La educacion superior en América Latina: Aportes para la construcción de una nueva agenda

The current development and future prospects of education, particularly those of Higher Education, will strongly affect the performance of society for the next twenty or thirty years. Therefore, the definition of policy guidelines of education is a subject that concerns us all, since it might encourage or not the development of democracy and social justice. In this respect, the need for a debate over a new agenda has become essential to reach an agreement among politicians, social actors, community actors and education actors. A first step will entail understanding and assuming the current problems, analyzing the progress and limitations in relation to educational policies (either run or planned), and discussing their possible prospects. To achieve this, it is important to become familiar with the trends and the current status of discussions at national, regional and global levels, both from an academic and institutional perspective, as part of the new responsibilities that universities are taking or should be taking. This article is intended to address a brief overview of the evolution, situation, problems and challenges of Higher Education in the region; of the processes of internationalization, transnationalization and mercantilization-its prospects and dangers - and the necessary focus of Higher Education now facing the serious problems of fragmentation and heterogeneity of Latin American education systems. As a conclusion, it will present some guidelines and strategies for the development of higher education policies aimed at building a Latin American Space for Higher Education.El desarrollo actual y las perspectivas futuras de la educación -particularmente de la educación superior- afectarán fuertemente el desempeño de la sociedad por veinte o treinta años-. Por ello, la definición de los lineamientos políticos de la educación es un tema que nos incumbe a todos, en tanto favorecerán -o no- un desarrollo en democracia y con justicia social. En este sentido, se hace necesario el debate para la construcción de una nueva agenda, consensuada de la manera más amplia posible con los actores políticos, sociales, comunitarios y de la educación. En este artículo se propone abordar un breve panorama sobre la evolución, situación, problemas y desafíos de la educación superior en la región; sobre los procesos de internacionalización, transnacionalización y mercantilización -sus perspectivas y peligros- y sobre la necesaria convergencia de la educación superior frente a los graves problemas actuales de fragmentación y de heterogeneidad de los sistemas educativos latinoamericanos.