Educational Policies and Realities: Teachers' Initial Education in Mexico

The quality of education is a recurring theme in all the nations of the region presenting challenges different than those of universal coverage that was the backbone of educational discussion up until the 1980s. In Mexico, the current orientation of basic education policy refers to the need to achieve quality and egalitarian education, as all children having access to a school is not sufficient. It is necessary that the education provided in that school is of a high quality and allows inequalities to be overcome. This represents a challenge in itself, in which teacher education occupies an important place, as it implies breaking traditional frameworks that define schools, students and the role of the teacher role.

This chapter deals with teachers’ initial training for the basic k-12 education level² in an urban context. It will analyze some aspects of teacher education from the perspective of the reality teachers experience in schools. I will examine the current governmental educational policies for the teacher education, and the challenges that future teachers and the institutions that train them have to overcome to effectively respond to the old and new educational demands of a heterogeneous population. Teachers now work in the context of great socio-cultural and economic diversity, and within the new visions and values derived from globalization, both of which affect children and young people that attend school.