Dr. Alex Ovalle, Director from the School of Pedagogy in History and Geography, leads a project as principal investigator, while Dr. Pablo Andrada, from the School of Journalism, is part of un team of researchers from different universities that will develop one of the awarded initiatives.

The Director of the School of Pedagogy in History and Geography of the University of La Serena, Dr. Alex Ovalle Letelier, was awarded an important FONDECYT project, being the only one awarded to the Department of Social Sciences of the university.

In the project called “The articulation of the national school of the Province of Coquimbo (1850-1890)”, where Dr. Ovalle is the main researcher, examines the way in which the national school was articulated in the Province of Coquimbo during the second half of the 19th century, in order to identify its social and cultural aspects. The province of Coquimbo is relevant because it hosted early educational initiatives led by a local elite interested in matching educational provision with that of the capital. National historiography has not fully addressed how the configuration of the Teaching State developed in the different provinces of Chile, so attention will be paid to this particular case.

The general objective of this project is to carry out an analysis of the construction process of the primary education system in the province of Coquimbo between 1850 and 1890. And the specific objectives consider the characterization of the different agents that participated in the creation of educational establishments during the State installation process; identify the social and political actors who were involved in the development of the educational field; analyze the interaction between the different fiscal agents and the local interests of civil society in the province; study the consolidation of the national school and its relationship with local demands; and, finally, analyze the circulation of ideas both from the center and from the province in relation to the implementation of the educational system.

Regarding the award of this FONDECYT, Dr. Alex Ovalle Letelier, stated that this project is innovative “since there are no academic studies on the history of education at the regional level. It is satisfying to be the responsible researcher in a very competitive fund in Chile that consolidates the area of ​​studies in the Department of Social Sciences and in the university. In addition, it follows the line of the vision of the regional universities of generating knowledge linked to the territory and will allow establishing networks with the Alexander Von Humboldt University, the Freie Universität-Berlin of Germany and with the University of Alcalá de Henares of Spain."

On the other hand, Dr. Pablo Andrada Sola, from the ULS School of Journalism, is part of a team of communications researchers, which was awarded the Fondecyt Regular project “The public square of the mornings: television morning shows and their audiences in a context of fragmented democracies”, where the morning sessions of Chilean television will be analyzed.

Dr. Lorena Antezana, researcher responsible for the project and professor at the University of Chile, together with the co-researchers, Dr. Cristian Cabalin, academic at the University of Chile; Dr. Daniela Lazcano, academic at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso; and Dr. Pablo Andrada, an academic from the University of La Serena, make up the team that was awarded this project, which has a total cost of 162 million pesos and will be carried out between 2024 and 2027.

The objective of this project is to analyze the current news agenda provided to viewers by the main morning shows on Chilean television: Muy Buenos Días (TVN), Mucho Gusto (Mega), Contigo en la Mañana (Chilevisión) and Tú Día (Channel 13), and in this way study the social function that these spaces fulfill in the construction of the public, political and journalistic discussion agenda.

The analysis of this research will focus on the target audience that consumes these programs, so their ages, socioeconomic segments, place of residence and gender will be considered. It will consist of 24 interviews and six focus groups, which will be held in the cities of Santiago, Valparaíso and La Serena.

The academic from the School of Journalism, Dr. Pablo Andrada, said he was very happy with this achievement since it will be carried out in a strong team with a solid work dynamic, and that it is not the first time they have carried out a research project in set. In fact, this group has just completed a study on soap operas and citizen education.

The ULS academic highlighted that the project will have audiences from the city of La Serena as part of its sample, which adds a regional component to the study. Due to this, he pointed out that this project “allows for generating synergies between the three universities, since in-person work sessions are contemplated each semester. Therefore, I hope that the work contributes to the career and, especially, to students interested in research.”

As products of this research, it is expected to generate the publication of at least four articles in mainstream magazines and the dissemination of the results through a website and podcast. Also contemplated is the development of a policy papers with recommendations for the television industry, and the completion of undergraduate or postgraduate theses in the universities that sponsor this project.

Written by Nicolás Cartagena, ULS Journalism