UC San Diego

As public schools in Peru consistently rank in the bottom in numerous international and national education assessments, private school enrollments have begun to spike. Private schools are filled with students from the elite and upper middle classes, leaving public schools predominantly comprised of middle to lower classes since the parents are unable to afford a private school tuition. It is this growing division that has been labeled an 'educational apartheid' within the educational system in Peru. This thesis sets out to explore this apartheid at the local level in Lima, Peru. The intent of this project was to conduct ethnographic research on a public and a private primary school to investigate any perceived differences that may support the existence of educational inequalities that contribute to an educational apartheid. When looking at the Peruvian school system as a whole, the educational apartheid is occurring, especially including the larger and more costly private schools; however, when investigating smaller communities, private schools are seen as a path for social mobility, even if these expectations may be false. The case studies revealed that both public and private schools had positive and negative practices; therefore blurring the assumption that private is always better. In order to confront this educational apartheid, this thesis provides educational policy recommendations that call for attention on policies that are inclusive of all actors (teachers, students, parents) within the educational system, as well as systematic and methodical implementation to insure the success of future educational reforms in Peru