Resumo

VILLANUEVA, Ernesto. Prospects of higher education in Latin America: Building futures. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2010, vol.32, n.129, pp. 86-101. ISSN 0185-2698.

To assert that higher education is important for the development of any society is yet a common place in the political and academic discussions about the matter. However this affirmation does not resolve the problem of what kind of education, for what kind of development and what kind of society; therefore it is necessary to recognize the historical and political nature of this relationship. Based on those suppositions, the article proposes a reflection about the current situation and about the prospects of higher education in Latin America: it has to do with a new look that offers a balance of the changes that have been happening during the last few years, in order to consider the current context of higher education in the region and the challenges that make necessary the generation of new answers. The author pretends to add a contribution to the debate that focuses on the question about what kind of education we can and must encourage in order to build up a society that entails autonomous productive and cultural developments with dialogue and participation at international level and with equity, integration and solidarity.

Palavras-chave : Latin America; Higher education; Neoliberal reforms; Educational models; Internationalization; Educational integration.