May 31, 2012
Maria Sophia Aguirre, associate professor of economics and head of the University's Integral Economic Development Management (IEDM) program, will travel in July to Guatemala City to spend six months implementing the IEDM program's approach to sustainable development in Mixco, a western suburb of the capital city.
Funded by a Fulbright award, Aguirre will study the impact of the Nqatoqi' program, which has been teaching civic values and social responsibility to teachers and school administrators in Mixco since 2008. Mixco is a zona rojas , a high-crime area.
The teachers who have been a part of the Nqatoqi' program have in turn worked with students and their families in an attempt to bring about change in the community at large.
Aguirre's integral approach to economics focuses on the fact that "at the heart of any economy is a human person, and that a person is social and works with others," she says.
In order for development efforts (and the way that they are measured) to be successful, one must keep in mind the importance of interpersonal relationships.
Aguirre provides the example of teaching a person how to read. While some might determine if the teaching is successful based solely on the reading ability of the student, Aguirre asserts that it is more appropriate to economic development efforts to determine success by measuring how well that person is able to comprehend what they read and if they are able to then help themselves, their family, and their community based upon what they have learned.
In Mixco, Aguirre will work with faculty and students at Universidad del Istmo to analyze how the Nqatoqi' program has affected the way people view civic and social responsibility. They will use surveys and focus groups to study the program's impact on children, parents, families, educators, and the community. Once they gauge how it has affected those groups, they will look for ways to improve the Nqatoqi' program.
Aguirre introduced the IEDM program at Catholic University in 2011. She is grateful that Fulbright is offering her this chance to apply the ideas taught by the program in Mixco, Guatemala.
"The Fulbright Commission thinks this program is worth their support," she says. "With this grant, we will be able to spread the idea of integral economic development. That will help ensure that we allocate money toward development projects that work, not projects that we just think will work."