Culture Shock! Chile - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

120 CultureShock! Chile

are three types of schools—

public or pública (government-

funded and administered by

the municipalities); private or

particular (privately funded and

run); and subsidised private

or particular subvencionada

(government-funded but

privately administered). Many

private schools were originally

founded to serve an ethnic community or religious group.

Some schools have two different locations, one for the

primary school and another for the high school. Students

in the same homeroom become very close as they study as

one group for the entire eight or even 12 years.

In general, private schools provide the best education.

However, this is not a hard and fast rule as there are a

number of high quality public schools. Some upper-class

private schools are extremely conservative and will not

accept illegitimate children or children of parents who have

separated. Public schools and subsidised private schools

cannot exclude anyone because they receive government

funding. If a foreign child is a legal resident of Chile (i.e.,

has a valid visa) he or she should not be legally barred

from attending any school. Children whose parents are

in the country illegally are never turned away from public

schools either.

If your child does not speak Spanish, don’t worry, there

are a large number of private schools that offer instruction

in a foreign language. When researching schools make

sure you confirm whether classes are taught solely in the

foreign language (plus a Spanish language class) or if it is

a bilingual school where half of the classes are taught in

the foreign language and the other half in Spanish. Also,

certain institutions offer the foreign language only up to a

certain grade level, when all instruction then switches over

to Spanish.

There are so many foreign language schools all over Chile

that they cannot be listed here. Some of the better known

For years, students from
neighbouring countries have
come to Chile to receive a higher
education. With the increase
in the number of universities,
there are now even greater
opportunities for foreigners to
study in Chile. Some universities
provide tailored programmes for
foreign students, so it is a good
idea to shop around for the best
programme.