Objective:

This article aims at comparing how general education contributes to local in three Latin-American countries (Paraguay, Peru y Cuba).

Methods:

The unity of the synthetic analytical and deductive methods and the systematization of experiences makes possible the understanding and construction of a theoretical framework that explains the role of social agents in general education. Documents reviewing helps to collect individual testimony.

Result:

The main finding is the description of how the contribution of general education to local development is outlined in the educative system organization in Paraguay, Peru and Cuba.

Conclusions:

Education contributes to local development; to attain that goal the curriculum should provide the students opportunities to enroll in real activities leading to a contextualized and effective contribution to society. A curricular design aimed at contributing to local development will certainly assess not only the students’ knowledge but moral values and proper behavior as well. The unity of social agents and educative influences will lead the students to real involvement, feeling they are taking part in local development.

        · resumo em Espanhol     · texto em Espanhol     · Espanhol ( pdf )