Best Practics in Mexico

MEXICO 

Many countries in the world perform poorly in student assessments in mathematics and in the production of mathematical knowledge or its many applications. The insufficient preparation of teachers has contributed over the years to a systematic deterioration in the academic quality of the students. 

Most LAC countries provide education for almost all their young people. Regrettably, education quality is too often poor. In Latin America and the Caribbean, many children are not being taught at the level they will need to live their lives and work productively. This imbalance in teaching is reflected in the results of the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) tests where the skills in reading and mathematics are evaluated. Many Latin American countries obtain low results in mathematics correlated with low results in language.

Mexico participates in the PISA evaluations since the early 90’s of last century, getting systematically the last position among the member countries. More than 60% of the fifteen year old students are not able to solve problems requiring two steps of mathematical calculations. The main cause of these delays is the training of mathematical educators, both in basic and secondary levels. In the last years, several institutions are trying, independently of the government, to influence the training of school teachers and the early education of youngsters. 

Mathematics in Mexico started with the foundation of the Institute of Mathematics of the National University and the Mexican Mathematical Society in 1942 and 1943. This was a work done by among others Sotero Prieto, Alfonso Napoles Gándara and Alberto Barajas. Along his students, Emilio Luis, Humberto Cárdenas, José Adem among others launched seminars, teaching and research areas in mathematics in the country. The influence of Lefschetz was of utmost importance in the development on the development of algebraic topology and differential equations.

In 1957, Mexico organized the International Symposium on Algebraic Topology whose proceedings contain seminal important papers. At the beginning of the 1960’s, the Mexican Mathematical Society launched the Bulletin which was later considered a mathematical journal. Currently Mexico has several well established research centers which have consolidated lines of research, top level research groups with world-class mathematicians and graduate programs training hundreds of master students and dozens of doctoral students every year. 

The Institute at UNAM is the mother institution in Mexico, from which all other major research centers in mathematics have sprung. It has strong research groups in various areas of mathematics, most notably in algebra, combinatory and discrete geometry, PDEs and topology. In the early 1980s CIMAT, an acronym for Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas was founded. This center has become one of the strongest centers of mathematics in Latin America. It has more than a hundred mathematicians and engineers dedicated to research, graduate programs and work related to industry. 

Some Mexican mathematicians have been awarded international distinctions for their individual research achievements, such as the TWAS prize. There are Mexican mathematicians participating in the direction of some of the important world organizations such as the International Mathematical Union, the Bernoulli Society and UMALCA. The level of mathematical research in Mexico has not permeated to the more basic educational levels, probably due to the still small numbers of professional mathematicians. Finally, Mexico has proposed to improve its participation in the Mathematical Olympics which it has attended since 1986. For this, several thousand students aged 12 to 18 are assessed to form state and national teams. Those teams are performing better, passing from the last quarter of countries, to the first 30%, systematically earning several prizes.

References

Adams, D., & Hamm, M. (2014). Teaching Math, Science, and Technology in Schools Today: Guidelines for Engaging Both Eager and Reluctant Learners (Vol. Second edition). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=709555&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site.

      Bosch C; Álvarez, L; Correa, R: Druck, S; & McEaching, R. (2010). Mathematics education in Latin America and the Caribbean: a reality to be transformed. Science for a Better Life: Developing Regional Scientific Programs in Priority Areas for Latin America and the Caribbean. Volume 4. Mexico City, ISBN 978-0-930357-80-1. Retrieved from http://docplayer.net/20952213-Mathematics-education-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-a-reality-to-be-transformed.html.

     International Mathematical Union. (2014). Mathematics in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/CDC/cdc-uploads/CDC_MENAO/Mathematics_in_Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean.Report.pdf

     Lenis Escobar, H. (2019). History of Didactics of Mathematics. Colombia: Recuperado de https://repository.unad.edu.co/handle/10596/27510.