king adults and technical schools that offer industrial and commercial training. The government's attempt at increasing secondary educational opportunities showed some success. By 1979 81 percent of elementary school graduates enrolled in some kind of secondary schooling. Further, during the 1982-1983 school year, Mexico had 13,362 basic high schools -serving a total of 3.6 million students (Rudolph, 1985, p. 156).The upper-secondary education level differs from basic high school in that it provides a variety of education institutions that offer two- and three-year programs. Some programs will prepare the student for university studies while others offer training in certain fields of study such as nursing, social work, and preschool and primary teaching. Upon completion of this training, students receive a certificate to practice their chosen profession. Traditionally, the universities and colleges controlled upper-secondary schools. However, by the early 1980s the trend was to establish separate institutions, possible because there was no constitutional restriction placed on upper-secondary education. "Any organization or individual could offer any upper-secondary program of studies -upon obtaining certification or accreditation of its courses" (Rudolph, 1985, p. 156).In 1984, a Mexican newspaper reported the findings of two surveys conducted to evaluate secondary schools. The first survey concluded that secondary schools were disorganized and lacked a sense of direction, which was substantiated in the 40 percent dropout rates. The second survey found that the number of private secondary schools had increased in the 1982-1984 period and that their enrollment had increased to 28 percent of total secondary-school enrollment (Rudolph, 1985, p. 157).Both survey results are indications of a multitude of problems---both subject-specific--and on a much broader basis that are directly and indirectly effecting Mexico's secondary educa...
