The curricular conception of primary education in Cuba: current vision in multigrade classrooms

Abstract

 This article aims to: show the results of the application of the diagnostic tool, directed at the curriculum design process of Primary Education in Cuba in multigrade classrooms, verifying the current situation of the curriculum design process of Primary Education in Cuba in multigrade classrooms. A population comprised of six territories in the country (Las Tunas, Granma, Villa Clara, Pinar del Río, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba) was used. This population was intentionally selected due to the number of multigrade schools they have and the accumulated experience of their administrators in managing the various processes. In the province of Santiago de Cuba, the rural zone 3, "Los Maizales," was selected as the intentional sample. The sample consisted of the six teachers working with multigrade groups in the zone, the zone coordinator, and the principal of the multigrade school, representing 100%. This zone was selected by the Central Institute of Pedagogical Sciences (ICCP) and the Ministry of Education (MINED). It is of great importance for validating the actions of the Third Educational Improvement Plan in educational institutions located in the rural context of multigrade primary schools. This was a task of the "Turquino" research project, which is associated with the National Program "Current Problems in Education, Development Perspectives" of the Central Institute of Pedagogical Sciences (ICCP), based on historical research and the application of scientific methods such as: Surveys, interviews, percentage calculations, document analysis, and pedagogical testing were used to diagnose the curriculum design process for primary education in Cuba within multigrade classrooms.