Puerto Rico

The public pre-higher education system remains closely modeled on the American preprimary (when applicable), primary, middle, and higher secondary sequence. Higher education also follows the American model with undergraduate associate (two years of study) and bachelor's degrees of various sorts (awarded usually upon the student's successful completion of four years of prescribed study). Graduate research degrees include the M.A. and (more rarely) the Ph.D. The doctorate in Education (D.Ed.) is also awarded by the appropriate university School of Education. The professional post-graduate schools (law, medicine, etc.) have their own degrees comparable to the American J.D., M.D., and M.B.A.. Schooling is legally compulsory for children throughout the island for least for ages 5 through 16, although enforcement is spotty.

In addition, a substantial number of public and private educational/technical programs are aimed at adult audiences. These programs range from basic classes in reading, writing, and the English language to undergraduate and post-graduate university programs. More specialized private postsecondary schools in a wide diversity of fields—secretarial schools, computer use, tourism, TV repair, and business (to name but a few)—have proliferated throughout the island. These institutions vary immensely in quality.

Except for classes in English language, the language of instruction in all primary through secondary schools is Spanish; at the university level, both English and Spanish are used (depending on the subject matter and instructor). Public pre-university textbooks are in Spanish (except for English classes); at the university, they may be in either Spanish or English.

Access to information technology (IT) and other resources is fairly limited in most primary and secondary schools and districts. The availability of computer clusters, work stations, and web-access for students of the humanities even at the University of Puerto Rico is exiguous. Students of science, business, or engineering are much better off. For example, the School of Science at the private Universidad del Turabo requires of its general science majors a course labeled "Scientific Computer Programming" (devoted largely to BASIC), as it also does of its applied mathematics, biology, and chemistry majors. Turabo, however, has no major in computer science. A substantial number of non-public educational facilities at the secondary and college-age level that specialize in practical IT training are located in the larger towns and cities; these are well-subscribed because they lead to positions in enterprises and the government that depend on computer literacy.

Given the highly centralized nature of public education at the pre-university level in Puerto Rico, curriculum development has traditionally taken place under the close supervision of the Commonwealth Department of Education. The University of Puerto Rico's College of Education has exercised much influence in this area. Over the years centralized curricular planning has tended to apply to Puerto Rico various trends in vogue in the United States. The long-standing Commonwealth political emphasis on economic planning has also played an important role in determining what subjects deserve increased funding, with technology and now globalization viewed as the key to progress. Indeed, at present, the Department of Education is in the process of setting up administrative means for the incorporation of private business and banking's informed input in regard to the most promising present and future areas of employment.

Since past economic planning has not invariably produced the desired results, skepticism with regard to so exclusive a reliance on educational centralization made significant inroads during the 1990s and more recently. New initiatives have surfaced. The Universidad del Turabo has made a policy decision to open up areas of close collaboration with the municipalities close to it, mainly the towns of Cages and Kurabo. Recently an imposing sports complex, including a modern stadium, has been built on its campus with funding of its own, contributions from the surrounding municipalities, and from the Commonwealth. This complex is shared by the university and nearby towns. On a different note, the predominantly Catholic Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (in Santurce) with funding and other support from the Ford Foundation, ASPIRA of Puerto Rico, the College Board of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, and the Department of Education created the San Juan Metropolitan Alliance for Education. It works with the municipality of Cattalo, an impoverished town across the bay from San Juan, to effectively improve the primary, middle, and secondary schools of that town.

Finally, public education has been undergoing a series of grave crises. From 1940 until 1968 Puerto Rico was a one party state led by a single all powerful leader. Such a political structure tends to render genuine debate quite difficult. Consequently, in the absence of effective open discussion on the goals of public education, the early Commonwealth failed to develop in the nation an underlying consensus concerning the purposes of mass public education. Consequently, when governing power changed hands from the P.P.D. to the New Progressive Party in 1968, the sort of long range planning possible within the one party political context no longer was possible. The new party in power did what it could to undo what its defeated rivals had put in place.