Commitment to the Society of a Civic University. Case of Catholic University Sedes Sapientiae (UCSS) and the Strengthening Initial Education through the Alecrim Integral Care Center

Abstract

Despite the good economic performance of Peru in the last decade, a level of poverty persists that reaches 20 % of the population, chronic malnutrition comprising 30% of people in rural and marginal urban areas, and conditions of educational quality among the lowest in Latin America. What is worse, this problem is exacerbated in areas of extreme poverty and particularly in the child population. Against this background, through the review of the Alecrim Comprehensive Care Center case, the answer is the following question: how can the Catholic University Sedes Sapientiae (UCSS), a civic university, improve initial education in an area of poverty peri-urban Th e hypothesis tested suggests that the UCSS can use its knowledge to meet the demands of society through the management, sponsorship and systematization of a children”™s crib. Also, the research is exploratory, going to offi cial sources from the Peruvian State, academic literature, visits and interviews with key players. Finally, it will be concluded that the university fulfi lls its mission of making its capacities available to the common good. However, there are opportunities for improvement both for the educational model and for learning achievements, which require a restructuring of the intervention strategy as well as its instruments and information systems.