Universalism in Education. A proposal for the analysis of the educational policies design

Abstract

In Latin America, interest in social policy regimes has been growing during the last two decades. Researchers using universalism to study reforms have approached the process more comprehensively; however, problematization has been primarily conceptual. Of the areas researched, Education is the one that has shown the most significant incidence in reducing inequality and poverty; nevertheless, it is one of the least investigated. This article proposes a conceptualization and measurement for universalism in education for middle-income countries in the Region. It defines four constitutive dimensions, access, quality, equity, and financing, each with its respective indicators. To demonstrate its use, based on legislative sources, it analyzes the three main Chilean educational policies of the Bachelet second government, which for the first time in 30 years, attempt to modify structural aspects of the educational system. The article concludes that this reform reached an emerging universalism, with quality being the dimension with the lowest score, followed by financing. In contrast, equity is the dimension with the highest score, one of the principal focus of the reform.