a feminist discourse while attending the rural school, but to encounter difficulties in
continuing such practices upon return to their communities. The resolution of these
tensions calls for supportive measures in the social and economic arenas of the country
as a whole, a condition beyond the program designers' control. Although the popular
education program will go on, its developers raise questions about the opportunities that
may emerge now that Chile has a democratic regime. (Stromquist)
Costa Rica
MENDIOLA, Haydée M (1992) Gender Inequalities and the Expansion of Higher
Education in Costa Rica STROMQUIST, Nelly (ed) (1992) Women and Education in
Latin America. Knowledge, Power and Change, Lynne Rienner, London, 125-145.
This chapter examines the changes in the participation of women in higher education
that derive from a major expansion of the university system in Costa Rica. This rich
quantitative study compares enrolment changes over a seven-year interval and traces
university graduates as they join the labour force.
Mendiola finds no changes in the participation rates of men and women as new types of
universities are created. This supports findings detected in other countries, namely that
as more men seek higher education, so too do more women. The principle of
homogenous marriage may be at work, a concept that deserves further consideration.
A positive result from the expansion of university education is that women tend to
increase their chances of completing their studies and moving into a more diversified
set of fields of study. On the other hand, women from upper classes are the ones who
move into the new fields, including nonconventional fields for women.
The Costa Rican data also show that access to higher education does not result in the
same benefits for men and women. Different types of educational institutions produce
different levels of financial compensation in the labour force for their graduates, an
effect that is more marked among women than among men.
In all, the chapter warns us that the process of social and gender stratification is an
enduring one and that university expansion alone does not significantly alter the field-of-
study choices and income of lower sectors of society. (Stromquist)
Mexico
CORTINA, Regina (1989) Women as Leaders in Mexican Education, in: Comparative
Education Review, 33, 3, 357-376.