How are women, particularly gifted women, accommodated in the Costa Rican educational system?

How are women, particularly gifted women, accommodated in the Costa Rican educational system?Project by: Heather RoseMED 588

Pre-testQuestion #1: (T/F) Women have very defined roles in the Costa Rican household.Question # 2: (T/F) Gifted education is prevalent throughout Costa Rica.Question # 3: (T/F) More women are currently enrolled AND graduate from universities in Costa Rica than men.Answers to Pretest:Question # 1: TRUE! While women have made a steady progression in modernization, they are still expected to tend to the family and do household chores on top of holding down that steady job.Question # 2: FALSE! There are only seventeen schools, four of which are bilingual, that are devoted to gifted programming. These schools are all in or around the San Jose area (Hernandez, 2013).Question # 3: TRUE!More women than men are enrolled AND graduating from universities in Costa Rica. (Mitchell & Pentzer, 2008)

History of Womens Roles in Costa RicaHousehold roles-Mothers, caretakers, responsible for household chores.Late 19th century-Inducted into the workforce as nurses, educators, and secretaries1948- Women earned the right to vote1960s- increase in women entering the workforce2004- women have higher enrollment and graduation rate than men.2010- First female president to be elected to officePerceptions of women in educationFew cultures perceive intelligence as an attractive characteristic in a woman; [. . .] men tend to marry their equals or inferiors in ability (Kerr & Nicpon, 2003, p. 500). Once in the workplace, bright women often find that discrimination is subtle; barriers that are manifested in such things as the dearth of childcare, inflexible scheduling, and lack of mentoring (Kerr & Nicpon, 2003, p. 493). Free to explore career paths but limit themselves to certain jobs due to societal expectationsFirst jobs created for women in the late 19th century were nursing, education, and secretarial workHughes (2007) comments that though these women are being viewed more independently, society still expects them to act in a traditional role. Often, women are working during the day, taking care of their children and family at home, and still asked to do all the household chores. 5ObservationsLa Paz Community SchoolWorked to maintain a balance of girls to boys in primary gradesHigher number of male students than female in secondary gradesColegio Vocacionale monsenor SanabriaGirls are free to choose vocation; however, certain vocations were female dominant including:Secretariado (All but one student was female)Fashion DesignMale dominant vocations included:MechanicElectrical Industrial

Additional information: San Fillipe Neri- Fathers were present for class for Fathers Day. Not typical. Mothers attend classes with students because they are the stay at home moms.Most educators in primary grades were female; secondary grades there was a balance of genders from my observations. Probably based historically on females being introduced to education as a job in the late 19th century. 6

Mechanic:Only three girls were studying to be mechanics.In an interview, the female student did not feel that she was treated differently than the boys and sometimes almost felt favored for her hard work and diligence.

I wanted to be different. ~ Female StudentGirls views of success are shifting. They are more inclined to stand out and they want to pursue careers that put them in a higher position.7President Chinchilla

Laura Chinchilla is the first female president of Costa Rica. Chinchilla marked a historical event laying the foundation for many other women to follow in her footsteps to higher positions in the workforce and society as a whole. Voters were overwhelmingly supportive of Chinchillas ideals and she won by a substantial margin of 20% more votes than her closest opponent. Though the support was high initially, success did not come easily. Her popularity wavered; however, her dedication and commitment to providing funding in the wake of a natural disaster regained her support of the community. This in addition to her tireless efforts to improve security has given her the support needed to work on new programs. She is now successfully advocating for education, new security constructs, and an energy plan. Just like Laura Chinchilla Miranda is our President and proud mother of Jose Maria Rico Chinchilla (born in 1996), many other Ticas want to reach empowering goals that in the end benefit society as a whole. ~Jamie Lopez of the Costa Rica StarWomen have made huge strides in bridging the gap between the genders; however, many gifted women cannot be accommodated because gifted programming in general is sparse throughout Costa Rica. As was indicated in the pre-test, only seventeen public schools offer some sort of gifted programming and those schools lie in and around the San Jose area. The private sectors such as La Paz Community School may serve as a model for gifted programming throughout Costa Rica.9La Paz Community SchoolLa Paz school offers a unique bilingual program for students interested in a private education in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Model of gifted programming:Concept based learning (themes)Higher level Blooms Taxonomy comprises the curriculums essential questionsCritical thinking techniques utilized included problem-based learning and integration of subject matter.

Gifted Programming Model:Integrated Curricular Model (ICM)Created by Joyce Van Tassel-Baska

significance of learner outcomesdeveloping habits of mindinquiryconstructing meaninghigher order reasoning

conceptual understandingtechnologymaterials and resources metacognitionauthentic assessments There are a wealth of various models and techniques that schools may use to insert gifted education easily and fairly economically into the public school systems.11

Differentiation Technique: Pauls Eight Elements of Reasoning ModelPromotes multiple perspectives on a given issue requiring students to think using critical thinking skills.Scenario is presented including issue/ problem to be addressed. Questions are presented as a process for students to reason through:What is the problem or issue?Why are we reasoning about it?What are the different points of view?What are the key concepts underlying the issue?What are some of the assumptions that affect the points of view and inferences?What evidence might support each point of view?What inferences can be made from the evidence?What are the implications of your thinking?

ReferencesCrites, B. (2013, June 17). Interview by H Rose []. La paz community school.General aspects of the costa rican educational system. (2007). Unpublished manuscript, Elon University, Elon University, Elon, NC, .Hernandez, C. (2013, June 20). Interview by H Rose []. Ministry of education.Hughes, S. (2007). Costa rican women [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://costaricainfo.info/costa-rica-women.php

Kerr, B. A., & Nicpon, M. F. (2003). Gender and giftedness. In Colangelo, N. and Davis, G. (Eds.) Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 493-505). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Long, C. (2010, 12 24). Chinchilla's first term a tireless effort. Tico Times, Retrieved from http://www.ticotimes.net/More-news/Top-Story/News/Chinchilla-s-first-term-a-tireless-effort_Friday-December-24-2010Mitchell, M. T. & Pentzer, S. (2008). Society and Culture (pp. 227 243). Costa Rica: A global studies handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Van Tassel-Baska, J., & Little, C. A. (2011). Content-based curriculum for high-ability learners. (2nd ed.). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press Inc.

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