Quality Tensions and Endogenous Development

Abstract

In this chapter I examine the Bolivarian education reforms in Venezuela. A key consideration behind these reforms is that they occur within a broader context of endogenous development. Importantly, they are ongoing in the sense that Venezuela’s Bolivarian project is still undetermined. In this environment, quality is a contested term and any assessment of the quality of the Bolivarian schools will be influenced by the ideological perceptions of the evaluator. For this project, I spent 6 weeks in Venezuela researching these educational reforms by visiting recently transitioned Bolivarian schools and speaking with school directors, teachers, and other school employees.