Hellen Fuenzalida’s research while affiliated with Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and other places

Las sociedades contemporáneas enfatizan el valor de los programas de educación terciaria en STEM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería, y Matemáticas). Estos programas son percibidos como uno de los principales motores del desarrollo económico y social. Distintas organizaciones y universidades en EE.UU han generado iniciativas educativas para promover habilidades de ingeniería a estudiantes escolares y así, aumentar el interés y diversidad en el STEM. Estos programas son denominados como programas de pre-ingeniería. En Chile la evidencia de este tipo de iniciativas educativas para los estudiantes de nivel básico y medio es incipiente. Más aún, el concepto de pre-ingeniería no se ha instalado en los discursos educativos. Este artículo busca presentar un caso de un programa de pre-ingeniería chileno premiado internacionalmente, en donde estudiantes de colegios rurales y técnico-profesionales de Chile se involucran en un proceso de ingeniería-diseño centrado en el humano. A través de este caso de estudio se busca mostrar una experiencia concreta de pre-ingeniería y, por sobre todo, discutir el valor de la pre-ingeniería como concepto para fortalecer la educación STEM en Chile.

This article describes one of the few cases of pre-engineering programs in Chile. STEM study programs have become increasingly relevant as they are considered vehicles for economic and social development. Nonetheless, one of the major concerns in STEM education is the lack of adequate representation of minority groups in these programs such as women, low-income, rural, first generation students, ethnic minorities and other social identities typically underrepresented in STEM (Yelamarthi & Mawasha, 2008; Lichtenstein, Chen, Smith, Maldonado, 2013). Introducing diversity into STEM programs is likely to create a scenario where there is an improvement “of creativity, innovation and quality of STEM products and services” (Burke, 2007, p.7). The conventional wisdom explaining underrepresentation of minorities in STEM is typically attributed to a problem of program enrollment and dropout rates, but these are more likely to be the direct effects caused by the lack of parental participation in university education, prior educational disadvantages, among other risk factors (Cabrera, 2001). To overcome these challenges, many initiatives with both private and public funding have been deployed. Among these, engineering schools in the US have developed educational programs to instill engineering abilities while students are still in high school. These programs have been called pre-engineering programs.