CUBA

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

From the first Spanish settlements in 1511 through 1898, Cuban education was typical of Spanish-speaking Latin America: a combination of parochial and secular institutions supporting and supported by the affluent Roman Catholic Spanish colonial elite. The first institution of higher education, the University of Havana, was established in 1728. However, as the Royal Economic Society reported in 1793, learning was confined to private tutoring (for elite families) and church-based schools with limited curriculum and poorly-trained teachers (de Varona 1993). The Society called for a secondary education curriculum that included mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural science, botany, anatomy, and drawing; this sparked the founding of the first secular schools in Havana.

Nineteenth Century Government & Colonial Church: In 1816 the government created an agency that introduced new methods, selected texts, created standards, and employed school inspectors. More than 90 secular schools existed in 1820, but these elite institutions relied on student fees and patron donations. By 1833, Cuba had 210 schools for whites with 8,460 students but only 12 schools for 486 black students. Few poor or minority students received free instruction in public or religious schools. An 1842 law required the construction of public primary and secondary schools on the same site, mandatory attendance for children aged 7 to 10, and control by provincial committees, a seeming democratization of learning (de Verona 1993). However, home-tutored students of the affluent were exempted from sharing facilities and conditions with the children of small business owners, workers, and peasants.

An 1863 law enabled the government to operate public schools and to oversee private schools, obligated attendance by children aged 6 to 9, and specified fines to be paid by parents who failed to comply (de Varona 1993). Major upheavals of this period—freeing of slaves in 1868 and the Ten Years War, the first War for Independence—rendered these decrees moot. These conditions ripped social life asunder, impoverished the nation, and left minimal funding for education. For example, only $1800 was budgeted for all school inspectors in 1880 to travel throughout the country to enforce compulsory attendance. Also, schools averaged only about 1 teacher per school and approximately 34 and 40 students per class in private and public schools, respectively (Perez 1945).

During the 1890s, calls for reform of the corrupt education system and for "educational emphasis on practical, utilitarian instruction instead of classical studies" became major issues for Cuban nationalists (Paulston and Kaufman 1992). As a result, dissent was especially strong on university campuses and support for educational investment was minimal.

Equally as important was the Roman Catholic Church. It controlled about 46 percent of Cuba's schools, but its influence and the larger imprint of colonial domination extended to the public schools. Local priests held seats on school boards, were legally entitled to review and approve the hire of teachers, and were legally entitled to provide weekly religious instruction in the public schools. They used this "second pulpit" to promote religious orthodoxy, stereotypical gender and racial hierarchies, and to sanctify the dominant means and relations of production. Thus, poor and minority students had a curriculum that stressed morality and religion, but were not provided with a means to rise above their economic status (Paulston and Kaufman 1992). As a result, few students remained in public school beyond age 10. In sum, the segregated system established by locally unaccountable colonial elites was reflective and supportive of the slave and hacienda system of Cuba's sugar economy.

U.S. Intervention: The ostensible motive for U.S. intervention on the side of the dissidents in 1898 was to free Cuba from Spain and to create democratic, locally controlled institutions. However, the U.S. government established military control in 1899, followed by a pseudo-independence that veiled U.S. control. The Platt Amendment, creating a permanent U.S. military presence in Cuba, solidified that control in 1901. While the rationale for intervention was a facade, the United States did succeed in transforming a marginal education system.

Cuba's educational system included 541 primary and 400 private schools. About 60 percent of the population was illiterate, and only one percent of the literate population had attained higher levels of education. Only about 90,000 out of 550,000 Cuban children attended school. In the five largest cities, about 30 percent of children attended school—elsewhere, only 11 percent attended (Thomas 1998).

An overarching administrative structure was established when U.S. military governor John Brooke issued Order No. 297, series 1900, and modified Order No. 368 in 1900. It included a Commissioner of Education, a Board of Superintendents (comprised of a general and provincial superintendents for each province), and local education districts with separate school boards (Turosienski 1943). The law also mandated schooling for children aged 6 to 14.

Governor General Leonard Wood, who succeeded Brooke, initiated programmatic reform. Wood augmented Brooke's efforts by giving substance to the Spanish reforms—creating a nationwide system of primary schools, training teachers, and instituting changes identified by dissidents. He reorganized secondary and vocational schools and promoted practical knowledge in universities by introducing engineering and architecture. Seeking to infuse attributes of the American educational system into Cuba, Wood hired Cuban educators and administrators versed in the U.S. model of education. Access to education increased across racial and class lines, and attendance rose—a seeming realization of the dissidents' goals.

Despite these educational advances, general dissatisfaction with the government led to instability and, in 1906, the United States dispatched additional personnel to establish order. Among those dispatched was Judge Charles Magoon who directed efforts in Cuba until 1909. Magoon's educational accomplishments were "less sensational than Wood's, but in some ways more effective" (Thomas 1998). Sharp penalties were established for violations of mandatory education; school-age children found in the street during school hours were arrested, and factory owners employing child laborers were fined. In 1908, the school enrollment was reported to be 200,000 pupils in the public system and 15,000 pupils in the private system. However, problems remained as Magoon ignored complaints of corruption and nepotism in the educational system.

Batista Period: Under dictator Fulgencio Batista in the 1950s, roughly 50 percent of the school-aged population did not attend school, and expenditures were concentrated in urban areas to the exclusion of rural provinces (MacDonald 1985). The average child progressed only to the second grade, and only 17 percent of students attended high school. More than 1,000,000 people—half the adult population—were illiterate. The curriculum had regressed to a "classic Hispanic education with a great emphasis on memorization" while ignoring practical issues and modern conditions (Padula and Smith 1988). As Arthur Gillette discussed in his book Cuba's Educational Revolution, reaction against the inadequacies of pre-Revolutionary education (a dynamic of class inequity and reproduction, a labor force unsuited to the modern economy, and societal alienation) shaped the revolution's educational goals.

Castro Period: Educational reform in Cuba took root following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, though Castro had called for educational reform as early as 1953. As Castro's supporters won control of various regions of the country, they taught peasants to read as part of the revolutionary strategy. After the 1959 Revolution, two major education-related goals emerged: making education available to all and connecting this new educational system to socioeconomic development (Gillette 1972). Achieving these goals required a new national educational system that could educate a largely illiterate population.

The Great Literacy Campaign of 1961 sought to instill basic literacy skills to citizens in the poorest and most remote regions of the country. Junior and senior high schools were closed for an entire year as the campaign mobilized an unprecedented 274,000 volunteer literacy workers, including students, workers, women not in the workforce, and trained teachers, who taught an identified 979,000 illiterate people. Of the 979,000 illiterate individuals, 707,200 gained basic skills of reading and writing (MacDonald 1985). Tutors used manuals designed to teach subjects related to the Revolution; Alfabeticemos, the instructor's manual, was composed of lessons dealing with "such subjects as the revolution, Castro, land reform, nationalization of foreign property, industrialization, and imperialism" (Padula and Smith 1988). Similar topics were included in the student text, providing both a point of departure for literacy instruction and educating the masses about the foundations of the new social order. Volunteers worked individually with learners using progressively more challenging reading and writing exercises. This campaign brought a new sense of unity to the country.

Following the 1961 campaign, illiteracy fell from 25 percent to 4 percent and, unlike other Third World efforts that rendered short-term benefits before reversing, have remained low. While curriculum and methodology are set nationally, local councils, teachers, administrators, and parents contribute to policies within particular schools. Many parents support the school by volunteering at extracurricular events.

Cuba remains an outpost of socialism in a "nonsocialist world" (Lutjens 1998). The nature of its socialism has changed, but the commitment to universal education remains a point of national pride. With a literacy rate of approximately 99 percent, Cuba is unique within Latin America and the Third World in general (UNESCO 1995).

CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL FOUNDATIONS

Beginning in 1842, education policy emerged as a paradox between the poles of legal mandates and a policy of benign neglect. While compulsory schooling, free instruction, and integration laws were passed, they languished, unenforced by colonial officials. Much of the formal education occurred outside the purview of public officials, overseen only by parents and religious leaders. After 1898 the United States imposed its own model of system structure, methodology, and governance starting with Military Orders No. 297 and Order No. 368 in 1900. When this system was later transferred to Cuban bureaucrats, funding and enforcement backslid and became increasingly corrupt through 1958.

Education in post-Revolutionary Cuba is guaranteed and obligatory as noted in Article 39B of the Constitution. Laws number 76 and number 367, combined with decree number 2099, decentralized schools, and number 680 revised the structure of education itself. The Declaration of Havana in September 1960 declared that every child had the right to a free education; the Law of General Nationalization and Free instruction, passed in June 1961, suspended private education and made the state officially responsible for all education (Epstein 1988).

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM—OVERVIEW

Hallmarks of Cuban education have been reorganization and adaptation to changing social needs and social conditions. There have been three major periods of Cuban education: mass education (1959-1962), education for economic development (1962-1968), and "creating the new man" (1965-1990). To this we might add a fourth period—the "special period," an era of post-Soviet adaptation after 1990 (Gillette 1972).

The goals of this changing system have been constant: to provide improved educational opportunities for all persons, to develop skills necessary to improve the industrial and agricultural output, and to promote collective responsibility. Education is compulsory for students through the ninth grade. The school year is roughly 200 days per year, organized in four 10-week terms. The language of instruction is Spanish. Schools place heavy emphasis on Cuban history, mathematics, practical and applied knowledge, community service, and problem solving. A close relationship exists between education, daily life, and work.

Following the literacy campaign, Cuba created a two-pronged, multi-faceted, but complex educational structure. However, in the last 15 years, they have streamlined the structure while allowing a small series of highly specialized institutions with very limited foci for students with special abilities, interests, or needs.

PREPRIMARY & PRIMARY EDUCATION

Cuba's preschool educational structure enrolls about 145,000 students from age 6 months to 5 years, more than twice the number before the revolution. The curriculum is based on the child's age; it emphasizes group play; seeks to assure the physical, intellectual, moral, and aesthetic development of the child; and establishes the basis for future learning.

The academic year extends from September to June, with July and August devoted to recreation. Preprimary education grew after the Revolution as women entered the workforce. The Federation of Cuban Women initially directed preschools, which later fell under Ministry of Education control. Attendance is optional and home education is common. Home-educated preschoolers often attend nonformal groups that meet in parks and neighborhood centers twice a week. A kindergarten year offered for children aged 5 to 6 may either be taken in a daycare or a primary school.

The primary education sequence consists of two levels. The first cycle includes grades one through four, and the second cycle grades five and six. Most schools are located in the students' community, and attendance is mandatory. The number of teachers has fluctuated during the last 40 years, but the pupil-teacher ratio has continually decreased during the period. From grades one through four, classes are 30 minutes in duration. The curriculum focuses on Spanish language (reading, writing, and oral expression) and mathematics. These two subjects together account for 57 percent of classroom time. Scientific approach, life training, economics, labor, artistic topics, and physical education are other subjects. A new topic was introduced in the mid-1990s, the "World in Which We Live"—a blend of natural and social ecology, health, and morality (Ministry of Education 1996). The curriculum emphasizes basic education, productive activity, and social benefit and responsibility. Classroom learning is often integrated with basic skills, such as gardening, pruning, wood and metal crafts, and handicrafts. The boundary between classroom and practical learning is blurred into a holistic learning environment.

Evaluation is a continuous process. Tests are administered at the end of the second and fourth grades, with results categorized as excellent, very well, good, regular, and poor, instead of numerical grades. Testing, like instruction, combines formal learning and practical application, and students advance when they receive a satisfactory grade.

In grades five and six, classes include Cuban history, natural science, geography, aesthetics, civil education (to convey political, ideological, moral, and judicial information), economics, and labor education, which is an initial linkage of classroom learning to productive work. The behavioral goal is to encourage independent working habits and cooperative learning skills. The students are again expected to demonstrate competence in each discipline. All students must complete the sixth grade, and those who fail may retake examinations. Less than 1.0 percent of students drop out of primary education, and 98.2 percent continue their studies after the sixth grade (Ministry of Education 1996).

Special education is a sub-system of the primary schools designed to provide appropriate training and instruction to develop the intellectual and vocational abilities of "special needs" children. These children are initially evaluated by specialists in one of Cuba's Diagnosis and Guidance Centers that refer them to an appropriate school. There are schools providing specialized instruction for students with mental disabilities, blindness, visual handicaps, amblyopia, physical disabilities, deafness, speech impediments, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and language disorders. Often these schools have relationships with local schools, which allows for mainstreaming of students where appropriate (Ministry of Education 1996).

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Cuba's secondary education system generally has two components: compulsory and non-compulsory. The compulsory basic secondary education system includes grades 7 through 9. There are two different forms of secondary schools: urban and rural. Urban schools have 35 weeks of class and require 7 weeks of work in the countryside. Rural schools have 37 weeks of class and require 5 weeks of work in the countryside. Each has approximately three weeks of testing.

In 1966, the "Schools to the Countryside Program" started when 20,000 basic secondary education students and their teachers moved to the country to work with farmers and agricultural workers. In 1971, this practice was institutionalized as the "schools in the countryside," which are boarding schools that operate during the work-week on a year round basis. Boarding schools divide their students; while half tend crops in the morning, the remainder learns in the classroom, and in the afternoon the groups exchange tasks. Again, practical knowledge and classroom materials are integrated into a single curriculum focused on observation and problem solving. During the summers, the schools are vacation centers where students are joined by their families. Families receive free room and board and participate in various recreational programs, including trips to beaches and parks, but they are expected to work two hours per day (Carnoy and Werthein 1983).

Only 3.3 percent of students drop out of basic secondary, and 92.8 percent continue their studies after the 9th grade. Following completion of the basic secondary curriculum, students seeking additional education can pursue one of several options: pre-university, polytechnical training, or vocational/trade school education. The attendance at this level is free, but is not compulsory.

The course content in pre-university education is more evenly distributed across the curriculum. Mathematics and Spanish comprise only 42 percent of the course contact hours; natural science is about 20 percent. History, geography, art, and physical education constitute about 18 percent. Labor education, civics, military preparation, and fundamentals of Marxist-Leninism constitute about 10 percent of the curriculum and occur in a patterned manner—labor and civics in the seventh through ninth grades and military and Marxist-Leninist studies in the tenth through twelfth grades (Ministry of Education 1996).

Pre-universities are divided between urban and rural locations. They operate in a fashion similar to basic secondary education. Significant emphasis is placed on study of the environment, especially the interplay between ecological and social problems. Classes last 41 weeks. The twelfth and final year has two main goals: completing the pre-university courses and strengthening knowledge to prepare for university entry.

The other two options following basic secondary are poly-technical institutes, where students can delve deeper into scientific and technical subjects while gaining vocational and professional guidance, and vocational/trade schools, which offer specialized technical curriculum for students and for workers seeking skill enhancement.

Universities: Between 1962 and 1964, following a period of upheaval, efforts to reorganize the university system were initiated by the government, students, faculty, and party officials. By 1964, a multi-tiered system had been created with campus-based participation by the above noted groups, answering to the Centralized National Council of Universities and responsible to the Ministry of Education.

For a decade after the Revolution, higher education was not a major concern, as emphasis was placed on literacy and basic education. Equally as important, the pre-Revolutionary professorate had been hired by, and had trained, the children of the privileged elite. Many retained their positions. For many years, university faculty were a source of anti-Revolutionary ideas and mobilization, a condition that discouraged social investment in these institutions.

By 1970, a shift in curricular focus from humanities to medicine and applied sciences was implemented at three universities: Universidad de la Habana, Universidad Central de Las Villas (Santa Clara), and Universidad de Oriente (Santiago). Problems within universities, including poor pay and resource shortages, were addressed in 1975 as part of a renewed emphasis on university learning; also the University of Camaguey was established and the Ministry of Higher Education was created (MacDonald 1996).

Since 1982, the Ministry of Higher Education has overseen diplomas and degrees granted by the 47 Cuban institutions of higher education. Administratively some are subordinate to other Ministries, including Public Health, Center State, and Education proper (Ministry of Education 1996). Cuba has four universities, each of which has departments of engineering, sciences, agriculture, humanities (including law), medicine, education, and economics. These four universities, three university branch campuses, and 40 specialized institutes collectively constitute the higher education system of Cuba (Mac-Donald 1996).

By 1975 "New Man" graduates of post-Revolutionary institutions of higher education populated industrial, cultural, social, and governmental institutions as employees and managers. Yet with the humanitiesfocused training still in place within universities, product development, technical innovation, and bureaucratic efficiency lagged. With pressing social and economic needs, Cuban officials started emphasizing the importance of higher education as a revolutionary tool in transforming the economy. The end result of this effort was the coordination of universities with national economic agencies, better aligning the needs of society with the expertise of university graduates.

In the immediate post-Revolutionary era, Cuba placed emphasis on agricultural self-sufficiency. By 1980 a shift in the focus, composition, clientele, and outcomes of higher education emerged as part of a larger social transformation (MacDonald 1996). This shift toward increased education and technology, evident from 1970 to 1995, resulted in a tight coordination of national need and educational preparation. The emphasis on mass participation in higher education increased university attendance by farmers and workers. Additionally, a strong indicator of the importance of higher education was its expansion. Student attendance changed from 24,300 pupils (per 100,000 population) in 1958; to 20,600 by 1965; and to 26,300 by 1975.

From 1980 through 1992, higher education flourished in Cuba. In 1980 Cuba had 151,700 students enrolled in higher education. Enrollment declined during the crisis of the mid-1990s, as total enrollment fell from 165,891 in 1993-1994; to 140,815 in 1994-1995; to 134,100 in 1995-1996. Despite these declines, Cuba's rate of higher education enrollment per 100,000 population has, since 1978, exceeded the Latin American and world average (Epstein 1988; Ministry of Education 1996). There were approximately 23,000 faculty members in higher education in 1995, which resulted in an extremely low faculty to student ratio, a condition conducive to effective pedagogy.

Requirements for university attendance include graduation from high school, passage of a specialty examination, a personal interview, and letters from a local "people's organization" or other indicators of revolutionary attitude. Education is free and available to all interested and qualified individuals. There are three kinds of programs available: daytime, worker in-service, and distance learning courses, with the latter two providing courses for non-traditional students—farmers and workers seeking to pursue interests and/or upgrade their skills. This student base differs greatly from the pre-Revolutionary days of students from privileged upper class status. Clearly, universities will move the Revolution to its next stage.

ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

The Ministry of Education oversaw the operation of 13,340 schools and 270,100 teachers (including daycare) in 1995-1996. Consistent with Article 39B of the Constitution of the Republic, responsibility for education rests with the state. The Ministry guides, performs, and implements state and government policy in education, except for higher education. The National Education System is composed of a central authority, provincial and municipal organs, and several administrative bodies that answer only to the National Assembly of People's Power, the legislative structure of the Republic of Cuba.

The Ministry of Education, provincial and local educational officials, and teachers and professors periodically propose changes that are consistent with their charge to conduct, organize, and manage educational services in their respective territories. The local education authorities are subject to the principle of double subordination: to the Ministry and to local councils. A total of 2,173,000 students were in the formal education system (excluding universities), and an additional 145,000 children were in daycare centers in 1995-1996. The Ministry of Higher Education is charged with overseeing universities and various institutes and is distinct from the Ministry of Education.

Following the "Nationalization of Education" in July 1961, all educational expenses are covered by public funds from the state budget. The Ministry of Finances controls expenditures and auditing, and the Ministry of Education is accountable for spending. Cuba's support for education is remarkable, rising from about 3.4 percent of GNP before the Revolution, to 7.0 percent by 1965, to 7.2 percent in 1980, to 11.0 percent in 1994. Yet, the impacts of the "Special Period" are such that actual expenditures have fallen from 1853.9 million pesos in 1990 to 1430 million pesos in 1995-1996 (Ministry of Education 1996).

NONFORMAL EDUCATION

Nonformal education is an integral part of Cuban society at the national, provincial, and municipal levels and is strongly linked to the education system. Contributing sectors include Public Health, Culture, and Sports, as well as organizations such as the Federation of Cuban Women, neighborhood watch Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, People's Councils, Pioneer Youth groups (similar to Boy and Girl Scouts), and the National Commission for Prevention and Social Care (Ministry of Education 1996).

Another nonformal sphere is adult education, which provides learning opportunities for workers, farmers, housewives, and undereducated adults at three levels: Educacion Obrera y Campesina or EOC (a four-semester basic instruction course sequence); Secundaria Obrera y Campesina or SOC (a four-semester mid-level course); and Facultad Obrera y Campesina or FOC (a six-semester higher level instruction) (Ministry of Education 1999). The matriculation rate of these programs has remained high, and course materials are frequently refined. From 1962 to 1974 about 650,000 adults graduated from these adult education programs, with a record number of 95,000 matriculating in 1974 (Paulston 1976). Participation remains high (Ministry of Education 1999).

The Cuban government has been a leader in the use of media for nonformal education. Starting in the 1960s, radio has served an important function in making education available to all citizens. As of 1996, eleven of the fourteen provinces offered local radio instruction at important work centers. Increased use of television has also offered opportunities for distance learning. For example, in 2000, "University for All" was introduced on state television, offering telecourses in English, Spanish, and other topics. Distance learning is offered through institutions of higher education, with periodic meetings held between students and professors; approximately 25,000 participants were involved as of 1996. The use of computers and Internet technology is limited, although Cuba is working to increase this resource for its populace.

TEACHING PROFESSION

Education of teachers is a strong priority in Cuba, and teacher preparation programs are invariably joined with the political and cultural transitions of the country. Teachers are trained in one of 13 teaching (pedagogical) universities and programs in several methods of instruction. Entry is based upon test scores and analysis of one's aptitude and interpersonal qualities specific to teaching. The training program lasts for five years, with students beginning their studies in their pre-university year of school. During the first two years of the program, emphasis is placed on general studies, emphasizing political and cultural topics. During the third year of instruction, educational psychology is introduced, while in the fourth and fifth year of study, practice teaching is emphasized under the direction of experienced teachers. Practicing teachers can also attain advanced degrees from these institutions.

Teachers are evaluated for performance effectiveness based on qualitative evaluations by peers and administrators, as well as comparison to National Education Quality Control criteria. Salaries are paid on a wage scale initially established in 1975, and professors are paid wages similar to that of doctors and engineers. Teachers are encouraged to continue their education and are given leave from their positions to attend classes.

SUMMARY

Cuba's position in the world has changed dramatically in the years since the Revolution, and its educational system has continually met the needs of its people. Change has been so constant that one might argue paradoxically that Cuba's future emerges as its past. Cuba has a highly literate population and a technologically trained workforce, yet it has limited venues for utilizing the talent of its populace because of its difficult economic circumstances.

Cuba remains on the edge of the digital divide. While it is gradually increasing its ability to provide computer technology for its people, information technology resources are limited. For Cuba to enter the twenty-first century, those resources must increase; there is little doubt that Cuba's educational system will embrace the changes that technology brings.

One of Cuba's strengths is its integration of culture, social order, and education. Especially noteworthy has been its integration of formal education, practical arts, and problem-solving applications outside of the classroom. Ironically, that same path is now being promoted worldwide by major corporations and conservative education policy experts who seek to promote problem solving and teamwork. The developed nations have much to learn from Cuba's ability to integrate education into all aspects of its culture. It is also clear that this innovative synthesis of learning activities is not exclusively socialist or liberal.

Another irony involves Cuba's preparation to deal with change. The rigid structure and technology for learning has created for its people a framework for self-discovery and an intrinsic application of knowledge. Times are changing in Cuba, especially with its increased reliance on a tourist economy. Educators are leaving the profession to work in tourism, and this is yet another challenge to be faced. Cuba is again required to create new innovations to maintain its revolutionary vision but, with change as its strength, Cuban education is well positioned to further its transformation and to meet its people's needs.

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—Patrick McGuire and Karen Vocke