Contribution of Emilio Uzcátegui to Educational, Thought and Practice In

THE CONTRIBUTION OF EMILIO UZCATEGUI TO EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT AND PRACTICE IN ECUADOR AND LATIN AMERICA By ANNETTE KESTELL PIZER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1973 Copyright by Annette Kestell Pizer 1973 . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of people contributed greatly to this study. The writer expresses gratitude to Drs. Richard R. Renner and Vynce Hines, her doc- toral cochairmen, and their fellow committee members, Drs. Robert D. Myrick, G. Alexander Moore, and Arthur Newman. To her friends, Julia Mora of Bogota, Colombia, and the Mark Kinneys and Florence Chan Conseco of Mexico City, the writer expresses appreciation, along with other patient friends in Phoenix, Arizona, including Norma Gordoa, Maria Rosales, and Moya Esterling, who assisted in verifying and editing the English translations from Spanish. Dr. and Mrs. Emilio Uzcategui and Dr. Francisco Terdn of Quito were unfailingly generous, gracious, and kind. During the writer's July, 1971, visit, they contributed a wealth of pertinent background information and materials. Finally, the writer wishes to express appreciation to Roberta Solt for her assistance and cooperation in the final preparation of the manuscript iii PREFACE Following World War 11^ improved communications and expanded tra- vel opportunities marked the closing of an ethnocentric North American orientation. In the United States a growing awareness of sociocultural diversities among peoples triggered a series of generally positive changes. In the past several decades, a perceptible concern has arisen for students whose cultural backgrounds have deprived them of the prelimi- nary experiences necessary for success in typical U.S. educational institutions. Many specialists, including social scientists and educational theorists, have achieved considerable insight through isolating and defining problem areas. Many solutions have been tried. But too often their timely contributions are limited to laboratory schools, for application has been restricted by the absence of efforts to link theory with continuous practical application. Now, educators are learning to face the grim realization that ethnocentr icity, social class, and racial distinctions must be surmounted in order to facilitate sound decisions about educating students. Those with an interdisciplinary orientation to the social dimensions of education can make an invaluable contribution to this need area. Growing popular concern for achieving world peace through international cooperation has indeed influenced reassessment of U.S. education patterns at all levels. The value of rewarding social relation- Iv ships in personal, national, and international realms has taken on prominence equal to curricular and instructional methodology. Interna- tional and comparative education specialization, offering opportunities . to employ interdisciplinary approaches, has revitalized the education field. Renner explains, The common thread which seems to tie the various facets of international education together, however loosely, is the quest for fundamental meanings in a world charac- terized by diversity. It is the familiar process of seeking answers to questions of intrinsic importance to all men. Whether a more widely based pursuit of meaning in a philosophical vein is sufficient to prevent war is problematical. Yet, where does the search for methods of creating a world political community begin if not in the minds of men? The educator, though he may lack satisfactory answers, is responsible for mak- ing the quest as meaningful to his learners as possible. [1961, p. 7] Education certainly is a channel through which international under- standing and world .peace may be negotiated. Here is this study's under- lying premise. The irrevocable degree to which technology has developed sophisticated weapons of catastrophic destructive potential suggests that current cohesive practices facilitating international awareness must be reinforced and expanded. Solutions, furthermore, can no longer exclude cooperation by the total population masses involved. Humanity, at whatever stage of in- dustrialization, must achieve closer educational equanimity to preserve an environment necessary to sustain a satisfactory life style. To achieve this goal for Latin Americans, Emilio Uzcategui of Ecuador has devoted his career. V TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOI^EDGMENTS ill PREFACE iv ABSTRACT ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 1 Introduction 1 Nature of the Study 3 Significance of the Study 4 Delimitations of the Study 4 Methodology 4 Overview of the Study 8 CHAPTER II. THE LAND AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ECUADOR: THE UZcAtEGUI PERSPECTIVE 10 Introduction 10 The Land and People 10 Sixteenth-Century Ecuador 11 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Ecuador 12 Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador 15 Conclusion 23 CHAPTER III. CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND CAREER 26 Introduction 26 Childhood and Early Education 26 Advanced Education and Early Career 33 United States Sojourns 43 Educator-Statesman, 1931-65 45 Ecuador, 1965 to the Present 51 Life-Long Focus on Education 52 Composite Personality 55 CHAPTER IV. EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT 58 Introduction 58 The Meaning and Purpose of Education 58 Formal Education As a Social Institution 61 Responsibilities of the School 65 Intelligence and Personality 72 Heredity and Environment 74 vil The Learning Process The Science of Education 78 Conclusion ^3 CHAPTER V. EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY 85 Introduction 85 Documentation 85 The Scientific Method of Education 87 Educational Levels and Institutions 94 The Casa de la Cultura 106 Conclusion 107 CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION: ECUADORIAN EDUCATIONAL REFORM .... 110 Introductory Statement 110 Educational Issues HI Educators and Education 117 Human Rights and Education 124 Conclusion 129 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW QUESTION TOPICS 131 APPENDIX B. PRESIXTEENTH CENTURY ECUADOR 134 APPENDIX C. ECUADOR: PROPOSALS FOR REFORM 141 APPENDIX D. PROFESSIONAL VITA 153 LIST OF REFERENCES 156 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 164 viii Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy THE CONTRIBUTION OF EMILIO UZCATEGUI TO EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT AND PRACTICE IN ECUADOR AND LATIN AMERICA By Annette Kestell Pizer December, 1973 Chairman: Vynce A, Hines Cochairman: Richard R. Renner Major Department: Foundations of Education The study assumed that a contribution could be made to the comparative and international education field by examining the life and contributions of Emilio Uzc^tegui Garcia, Ecuadorian educator and statesman, whose career has afforded him the opportunity to initiate many Latin American educational reforms. The researcher utilized a social sciences and humanities interdisciplinary orientation to gather the data and to interpret and describe the findings. Interviews with Dr. Usccitegui were conducted in the summer of 1971, and a review of his writings, covering a span of 40 years, was integrated into the approach. An overview of the land and cultural heritage of Ecuador, from the Uzcitegui perspective, included the pre-sixteenth-century era through the present. A focus was also carried through this time period with regard to Ecuadorian educational evolution. A biographical sketch highlighting aspects of Uzc^tegui's childhood, education, and career was given in one chapter. Two other chap- ix . ters presented his educational thought and methodology including his "active-school" concept encompassing " progresista " attitudes which re- flect a synthesis of progressive educational methods adapted for Latin America and Ecuador. A concluding chapter covered salient points of the Uzc^tegui perspective on Ecuadorian educational reform and included such problems as literacy, educational professionalism, curriculum stan dards, the educational environment, professional obligations, and the scientific, reflective, philosophic, and instructional orientations appearing in Uzc^tegui's endeavors, in addition to his views on secular and compulsory education matters in relation to human rights and educa- t ion X CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Introduction Emilio Uzcdtegui Garcia was born May II, 1899, in Quito, Ecuador, where he lived with his mother and two older brothers until his depar- ture for advanced studies in Santiago, Chile, at age 14. Since his return to Ecuador from Chile in 1925, he has occupied numerous dis- tinguished positions including several UNESCO assignments in Latin T America. After completing his Bolivian UNESCO mission in 1965, he and his wife, Maruja, who is from Guayaquil, returned to Quito. They have one daughter. Uzcategui continues to teach courses in education at the Universidad Central in Quito. In addition' he practices law, par- ticipates in educational legislation activities, and holds the honorary position of Bolivian Consul to Ecuador. A resolute commitment to his writing projects consumes most of his leisure time. His most recent book, Histor ia de la educacion en Hispanoamer ica , will be published soon [ 1973]. Uzcategui 's prominence as an educator-statesman has generated in- terest in his writings and educational contributions. The evolution of his liberal thought is remarkable when viewed within the conserva- tive cultural context of his birth. His aristocratic family represented Sierra elite regionalism which disdained the anticlerical, liberal,

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