Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The world is facing a wide diversity of social innovation: globalization, the “boom” of the new economy based on knowledge, and the emergence of active and thoughtful citizens. The rapid transmission of information dissolves traditions and customs to impose a more active and open life approach. The national education system faces increasing social inequalities, particularly in the area of access to social welfare and human rights (the social, political, economic, and cultural complexity of its establishment, promotion, and defense). One of the challenges of Mexican society is to provide quality education to all children who have not been able to access it, the integration and functioning of the educational system, as well as the formation of responsible, supportive, participatory, and critical citizens required in a modern democracy (Padilla, 2013). This paper examines the following: training and quality of performance of the students from the agricultural high school (PA) and propaeudeutic program of the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico, on education in human rights and social welfare (education, environment, values, tolerance, discrimination, migration, poverty, gender-based violence, psychological issues, etc.). These students mostly come from highly marginalized areas, and currently, no such subjects or courses have been created for them. It was found that students from the PA and propaedeutic program have, mostly, some concept of human rights, values at home, respect, harmony, and solidarity, among others. They believe that, at school, they are influenced by bad friendships, and most have suffered discrimination at some stage in their life, mainly because of clothing, bullying, being indigenous, and having low income to live on. In general, teachers, students, and administrative workers are not interested in these issues; they are non-tolerant people and speak little about human rights. There are no subjects or courses about human rights and problems of social welfare (values, tolerance, environment, migration, education, discrimination, etc.). Most of the students have relatives who have migrated to other states of the Mexican Republic or the USA, in search of resources and a better quality of life. These students also believe that inculcating and teaching human rights values in the poorest communities or indigenous people would help them protect and not suffer from discrimination and abuse.

The Tijuana-San Diego region is the most important binational area on the border between Mexico and the United States, because of the dynamism and observed social-economic interaction, with a high rate of urban growth, a strong interaction of capital flows, workers and goods, which promote the economic and demographic expansion of the same region (Alegría, 2010). However, the relationship between the two countries is also characterized by sharing groups of students that attend two education systems with profound inequalities in regards to the quality of education, infrastructure, and learning. Situations that represent significant challenges in terms of cross-border planning (Guillén López, 1993). In this region, the educational problem of transnational students and the inequality in knowledge and demonstration of universal learning are two pedagogical phenomena that crystallize the urgent need to eliminate the border barriers between Mexico and the United States to carry out actions jointly and find a solution. Therefore, the objective of this academic text is to describe the current landscape of the quality of learning in the school systems of California and Baja California, by comparing the results achieved in large-scale international evaluations, to identify the implications of this educational horizon for the adaptation of transnational students.

This study shows a situation presented to students from the indigenous population of the English teaching major of Campus Coto. These students managed to access university education; however, according to the interviews conducted and what was observed statistically in previous years, this population is not able to go successfully through the major. In some cases, they fail to pass the first course that is received from the English language (in this case integrated English 1); as a result, students decide to defect temporarily or permanently. Similarly, the percentage of students who manage to conclude with the major is low. Due to the previous facts, this research aimed to find out what the most significant factor was, which causes students of the indigenous population not to finish, drop or continuously repeat courses of the English teaching major. Besides having to overcome the challenge of moving away from their territories, these students face a cultural clash between their indigenous language, Spanish, and the language to acquire, in this case, English. Likewise, records were analyzed to know about how many students were admitted to the major mentioned before, as well as the possible changes of students to other majors were examined. In this case, the English teaching major has been transformed into one of the most challenging objectives for the indigenous population of the area.

The informal economy is a recurring problem in the current economy, especially in developing countries. Poverty and underemployment are part of the main realities in tourist sites in the developing world; including Costa Rica. Unemployment, the demand for a highly qualified workforce, age, gender issues, and lengthy administrative procedures are some of the reasons why the informal economy remains present in our societies. This study tries to approach the reality of informal employment in Costa Rica; specifically in the province of Guanacaste and, through a descriptive analysis of data collected in the literature and field work through interviews with informal workers, seeks to understand this social‑economic phenomenon from the point of view of people who suffer these conditions and thus have a broader picture of this problem in this tourist area.Among the recommendations of the study, proposals for integration and organizational strategies to be taken into account in public policies are highlighted. Far from creating more labor, social and economic barriers, these policies should support actions that involve the participation of national governments, local authorities, the private sector, informal workers, and national and international tourists for the reduction of the informal economy and the promotion of productive, equitable and fair development for all.

The quality of education must be permanently protected and ensured within classrooms throughout all institutions of higher education. To guarantee this, education professionals are required to be reflective and research-oriented, committed to continuous learning as well as social action. They must think critically about educational assumptions, values, ​​and practice in a world of constant change for the sake of continuous improvement. The evidence should be based on research as part of the pedagogical practice. Higher education professionals must possess solid characteristics, aptitudes, and attitudes, and, above all, act with honesty and integrity, which will allow demonstrating high standards of ethics and support to students and thus meet educational expectations. The teachers are dual professionals; they are vocational specialists as well as experts in teaching and learning. They are committed to maintaining and developing experience in both aspects of their role to ensure the best for their students. Educational professionals must meet a series of requirements, for example, to be inspiring leaders, problem solvers, creative, immersed in self-learning and personal development, committed to quality, and excellent communicators.

The purpose of this investigation is to show the expansion of pineapple farms and the consequences of violating labor and human rights of workers within this industry: it is a widespread situation nowadays in Costa Rica. These are the main points in our research. The study is based on authorized testimonies given anonymously or not by current and past workers; they share their experiences inside and outside their workplaces. They expose how their rights have been violated for years and how these experiences have remained unpunished before the institutional apparatus of the state. A pregnant woman reveals that she was subjected to forced cleaning work; an ex worker tells that he was fired one week after returning from a sickness leave for health reasons due to a chronic health condition. There are also testimonies of workers who have been persecuted by the same companies; they were considered as possible opponents and rebellious elements to the company. It will be mentioned how this industry has a lack of commitment to environmental responsibility and how this has a negative impact on the environment and human rights. Furthermore, the study will consider those organizations seeking to protect former employees or people affected by the expansion of this industry, and how these organizations have managed to protect these people and provide emotional support. Finally, this situation will be studied to show how it has been addressed by the university student movement and the reflection generated.

This work focuses on human rights education as a space for pedagogical innovation at the university. It presents part of the experiences lived in the course “Recreational Spaces for human rights education,” offered by IDELA to the university community. This course aims to generate a reflection on the importance of playing in human rights education in the university context. A descriptive approach and an analysis of some of the lived experiences were implemented. It is concluded that human rights education should be a process centered on innovative, experiential, and playful practices that go beyond traditional and magisterial proposals, in which students can create, participate, and learn values through participatory and socio-affective spaces in which human rights are recognized as practices based on a more supportive and respectful way of life.