Innovation for Social Inclusion: Challenges Facing the State University System in Colombia

Abstract

This research is being developed by two interinstitutional, research groups. The aim is to find and disseminate good practices of organizational models of teaching and learning in Colombian public universities. Initially started in the vision of Burton Clark (1921–2009), who defined the concept of “innovation” as “a voluntary effort for organizing the institution that requires a very special activity and energy” (Clark, 1998, p. 25), the groups have found three more characteristics that ought to be studied through a Participatory Action Research Model. Colombia’s Governments have had through the years a determination for social inclusion through education. In this context, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD) is considered to be an entrepreneurial and innovative university, so its organization and goals are presented. Studying the best university practices of different countries creates progress toward the goal of global education.

Citation

de Pretelt, C.L. and Hoyos, F. (2015), "Innovation for Social Inclusion: Challenges Facing the State University System in Colombia", Mitigating Inequality: Higher Education Research, Policy, and Practice in an Era of Massification and Stratification (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 127-147. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X20150000011008