Commission are
the steps of the prOposed mechanism for arriving at a set of

science education objectives. The function of each commission

86

and the relationship between them and the Ministry of Educa-

tion have been described.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY

The purpose of this study was to conduct an his-
torical review of the evolution of the official objectives
of the 1944 Venezuelan elementary school program in science
education, as presented by the Ministry of Education. In
addition, the study attempted to generate a mechanism for
determining a basis for a new set of objectives for Vene-
zuelan elementary school science.

In order to accomplish these goals, several questions
were formulated:

1. What was the elementary school science plan of
1944 and how did it originate?

2. How well was the 1944 plan suited to the general
and particular needs of the country?

3. What was/is the role of the Ministry of Educa-
tion?

4. How well has the 1944 plan been carried out?

5. What mechanisms can be used to arrive at a set
of science education objectives for the elementary school?

6. What new objectives of science education are

needed for Venezuelan elementary schools?

87

88

The historical study was based on data obtained
from official Venezuelan publications, publications of the
Organization of American States, unpublished papers of the
Ministry of Education of Venezuela, publications from the
United States of America, and Venezuelan books. The data
were synthesized in relation to the evolution of objectives;
and trends suggested by the data were determined and general-

izations derived from the data.

Conclusions

 

The first question was answered in Chapter II and
Chapter III. In Chapter II the evolution of science edu—
cation in Venezuela from 1492 to 1943 was described. There
was essentially no science subject matter in the curriculum
during these years, and education was theological, scholas-
tic, humanistic, and dogmatic. During the later years of
this period, the number of schools and teachers was insufa
ficient to educate the student population, and there were
not enough educational facilities in Venezuela.

The elementary school science plan of 1944 was pre-
pared by a commission composed of foreign and Venezuelan
scholars. The major purpose of the science program was to
help the student-citizen to understand his relationship to
the environment; to teach him basic scientific principles;
and to generate, encourage, and stimulate his interest in

science. The external influences of American-French

89

education and internal educational forces were the sources
of the objectives.

The second question, "How well was the 1944 plan
suited to the general and particular needs of the country?"
was answered in Chapter III. The 1944 science program
objectives were suited to the general and particular needs
of the country. This was especially true since Venezuela
clearly needed skilled personnel to develop better agricul-
ture, ranching, and mining, and this program was aimed
directly at these needs.

The third question was also answered in Chapter III
of this study. The role of the Ministry of Education has
been the main impetus in the development of education in
Venezuela. Its major functions are to program, organize,
and develOp Venezuelan education. This role is provided
for by the Venezuelan educational law.

The fourth question, "How well has the 1944 plan
been carried out?" was discussed in Chapter III of the study.
The 1944 plan was carried out by the Ministry of Education
from September 7, 1944, until July, 1971. During this
period, Venezuelan elementary education had some problems.
The number of teachers and schools was not sufficient to
adequately meet the educational needs of the student popula-
tion. Furthermore, the schools available were poorly
equipped and the staff frequently lacked the necessary preps

aration to carry on a satisfactory program.

90

The educational system is federally controlled, and
any implementation or instruction used by a school is formu-
lated by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Educa-
tion has prepared school teachers with four years of schooling
beyond the elementary school. Teachers with this level of
preparation have been working in the Venezuelan schools since
1944. The Ministry of Education has tried to fulfill the
requirements of Venezuelan education, and it has been work—
ing to increase the number of teachers and schools, as well
as to improve the availability of educational materials.

The 1944 educational plan was actually known to only 800
teachers during the nineteen years from 1944 to 1963.

Studies on the implementation of the 1944 plan have shown
that even these teachers did not apply the educational objec-
tives of the plan, and there was little the Ministry of Edu-
cation could do with a lack of personnel and facilities and
an insufficient educational budget. In addition, the strong
influence of local tradition limited the implementation of
the recommendations made by foreign scholars, though a number
of good proposals were made. Thus, even with a good plan,
the schools were severely limited in reaching their goals
because they lacked adequate school facilities and personnel,
sufficient educational resources, and education specialists.

The answers to the fifth question are found in
Chapter IV. A mechanism was formulated which describes the
creation of a National Science Education Commission (NSEC)

and a Science Education Commission (SEC) in each school

91

region or community. These commissions would follow a logi—
cal procedure in which the criteria pointed out in the
following paragraphs would be accounted for in the estab—
lishment of school curriculum.

The mechanisms which can be used to arrive at a new
set of science education objectives for the elementary
school are found in Chapter IV. By analyzing the present
needs of Venezuela and its students, the school's environ-
ment, and the educational system, one can arrive at a set
of science education objectives. The analysis of available
natural resources, community goals, and the economic goals
of the system are included in the examination of the
school's environment. Analysis of the educational system
includes a consideration of the administration's goals and
the teachers' goals, and an evaluation of local educational
facilities.

Venezuela has a great need for skilled agricultural,
technical, and vocational personnel to improve its economy.
To supply this need, Venezuela must have new science educa-
tion objectives which are adapted to the needs of the
country and its students. Such science education objectives
should be developed through an in—depth analysis of the
school's environment and the educational system. These
objectives could be formulated by national and cooperating
regional science education commissions, which would take

into account the ideas of educational psychology and modern

92

science education practice. The idea is not to provide a
community outlook which focuses only on employment for

local needs, nor to plan objectives which provide vocational
training for specific jobs. The idea is to prepare science
curriculum objectives which capitalize on local environmen—
tal conditions in such a way that the students gain basic
science skills related to that environment.

From the work of educational psychologists it seems
that the commissions should emphasize a "process" rather
than a "content" approach when they formulate science edu-
cation objectives. From previous experience in Venezuela,
it seems individual student differences should be taken into
account by the teachers, and the curriculum should permit
them to do so. Above all, it is the responsibility of
the Ministry of Education to provide for good teacher
training, since better trained teachers are needed to
implement any program effectively.

Venezuela needs a new educational law which will
allow the develOpment of a curriculum apprOpriate to the

country's needs.

Implications and Recommendations of This Study

The conclusions of this study indicate several
actions to be taken by the Ministry of Education and other
Venezuelan institutions.

The Ministry of Education should develop a new edu-

cational law which provides for: the reorganization of the

93

educational system, a change in programs of study to suit
new national and local needs, the training of new teachers
at the higher education level, and the establishment of an
educational tax to increase the educational budget.

The Ministry of Education, further, should promote
a series of workshops; conferences; and television, news—
paper, and radio programs to motivate the population to work
for the develOpment of a better educational system. To
accomplish these goals, the Ministry of Education should hire
educational specialists to formulate a new educational law
and implement the action programs.

The pedagogical institutes, universities, and the
Office of Planning in the Ministry of Education should
cooperate in undertaking a study to determine the curric-
ulum needs of the elementary school science teacher. This
new curriculum should prepare the teacher to improve the
science curriculum of his school. Also, the teacher educa—
tion program should include a strong background in science
and courses which provide the opportunity to learn and
apply the new materials and methods.

The improvement of in—service teachers is another
aspect to be taken into account by the Ministry of Educa—
tion. The Ministry of Education should develop a five-year
educational plan, in order to permit in—service teachers
to achieve the higher education level of preparation. To

carry out this educational plan, the Ministry of Education

94

should provide some kind of incentive to in—service teachers,
such as an increase in salary related to their increase in
education. This plan should be developed in cooperation
with the pedagogical institutes and the universities.

A post-degree scholarship program should be devel-
Oped to prepare curriculum planners, science education
specialists, and specialists in different areas of knowl—
edge. The scholarship program should be prepared by the
NSEC in cooperation with the Organization of American States,
UNESCO, a Venezuelan higher education institution, and an

American university.

Areas for Further Research

 

The official program of study for the elementary
school is a complex document for a classroom teacher to use.
It should be the product of an in-depth analysis of many
aspects related to the country, the development of new ideas
in education, the availability of educational facilities, and
the organization of the educational system. Many questions
can be formulated for further research on this problem:

1. What kind of elementary school program does Venezuela
need?

2. How can the elementary school activities be develOped
which will implement the program goals?

3. How can economic resources be channeled to accomplish
the goals of the educational system, the community, and the

students?

95

4. What aspects of the new science education programs
developed in other countries can be adapted to the needs of
Venezuela?

5. What is the status of the present educational facili-
ties, and how can they be improved?

6. How can the Ministry of Education be reorganized for
the effective introduction of innovative programs suited to
the needs of the country?

This study is a first step in science education
research in Venezuela. It represents the beginning of a
series of actions to be taken in this area in the country.
Many investigations need to be conducted by Venezuelan edu-
cators. Much effort will be necessary to get them done in a
systematic and useful manner. The new studies should give
a clearer understanding of Venezuelan educational programs
and provide suggestions for improving the quality of the
educational enterprise. This investigator hopes that this
study calls the attention of Venezuelan higher education
institutions to the need to promote educational research
in Venezuela. May this study be an incentive for the devel—

Opment of many research projects in Venezuelan education.

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96

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APPENDICES

104

 

 

APPENDIX A

THE 1944 SCIENCE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

105

THE 1944 SCIENCE PROGRAM OBJECTIVESl

l. The student must understand that our helath depends
upon some scientific principles.
2. The student must grasp that animals and plants must
adapt to the enrivonment, or change it according to
their needs, or abandon it to discover another one.
3. The student has to understand the reproduction phenom—
enon. He must identify different parts of his body.
4. The student must learn to differentiate habits, size,
and structure of animals and plants.
5. The student must understand the interdependence of
organisms.
6. The student must explain why animals and plants require
certain conditions to live.
7. The student must explain and movement of planets and
stars, and their influence over us.
8. The student must identify light, sound, electricity,
heat, and magnetism as energy forms.
9. The student must explain the conservation principles.
10. The student must explain the importance of machines.
11. The student must identify each given object and define
its properties.

12. The student must know how to analyze and synthesize
any given problem.

13. The student must be able to formulate hypotheses.

14. The student must be able to reason, using various
methods.

15. The student must be able to inquire and investigate the
cause of certain phenomena.

16. The student must be able to develop aptitudes toward
better living condititions.

17. The student must be able to live according to the
natural law.

18. The student must be able to appreciate scientific work.

19. The student must be able to evaluate his environment.

20. The child must know how to prevent sickness and
accidents.

21. The child must estimate the importance of health.

 

lTranslated and paraphrased from Ministerio de
Educacion, "Programas de educacion primaria," Gazeta Oficial,
Number 98, Caracas, Septiembre 7, 1944.

106

APPENDIX B

QUANTITATIVE EVOLUTION OF ELEMENTARY

EDUCATION, 1944-1970

107

 

QUANTITATIVE EVOLUTION OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, 1944-1970
Teachers
Academic Without
Year Students Teachers Schools Certification

1944-1945 298,349 9,070 4,904 ...
1945-1946 338,907 9,786 5,420 ...
1946-1947 360,531 11,650 5,805 ...
1947-1948 326,291 11,650 4,951 .
1948-1949 485,668 12,286 5,755 ...
1949-1950 491,799 13,455 5,977 ...
1950-1951 515,737 14,020 6,983 ...
1951-1952 536,212 15,924 6,404 ...
1952-1953 570,286 16,726 7,241 .
1953-1954 596,382 17,436 7,014 ...
1954-1955 623,083 18,278 6,896 ...
1955-1956 646,835 19,222 7,100 ...
1956-1957 694,193 20,221 6,791 10,923
1957-1958 751,561 20,914 6,676 10,529
1958-1959 916,764 24,856 7,480 12,602
1959-1960 1,094,604 30,889 9,650 17,442
1960-1961 1,243,948 35,267 11,957 19,070
1961-1962 1,298,427 36,287 10,734 17,787
1962-1963 1,339,663 38,086 10,950 15,927
1963-1964 1,370,665 39,629 13,030 13,277
1964-1965 1,421,959 41,469 13,088 9,065
1965-1966 1,453,310 43,387 10,922 5,930
1966-1967 1,510,373 44,904 10,853 5,871
1967-1968 1,550,190 46,535 10,733 5,876
1968-1969 1,602,443 48,382 10,775 5,729
1969-1970 1,681,947 51,032 10,665 ...

l

 

1Ministerio de Fomento, Anuario Estadistico, 1951,
1957-1963.
Also:

 

108

Ministerio de Educacién, Memoria, 1970.

APPENDIX C

SUMMARY OF THE REVISION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

OBJECTIVES SET FORTH IN THE 1944 OFFICIAL PROGRAM

109

SUMMARY OF THE REVISION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

OBJECTIVES SET FORTH IN THE 1944 OFFICIAL PROGRAMl

In 1969, we started the revision and actualization of
all elementary school activities. It is necessary to take
into account that the Official Program was approved in 1944.
The same program of study has been used for twenty—six years
while society was changing according to natural development.
A disparity between our objectives and needs could be the
cause of low efficiency in our education. The work of revi-
sion and implementation has been accomplished by the Ministry
of Education according to the Nation's Plan. In October,
1970, the new programs for first, second, and third grades
were started. We are working with the programs of fourth,
fifth, and sixth grades. We hope to start them in 1971.
These programs have subject-matter and methodological sug-
gestions to fit a learning process which depends upon the
motivated initiative of the child. He has to understand the
"processes" of science instead of becoming a passive receptor
of products. We seek to have a school free from old and
traditional methods of teaching. The school must provide
the necessary instrumentation to develop a permanent process
of renovation. The program of study is a guide which will
help the teacher to accomplish the educational objectives.
The program of study represents the resource needed to
develop an integrated education for all Venezuelans. Our
school must guide the formation of citizens who are able to
understand their relationship to the environment, who like
to learn and create, and who want to gain new knowledge.

Objectives of the new program are:
To provide a solid foundation for learning the instru-
mental subjects.
To enable the child to learn by himself.
To develop active learning.
To emphasize objectives rather than traditional content.
To improve teacher-student relationships.
To create an up-to-date program.
To recommend methodologies based on current research.

3.:

\lONUl-bww
C

 

1Translated and paraphrased from Ministerio de
Educacion, Memoria, 1970, p. xxxiv.

110

111

The structure of the program is determined by the educa—
tion law. Students have language, mathematics, social
studies, natural science, hygiene, esthetic education, physi-
cal education, and manual work. The program for each subject
is presented in six columns, including: objectives, content,
student activities, teacher orientation, educational resources,
and evaluation.

The specific objectives serve as educational guidelines
to help plan for the student learning process. The content
is oriented from simple ideas to complex ideas. The student
activities are suggestions of simple process which can help
the student accomplish the objectives. The teacher orienta-
tion material should give the teacher some help in develOping
his classwork. Evaluation is based on the objectives. *Some
ideas about the use of educational resources and how to
develop local materials which utilize the school environment
are also presented.

The science program tries to develop the ability to do
research, to stimulate creative thinking and critical analy-
sis. In this way, the student can learn to explain the facts
of his physical environment. It is hoped that the student
will come to see science as a research procedure which will
help him to discover causes and relationships between phe-
nomena through its techniques and methods.

APPENDIX D

REPORT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION COMMISSION AT CONICIT

112

REPORT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION COMMISSION AT CONICIT

Today the Ministry of Education is making an effort to
improve the quality of science education at the elemen-
tary and secondary school. In this way, there are
experimental programs being applied in some experimental
schools.

To apply these experimental programs, it is necessary

to have special personnel. Therefore, there are special
programs for in—service teachers through the Institute
of Professional Improvement, Pedagogical Institutes, and
the Planning Office of the Ministry of Education.

It is necessary to have enough educational material as
well as well-equipped laboratories. Some elementary
schools do not have these kinds of facilities.

The program formation has been elaborated by high-level
personnel (scientific and pedagogical).

The elaboration and application of the experimental
science programs has not been supported by systematic
research. Rather, this has been the result of an
exchange of ideas among professional teachers of dif-
ferent levels.

There has been no scientific study to determine the
teachers' abilities to apply the new science programs,
nor has there been a study in learning and maturation of
those children to whom the programs have been applied.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS

l.

The areas of study are the same as those required by
law. They are: language, mathematics, social science,
physical education, civic formation, health, and handi—
craft.

The fields of study are divided into three groups:
Instrumental academics (Language and Mathematics)
Noninstrumental academics (Social Sciences)
Nonacademics (Physical Education)

113

114

The six grades have been divided into two cycles: the
instrumental, in grades one to four; and the cultural
cycle for the fifth and sixth grades. Sixty per cent
of the school day is used to develop the instrumental
academic courses (experimental) during the first cycle.
In the second cycle this percentage is reduced to 50
per cent.

The time distribution does not correlate with the
instructional objectives. However, if we analyze the
old programs and compare them with the new ones, we
find that the amount of learning material has decreased
in academic courses as well as in nonacademic courses.
One basic idea in the program is that a quantity reduc-
tion will help the quality of accomplishment.

The objectives of the instrumental cycle (experimental)

are:

a. To provide a sound foundation for later experimental
courses.

b. To decrease the number of school dropouts.

c. To give the teacher enough time to prepare his
school work.

d. To improve our educational program.

This program is not static, nor does it have a
time limit. A task which remains is the establishment
of an evaluation procedure and the determination of the
strengths and weaknesses of the approach.

APPENDIX E

SUPPORT OF THE U.S.A. AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

IN SCIENCE CURRICULUM PROJECTS

115

SUPPORT OF THE U.S.A. AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

IN SCIENCE CURRICULUM PROJECTS

It is well known that the impetus for science curric—
ulum change was born in the United States of America in 1957,
just after Sputnik. The need for curriculum revision was
the main problem of the boards of education all over the
United States. The Physical Science Study Committee, under
Zacharias,l established the pattern of massive National
Science Foundation funding for curriculum reform, and subse-
quently more than 100 projects were developed by different
scholars around the world.2 The U. 8. Office of Education
supported several research efforts on the teaching of
science. The two most important studies concerned the grade
or level placement of science concepts. One study was made
by Lowheed, and the other by Mallinson and Sturm. Studies
on the learning of science principles and concepts were
made by Murray, Schultz, and Knight. Studies in the develop-
ment of scientific attitudes and the ability of critical

thinking or problem solving were made by Atkin, Rimaldi,

 

1J. R. Killian, "The Return to Learning," in New
Curricula, ed. by R. W. Heath (New York: Harper and Row,
1964).

 

2J. D. Lockard, ed. Sixth Report of the International
Clearing House on Science and Mathematics Curriculum Develqpe
ment, 1968 (College Park, Md.: Univ. of Maryland, 1968).

 

116

117

and Stefaniak. Mallinson, Sturm, and Chamberlain also con-
ducted studies of teacher training.

The U. 8. Office of Education reported in its Bulle—
E£2.°f 1960 the ever-increasing volume of studies on 1) the
purposes of elementary science, 2) the nature of the elemen—
tary science curriculum, 3) the types of learning experiences
in elementary science, 4) teaching materials and aids in ele-
mentary science, and 5) teacher education as related to ele-
mentary science. Other studies also were develOped during
the decade following 1960.

Several science curriculum projects have been imple-
mented by different organizations throughout the United
States. One such project was the Physical Science Study
Committee (PSSC),l established in 1956 under the direction of
J. R. Zacharias of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Later, PSSC came under Educational Services, Incorporated,
which also conducted a project called The Elementary Science
Study (ESS). The ESS program deals with the natural flow of
children's ideas, stresses inexpensive materials, and better
methods of teaching. At the University of Illinois a project

called Elementary Science Study Project (UIESSP)2 was

 

1G. C. Finlay, "PSSC: A Summary of Judgments Made
by Teachers," Science Teacher, Vol. 26, No. 12 (1959),
579-581.

 

2J. Myron Atkin, "A Study of Formulating and Sug-
gesting Tests for Hypothesis in Elementary Science Learning
Experiences," Science Education, Vol. 42, No. 12, 414-422.

 

118

undertaken in 1958. IESSP deals with the basic mathematical
concepts needed by students.

The American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) Commission on Science Education also entered
the field, and produced program material for grades K-3 in
1963. During the following years, materials for grades 4,

l The AAAS program emphasizes the

5, and 6 were develOped.
process approach to the study of science.

The Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS)2 was
begun by Robert Karplus in 1963. SCIS focuses on pupil
activity and discovery. The Earth Science Curriculum Project
(ESCP)3 began in 1962, and developed teaching resource
materials. Other projects such as Biological Sciences Cur-
riculum Study (BSCS), Introductory Physical Science (IPS),
and others were established during the decade of the 1960's.
The BSCS program offers three different approaches to biology.
IPS aims to improve basic skills and builds a useful atomic
viewpoint for the student.

The scientific and economic support given by the

Organization of American States (OAS) and UNESCO to Venezuela

for its science curriculum projects has also been of major

 

 

1A. H. Livermore, "Science —— Process Approach,"
Science and Child, Vol. 1, No. 8, 24-25.
2

J. Myron Atkin and Robert Karplus, "Discovery or
Invention?" Science Technology, Vol. 29, No. 5 (1963), 45-51.

 

3American Geological Institute, National Academy of
Sciences, National Research Council, Geology and Earth
Sciences Source-Book for Elementary and Secondary Schools
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962).

 

 

119

importance. The Organization of American States has within
its organization the Council for Education, Science, and
Culture. According to the Amended Charter, Article 11, of
April 3, 1957, the function of the Council is defined as
follows:

The purpose of the Inter—American Council for Edu—
cation, Science, and Culture is to promote friendship
and mutual understanding between the peoples of the
Americas through educational, scientific, and cultural
cooperation and exchange between Member States, in order
to raise the cultural level of the peoples, reaffirm
their dignity as individuals, prepare them fully for
the tasks of progress, and strengthen the devotion to
peace, democracy, and social justice that has char—
acterized their evolution.1

Article 101 establishes the periodic study and eval-

uation of efforts made by the Member States in the fields of
education, science, and culture.2

In 1965-1967, the OAS put into operation various

projects. One of them was the Inter—American Program for

the Improvement of Science Teaching. This program was con-
ducted under a budget of $238,353 during 1966, in Montevideo,
Uruguay.3 It should be pointed out that a program entitled

Centro Regional de Educacion Fundamental para Latino América

is supported with the cooperation of UNESCO. This program

 

1Organization of American States, Principles and
Standards That Should Govern the Organization and Function—
ing of the Committee for Cultural Action; Approved by the
Council of American States on April 3, 1957 (Washington,
D. C.: Pan American Union, 1957).

 

 

 

2Ibid.

3OAS, Secretary General, Annual Report, 1965-1966;

1966-1967 (Washington, D. C.: Pan American Union, 1966, 1967).

 

 

120

was set up in Pétzcuaro, Mexico, in 1951. The other impor—
tant program has been the Inter-American Rural Education
Center in Rubio, Venezuela.

The OAS has been working to provide technical and
economic support to the development of Venezuelan educational
programs. OAS has a Regional Program of Educational Develop-
ment for the teaching of science. It has various centers,
including one in Maracay, Venezuela. The organization has
prepared for the academic year of 1971-72 the following pro-
grams for Venezuela:

a. Curriculum for the Elementary School, special
course. Instituto de Profesional del Magis—
terio, Caracas, Venezuela.

b. Development and preparation of science books and
materials for the elementary school. Centro de

Capacitacion Docente. "El Macaro,‘ Turmero,
Venezuela.
Scholarships and financial support are other methods

used by OAS to improve Venezuela's educational programs.

 

1Consejo Interamericano para la Educacion, la Ciencia,
y la Cultura, Programa regional de desarrollo educativo.
Cursos y becas para el ejercicio fiscal l97l-l972 (Washington,
D. C.: Secretaria General de la OEA, 1971).

   

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