Throughout the 1990s and into the present decade, Chile’s educational system has undergone major changes. Coinciding with a transition to democracy process, after a prolonged authoritarian military regime, three successive governments and the country’s economic and political elites have defined education as a strategic mean for reaching economic development and a socially more just and integrated society. In a context of economic growth, political stability and consensual policies, public expenditure in education more than tripled between 1990 and 2003, and private expenditure increased accordingly. A range of major programs for improvement of both quality and equity of education were agreed upon and implemented, and a set of reforms, including curriculum, the time frame of schooling and institutional features regulating the teaching profession, were accomplished.
