What exactly are you doing, Chas?

While Beach Studies 101 in Salvador has brought a great deal to my life, what is driving me here in paradise has little to do with the beach. This post is dedicated to all those who have asked (and the many who are undoubtedly wondering) “Chas, what exactly are you doing other than traveling and postponing your entry into the world of work?” I hope that this will answer your questions, though anyone who knows me knows that clarity at times escapes me and attempts to communicate my ideas.

The work that I have been doing here in Salvador (Brazil) and that I plan to do in Dakar (Senegal), Capetown (South Africa) and Havana (Cuba) involves an analysis of systems of primary education and how these systems are connected to social mobility. Now for a little bit of history.

I am not exactly sure when it happened, but at some point in my academic college career I discovered that what really excited me were universal principles and concepts. As a student in Government, I found that I was constantly frustrated by models and arguments of international cooperation and conflict. Some arguments focused on the fact that inter-country relationships were based on power; other suggested that what mattered more was collaboration and cooperation. Don't get me wrong; I certainly understood (and understand) the importance of most of these theories, but it never struck a chord with my thoughts and beliefs. Additionally (and significantly) what I learned as a Government concentrator had a great deal to do with systems and how they work in relation to one another (I was provided with a very macro view of the world). This was important, but I also longed to learn about people, their decisions and how they relate to these aforementioned systems.

It was not until I began researching the topic of my undergraduate thesis that I stumbled (I use this word deliberately) onto the “concept” of social mobility (I write “concept” because it seems strange to call something so straightforward a concept). Simply defined (for the purposes of the flow of this post) social mobility is the measure of an individual's ability to improve her life within a given society. There is more to it than that (for example, how do we define “improve”?), but I believe that this explanation captures the concept in its simplest terms. The topic of my undergraduate thesis was an exploration of the link between international migration and social mobility, focusing on the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Writing the thesis was a wonderful (read: agonizing) experience, and on many days I would wake up and ask myself what exactly I was writing about. That said, the biggest and arguably most important aspect of this thesis was not the work itself, but the ideas that began swimming around in my head. The concept of social mobility proved central to the overall argument of my thesis, which left me with a desire to explore it further. What was most appealing to me was the fact that it was a truly universal concept; something that lives and breathes outside of the academic realm and affects all people.

As I was becoming more and more interested in the concept of social mobility, primary education was becoming more and more a part of my life as I made a conscious decision to pursue a position in Teach for America. Conversations that I had about the U.S. system of primary education, both with recruiters (and specifically Josh Biber) as well as my peers made it clear to me that there was a link between education and social mobility; as a look back, it is a connection that any thinking person should be able to make, but for me, it was truly a moment of clarity. Of course education plays an incredibly significant role in one's ability to improve their position in society. It's obvious. However, if it's so obvious, why is it that this is a discussion that has to be had so often in our society?

As I was accepted to Teach for America I was genuinely excited for the opportunity to find a personal answer to this question. Not that I was ready to enter with a romantic vision of what lay ahead; for some time I had received mixed reviews about the experience, largely because the challenges that are presented in the classroom. I don't presume to be “ready” for what's in store for me as I begin teaching in the Atlanta elementary school system in September 2008, but I certainly know that it will not always been fun and will definitely be one of the most challenging experiences of my life. But I digress...

It was around this time that I was notified about the Finley Fellowship. In all honesty, I cannot remember exactly what I wrote and said to the selection committee, though I do know that it was not as clear or well-organized as this post. Fortunately, while my proposal and explanation of my desire to see the world were certainly lacking, it was sufficient to be awarded the fellowship and for this I am eternally grateful to the fellowship committee. It was not until after the receiving the fellowship that I was able to further refine my proposal.

The two areas that I want to unite are social mobility and primary education. Primary education is even more important because a great deal of work that has been done on the connection between education and social mobility focuses on university-level education. While this connection is important-especially because most young people begin working after graduating from college, making college an important determining factor in which occupations the student has the ability to enter, which in turn determines (at least in the initial phase) the individual's ability to improve his or her life-what is clear to me, both in the U.S. and abroad, is that university-level education is not an appropriate starting point for this type of analysis. This is largely because the quality of education that students receive in the levels of education prior to college determine the quality of the schools that these students can enter.

Hopefully that was at least somewhat clear.

As that should explain why I have chosen primary education specifically as a point of focus, the question arises of why have I chosen these four aforementioned countries? The simplest answer is that they are all four places that I have the desire to visit and (outside of Brazil) I have never had the opportunity to. There are more specific reasons as well. As I speak Portuguese (capably), Spanish (functionally) and am currently learning French, each country gives me the opportunity to spend an extensive period of time using each language (including English). Additionally, and specific to the research, there is an important racial component, as each of these four destinations is both racially and ethnically diverse, which has a significant (though not always obvious) impact on the way primary education is structured.

In terms of how exactly this “research” is structured, I've broken it down into three parts: a general literature review to both familiarize myself with the most important aspects of primary education (from an international perspective) and ensure that the work that I'm doing is relevant; collecting data from each country including curricular materials from elementary schools and historical data on student performance; interviews with teachers, principals and administrators in each country. The first phase of this research began in the weeks and months before I began my travels, though it continues presently and will continue throughout the entirety of my trip. For me, the most valuable aspect of the research is the third part, because it involves perspectives and experiences that I will not find in books or reports. Since I've been here in Salvador I've conducted 15 of these interviews, which have ranged from 20 minutes to nearly 2 hours. Each one has given me valuable insight into the conditions of and challenges faced by Brazil's (and specifically, Salvador's) system of primary education.

The essence of the research is to determine what factors allow “good” schools to prepare their students properly (and conversely, what “bad” schools are lacking in order to give their students the proper preparation). It is research that I am doing without a concrete thesis. Of course, I've got my own ideas about what factors are most important to ensuring that students receive a good education and are prepared for the next level of schooling. That said, I see greater value in the work as a collection of data and information for future use.

I'm no fool; this is very important work that should be done by someone much more qualified and experienced than I am. As it is, however, I am the privileged recipient of this opportunity, and I plan to make the most of it. There is certainly a great deal that I still don't understand about the functioning of these systems of primary education and especially how they are linked to social mobility. My only hope is that with my skill set, dedication and resources (thank you again, Finley Fellowship Committee) I will be able to produce something that will be of use to somebody.