PRIVATIZING TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: SOCIAL RESPONSES AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ALTERNATIVES INTRODUCTION We write the introduction to this issue of Intercambio in the midst of the global health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.We are living a historic moment due to the global character of the pandemic, the number of those infected and those who have died. This health catastrophe has exposed the harm caused by the neoliberal policies that have been applied for more than 30 years, leaving wide open the dismantling of the public, the privatization of health systems, the worsening of living conditions and the prevalence of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The…

In CTERA’s recently negotiation process with the Ministery of Labour and the Ministery of Education of Argentina, The teachers, present 12 points about Labour Conditions, schools infrastructure; remote work: virtual education in the pandemia context (respect for privacy, to the load of working hours, to rest and to disconnection); licenses and wages, union and labor rights, work accident coverage and in-service teacher training. Also on the return to the fase-to-face classes, which must be resolved with the consensus of the Education Workers at the national level and in the respective jurisdictions. We share the 11 points of agreement reached by CTERA. Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic –…

By Larry Kuehn None of us escape the platforms that dominate our 21st Century lives—whether as shoppers, travelers, consumers of most anything, and in our day to day communications.  Most of us pay little critical attention to the underlying structure of the technology platforms that are integrated into many of our activities. A “platform” when used in the technology field means a digital structure on which a range of services are built.  We tend to pay attention to the particular services we are using, not the nature of the underlying structure that makes up the platform. A critical view of the increasing role of technology platforms in education receives even…

IDEA Network has launched a series of webinars called Public Education in Times of the Pandemic. Their purpose is to analyze the impact and the state of public education within the context of the pandemic crisis. Several subjects have been selected for their discussion with the organizations, and to advance in the construction of a common agenda for international fight. The series are offered to social, student or popular organizations and unions committed to the defense of Public Education as a social right. Teachers, researchers, university students and the general public, who are interested on the matter, are also invited. Who can participate? Organizations that belong to IDEA Network. Teacher…