Research

The Research Component of the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices promotes research activities to achieve a better understanding of the different dimensions of education for democracy in the Americas. The research may be comparative in nature and is coordinated by the General Secretariat of the OAS in collaboration with the ministries of education, universities, political parties, the private sector and civil society organizations and groups.

Activities and Products:

•  The Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy
Bilingual online journal, with the objective to promote intellectual discussion and exchange of ideas to promote democratic citizenship education in the Americas . Created in alliance with the University of Indiana , Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile and the University of Toronto .
Research articles may be submitted for consideration on an ongoing basis. See call for proposals in the website of the journal.
First edition launched in November, 2007. Free subscription.

•  Study on the current state of democratic citizenship education policies in the Americas.
The Inter-American Program is currently in the final phase of drafting an analytical report based on a policy survey that was conducted in 2006 and 2007. The purpose of the report is to document current national policies in education for democratic citizenship, and related areas, throughout the Hemisphere, and to identify common challenges and priority needs which the Inter-American Program could help address. 25 Ministries of Education have replied to the Survey. A draft of the report was presented at the V Ministers of Education Meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, November 14 - 16, 2007. (see final version here in early 2008).

•  Portfolio of Promising Initiatives in Education for Democratic Citizenship (in construction).
The Inter-American Program is creating a Portfolio of Promising Policies, Programs and Practices in education for democratic citizenship through a questionnaire-based selection process informed by a conceptual framework reviewed by the Program's Advisory Board. The Portfolio will be published in an online database in the following months and exceptionally promising programs and practices will be highlighted in the bulletin.
A response to the mandate of the III Ministers of Education Meeting in Mexico , 2003, this Portfolio builds on the Portfolio of Strategies and Programs for Promoting a Democratic Culture through Education constructed by the Organization of American States in 2004.
See Portfolio 2004 >>

* Send us your program or practice to participate in the selection for the portfolio. Download the template you need to fill out and send us here.

Also see:
Youth Policies and Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Context and Principle Characteristics >> ( Spanish only)
Global Youth Service Policy Scan >>

•  Research Study on Evaluation of National Policy and Programs in Education for Democratic Citizenship and related areas in the Americas (in construction).
The Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices is commissioning a research study to analyze the current state of evaluation of national education for democratic citizenship policy and programs in Central America, North America, South America and the Caribbean . The final report of this research study will assist in determining the priority issues to be addressed at the Seminar on Evaluation to be hosted by the Inter-American Program in 2008, for national coordinators of policies and programs in education on democratic citizenship in Ministries of Education in the Americas .
The research study will address three main issues: a gap in theory, a gap regarding knowledge on the current state of evaluation in the region, and a need for practical guidelines regarding policy evaluation.


•  Policy Brief Series (online)
The OAS and its partners are developing a policy-brief series with the objective of offering key research findings and policy options in citizenship education in a language and style that is useful for policy-makers. The key issues presented will attend to regional priorities which may have been identified by the Program's Advisory Board.
The first policy-brief will focus on the topic of citizenship education for early childhood, in line with the topic of the V Ministers of Education Meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, November 14 -16, 2007 (available here soon).

•  Database of research in the field (in construction)
Current research on democratic citizenship education from throughout the Hemisphere and from other regions can be found in our database. Research documents may be downloaded or, if they are not available, a full reference is provided. You may search for research by subregion, country, type of research, author, topic, area, ages studied, key words and language.

* Send us your research to include it in the database. See details at “send us your research”.