11. What was the highest grade or school year you passed?
[] 02 Preschool
[] 03 Special education
1 _ Primary
[For any response above,] (Go on to question 12)
2 _ Vocational
3 _ Secondary
4 _ Superior non-university
5 _ Superior University
6 _ Post-graduate
7 _ Master's degree
8 _ Doctorate
[For any response above,] (Skip to question 13)
Question No. 11: What was the highest grade or school year you passed?
The objective of this question is to know the maximum grade of education achieved by persons in order to distinguish between those who finished or not, every one of the educative levels, besides, it permits us to detect if there have been, with time, changes in the educational structure.
Remember that this question is applied to persons 4 years old or older.
Mark the circle or write down in the corresponding space agreeing with the level of education, the number of years the person passed.
Keep in mind the following definitions:
b) Pre-school: is understood to be care centers or learning centers for children generally under 6 years, here is included both centers of adaptation like nurseries, day care, children's centers, pre-kindergarten, and Centers for Infant Orientation where they take care of infants, as well as centers of education like Kindergartens and Day-Care.
c) Special Education: is the actions meant for providing educational opportunities to those whose physical, mental, emotional, social or pedagogical conditions require particular attention with the goal of developing the maximum of their capacities. Example: Panamanian Institute of Special Needs (IPHE).
d) Primary: This type of education is free and obligatory for all minors understood to be between six (6) to fifteen (15) years of completed age. Nevertheless, it is possible to find students with ages between five (5) and eighteen (18), attending primary school.
e) Vocational: Its purpose is to prepare directly the students for a craft of profession, consisting of a basic cycle of vocational orientation of two (2) years of duration, has as a requisite the possession of a certificate of finishing primary studies.
f) Secondary: This educational level has as a prerequisite the passing of the primary level of education, and is at the same time required for superior education. Middle education is integrated by two cycles:
[p. 80]
Second Cycle: generally is represented by a Bachelor in sciences, letters or business. Its pre-requisite is possessing a certificate of first cycle. Normal education which also prepares for teacher training also requires the same pre-requisite.
h) Superior University: is the education that is imparted at the [The following is a list of specific universities in Panama.] University of Panama, "Technología" of Panama, Santa María La Antigua, del Istmo, Latina de Costa Rica, Interamericana, ULACIT and others.
i) Graduate: is studies that are done corresponding to the superior university level after the academic level.
j) Masters: refers to the superior academic level, after having obtained a degree.
k) Doctorate: refers to the highest academic level that a person can aspire to, having finished the degree is required.
These last three stages of study can be of one, two or three years, either in the country or abroad.
[p. 81]
Examples: Declared Information
[Below the text is a chart with a column for case number, declared information, which category that pertains to and how it should be marked on the questionnaire.]
A person declares to have passed 4th grade of primary school.
Primary
Case 2
A person states to have not attended school or did not finish first grade of primary school and at the moment of the interview is taking first grade.
No Grade
Case 3
A person declares to have graduated from Systems Engineering of the Technologic University (5 years).
University Superior
Case 4
A person declares that their child attends classes in the IPHE.
Special Education
Case 5
A person declares to have just completed a Graduate School in Finance (1 year).
Graduate
Case 6
A mother states that her child of 4 years attends the Center of Infant Orientation.
Preschool
Case 7
A person obtained a degree in dressmaking in a Vocational school.
Vocational
Do not use roman numerals. Keep in mind that the highest grade or year of regular education totally passed is requested and consequently neither half grades nor grades that have not been completely finished or passed should be written down.
In those schools or secondary schools in which premedia [equivalent to middle school] has been implemented, if a person claims to study the 7th, 8th or 9th grade, remember that it refers to the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year of formal secondary education.
If a person has received education abroad or in schools in the Panama Canal Zone, write down the equivalent grade in the system of regular education of the country with the closest possible approximation. For example: the 8th grade of the schools of the Canal Zone of Panama is equivalent to the 2nd grade of secondary schooling in Panama.
[p. 82]
Consider as a vocational school those that are not incorporated in the system of regular education and that teach dressmaking, mechanics, electricity, commerce arbitrator, etc. Do not include in this category schools and official schools known as vocational but that are incorporated into the system of regular education, such as is the case of the School of Arts and Crafts and the professional and technical institutes that are found in different parts of the national territory.
Note: If a person has studied in a school of regular education and also, in a vocational school, consider as level passed as the one of regular education, always and when this one is the highest; in the case of them being the same in both schools, write down the one of the regular school