Buenos Aires, Argentina

Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades

Instructional Materials

At state-run primary schools, a language curriculum commission chooses four or five textbooks and teacherʼs manuals annually from which teachers select to use with their students that year. In the private sector, the selection of the instructional materials for reading instruction is open, and teachers choose textbooks and manuals they prefer.

Use of Technology

The incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in public schools has been promoted in recent years through two main programs: Conectar Igualdad (Connect Equality), a nationwide program for secondary schools, and Plan Sarmiento BA (PSBA), a citywide intervention that focuses on technological equipment and pedagogical resources for primary schools. Both programs aim to promote equal opportunity and socioeducational inclusion for the most disadvantaged groups. These programs distribute netbooks and notebooks to teachers, principals, and students and deliver teacher training both on-site and online on various ICT topics, including specific subject-related content, software programming, and applications.

The PSBA program also provides connectivity to all public primary schools in Buenos Aires. Since 2011, PSBA has delivered 270,004 laptops to students and 21,709 notebooks to teachers. In addition, each school is assigned a special technology teacher/facilitator to collaborate with teachers on planning, delivering, and assessing studentsʼ progress, incorporating ICT in the classroom.

Furthermore, a Curricular Appendix on Digital Education for Primary Schools provides guidelines to integrate aspects of digital culture to the teaching and learning processes in the classroom. The aim is to promote pedagogical innovation in schools, inviting teachers to be the main agents of this change and students to be the protagonists and builders of new forms of knowledge. The Digital Education Curriculum Annex forms the framework for the teaching of the competencies in the field of education and digital culture, from which teachers can build the content of this transversal space. In addition, it proposes to integrate the participatory and collaborative dimension of knowledge construction with project-based learning, focusing not only on the goals to be achieved but also on the process by which these are achieved.¹³

Regarding the role of technology in reading instruction, the Curricular Appendix on Digital Education emphasizes that 21^st century literacy “implies, among other practices, to know how to search and get information in different types of databases, both on paper and on screens and produce text in various supports used by the culture.”¹⁴

Role of Reading Specialists

Language teachers responsible for reading instruction of fourth grade students are in charge of identifying studentsʼ reading difficulties and helping them improve their reading skills. Depending on the level of difficulty, the most challenged students are provided with additional support from special teachers outside school. Also, teachers have an adviser who works with each of them individually to define or choose the readings for the year.

Further, as part of the National Reading Plan librarians complement teachersʼ work by assuming a fundamental position on promoting reading inside schools. Some libraries function year round to support schools as they develop activities and workshops.

As part of the National Reading Plan, both in state-run and private schools, one hour per week at the library is compulsory for students.

Second Language Instruction

In all public schools in Argentina, the official language is Spanish, but Buenos Aires is a heterogeneous space where different languages and cultures live together. For this reason the Operative Department for Foreign Language developed the program Spanish as a Second Language for the Inclusion (also known by its Spanish acronym, ELSI), which aims to support and advise schools and provide opportunities for students who don’t speak Spanish as a first language.^c

The main actions developed by ELSI are:

• Publication of materials with information, suggestions, and resources for teachers and headmasters who are working with students who speak a language other than Spanish
• Orientation and support for teachers and headmasters by the Operative Department for Foreign Language
• Teacher training in issues related to Spanish as a second language, bilingualism, and multiculturalism
• Spreading information about the Buenos Aires City Education system to promote the inclusion of family members of students who speak a language other than Spanish (the training material is available in other languages)

Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing

The National Law of Education No. 26.061 states that people with disabilities must receive an education that promotes the highest development of their skills and abilities. This is guaranteed through curricular adaptations at common schools for students with disabilities whenever possible. Special Education Schools are used when that is not an option.

Particularly in Buenos Aires, since 2000 every school is compelled to introduce curriculum adaptations for students with disabilities who need special care.¹⁵ Expectations for learning outcomes are tailored to each student, and assessments for his or her learning process are carried out through a personalized analysis.

In 2009, Buenos Aires passed the Public Policies for the Educational Inclusion bill that provides options for high quality education through flexible itineraries.¹⁶ A former bill passed in 2002 set criteria for building schools in order to achieve greater accessibility for all students.¹⁷

The City of Buenos Aires developed a specific curriculum for the integration and coexistence of students with special educational needs in primary elementary schools.”¹⁸ This integration requires a special educational needs teacher alongside other teachers, work with children and young people who need extra support, or requires an advanced program of learning in order to reach their full educational potential. Recently, students diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder are entitled to attend school with an accompanying person who is not a teacher under the school professional staff supervision.¹⁹