Educational and Occupational Attainment of Migrants and Nonmigrants from a Colombian Highland Community. Research Paper 63

This research report focuses on the educational, migrational, and occupational characteristics of the rural-born people from various class origins in a highland minifundia community near Bogota, Colombia. Three main objectives are to describe the nature of growth and adjustment in the labor force under conditions of rapid population growth and highly skewed ownership and control of production; indicate the present limits on the quality and quantity of rural education along with limits on access to education and its role in opening new employment and income opportunities for rural people; and document the level of occupational attainment of rural-born people when controlling data for class of origin, educational attainment, and migration. The report analyzes the impact of a shifting occupational structure on a cross section of rural families in the highland community of Fomeque. Some of the findings are that the mean level of educational attainment is less than four years of primary training; the mean occupational level for nonmigrants is directly related to degree of parental land ownership; and better educated migrants who move to urban centers enter low-level professional and clerical positions with high employment competition. Many data tables and concluding implications are included. (Author/ND)