Keywords: Skills, 21st Century Education, Public Servants, Professionalization.

Abstract

The present study presents a critical assessment of the contribution of 21st-century education to the study of the processes of professionalization of ethical and competent public servants. This is developed through the analysis of different types of education, education paradigms, and trends in education, in particular the approach to competencies and types of competencies, both general competences and specific competences which public servants must be trained so that they can contribute to the transformation of the public administration which they work in particular and for their society in general. In this work special emphasis is placed on the ethical aspect and the critical aspect that the education of the 21st century. The document is structured in the following sections: introduction, material and methods, analysis of results, conclusions, and bibliographic references.

1. Introduction

Education is one of the oldest and most relevant social institutions in the history of mankind. It has served as a mechanism of social regulation, fulfilling various social tasks in its development. Historically education has focused its attention and concentrated its actions and resources on educational subsystems such as the basic level, the higher level, the technical level, and others. Within these educational subsystems, the issue of the professionalization of public servants has been addressed implicitly, and fundamentally from the higher education subsystem.

The professionalization of public servants (P.P.S.) stands as one of the fundamental themes of the theory of public administration, which presents important challenges for education, in particular for education of the XXI century. The main of these challenges is the incorporation of the P.P.S as a priority training area to which its nature, purposes, objectives, scope are precisely defined and the necessary resources are assigned for its proper development.

To contribute to the study of the P.P.S. as a challenge of the E.S.XXI in Nicaragua, this article is presented and has arisen from the following question: How does the education of the XXI Century contribute to the training of competent public servants?

The general objective of this study is to assess the contribution of the E.S.XXI to the professionalization of competent public servants. To develop this general objective, three specific objectives have been proposed, which are the following: 1. Analyze how the education of the XXI Century assumes the challenge of the professionalization of Public Servants; 2. Synthesize the main competencies that a public servant must possess to be considered competent and; 3. Recognize the contribution of twenty-first-century education to the professionalization of competent public servants.

2. Material and methods

The development of this research has been based on the paradigm of critical theory, which is “based on participation, intervention and collaboration from the critical personal reflection in action” according to (Ricoy, 2006), cited by Ramos. (2015) Likewise, the present study starts from a qualitative approach and is explanatory and not experimental. A deductive and synthesis methodology has been followed for the realization of the same.

It should be noted that for the preparation of the same, documentary sources of information such as scientific articles, books, reports, conference proceedings, and the like were used. From these sources, a process of observation, ordering, and systematization of the relevant information found in them was developed to be able to obtain from this process the inputs to correctly understand the object of study of the research and contribute to it.

3. Analysis of results

In this section, the main results of the research are shared, which are presented according to the objectives of the study.

3.1. Education of the XXI Century

Education is a polysemic concept, sometimes understood as a process, sometimes as a structure, as a system, as a function, as skills, as an institution or so on. Beyond its multiple definitions, there is a common point in all of them: the social recognition of the capital importance of education for the development of the human being, of the society that surrounds him, and of the reality to which he can transform with the tools obtained from education.

Education is unique and comprehensive, but like science in general, it has been disaggregated so that it is easier to understand and so that it can achieve more efficiently and effectively the achievement of its aims, objectives, and goals. In this way, it is that different taxonomies arise about education as a science that classifies it according to functions, levels, moments, attention groups, and other parameters. Within this wide universe of “types” of education, one can be seen that, for some decades, and through the intermediary of the public administration, has had a wide development: education for public servants (P.S).

The development of a “type” of special education dedicated exclusively to the processes of professionalization of public servants, responds to one of the main characteristics of humanity in general and of the E.S.XXI. in particular: adaptability. The E.S.XXI. it is not created alone or for itself, but by and for society; in such a way that it must adapt to the needs of society. Such adaptation, however, it is a process that often suffers delays. In this regard, Delval (2012, p. 4) points out the following:

“During the twentieth century, important social changes have been taking place with increasing speed and yet, it seems that schools are not being transformed at the same pace as society, so we have to consider what schools should be like to prepare young people to live in conditions that change more rapidly every day. Therefore, we need to reflect on what education should look like for the twenty-first century.”

One of the educational needs that have arisen in the XXI century is the demand of society for the existence of spaces for professionalizing training for the S.P. This demand must be met by the E.S.XXI through the establishment of organizations, functions, spaces, responsible, and the delimitation of resources for it.

“The establishment of institutions dedicated to the transmission of knowledge accumulated throughout history is undoubtedly one of the greatest advances achieved by humanity. Thanks to them, culture, ways of life, social practices, knowledge, can be transferred to the new generations. However, schools, which began to be established about five thousand years ago, have to be modified in line with the social changes produced, and since those distant times, at the dawn of history, societies have changed extraordinarily.”(Delval, 2012)

Responding to the demand raised above is one of the most important challenges facing education in the XXI Century; to be able to respond to it would mean significantly increasing the contribution of education as an institution to the processes of sustainable human development of humanity and thereby fulfilling more integrally its purpose, which is to contribute to the formation of human beings with rooted values and well-developed competencies.

“The school should be a privileged place to provide training that allows full participation in civic and democratic life, but we can perceive today that there is a contradiction between the type of education that is provided in schools and the model of society to which it has formally aspired. What we should achieve is to set up schools that are democratic and that prepares individual to act as genuine citizens, and not as subjects.” (Delval, 2012)

Additionally, responding to this challenge implies complying with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN) and in particular with SDG 4 on Education, whose main goals according to the UN (2020) are the following:

“4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete primary and secondary education, which must be free, equitable, and of quality and produce relevant and effective learning outcomes.

4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood care and development services and pre-primary education so that they are prepared for primary education.

4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all men and women to quality technical, vocational, and higher education, including university education.

4.4 By 2030, significantly increase the number of young people and adults who have the necessary skills, in particular technical and vocational skills, to access employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.

4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable people, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations.

4.6 By 2030, ensure that all young people and a considerable proportion of adults, both men, and women, are literate and have elementary notions of arithmetic.

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to promote sustainable development, including through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and the appreciation of cultural diversity and the contribution of culture to sustainable development.

4.a Build and adapt educational facilities that take into account the needs of children and persons with disabilities and gender differences, and that provide safe, non-violent, inclusive, and effective learning environments for all.

4.b By 2020, significantly increase globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular, the least developed countries, small island developing States, and African countries, to enable their students to enroll in higher education programs, including vocational training programs and technical programs, scientists, engineering and information and communication technology, from developed and other developing countries.

4.c By 2030, significantly increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially the least developed countries and small island developing states.”

Concerning the topic of P.P.S., the most relevant targets of SDG 4 are those embodied in paragraph 4.4. and 4.7. According to the (2018) UN, they present the following indicators:

"Target4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of young people and adults who have the necessary skills, including technical and vocational skills, to access employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.

4.4.1 Proportion of young people and adults who have acquired information and communication technology (ICT) skills, by type of competence.

4.4.2 Percentage of young people and adults who have achieved at least a minimum level of competence in digital literacy.

4.4.3 Rate of educational attainment of young people and adults by age group, economic activity, level educational and program orientation.

Target 4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire theoretical knowledge and practical practices needed to promote sustainable development, including through the education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and the contribution of culture to sustainable development

4.7.1 Degree to which i) education for global citizenship and (ii) education for development. Sustainable, including gender equality and human rights, are incorporated into (a) national education policies (b) curricula (c) teacher training, and (d) student assessments.

4.7.2 Percentage of schools providing life skills-based sexuality and HIV education.

4.7.3 Degree of national implementation of the framework for the World Programme for Human Rights Education (according to United Nations General Assembly resolution 59/113).

4.7.4 Percentage of students by age group (or educational level) who show an adequate understanding of issues related to global citizenship and sustainability

4.7.5 Percentage of 15-year-old students who show mastery of knowledge of geosciences and environmental sciences.”

Therefore, the challenge of the P.P.S. is not only a sectoral or local challenge but also a global one that starts, in addition to a real need and the theories of Public Administration, from a system of Public Policies of a global, regional and local order.

To meet the aforementioned challenge, the E.S.XXI must be able, in the first instance, to define what type of education, which paradigm of education and which current of education are the most suitable to apply in the process of professionalization of S.P.

According to Orozco (2018)Alvarado, there are three types of education, namely: Formal, non-formal, and informal, which are explained below:

Table 1

Types of education.

Source: Own elaboration based on conference of (Orozco Alvarado, 2018)

Although the three types of education can potentially contribute to the improvement of the skills of the S.P., not all contribute, or contribute significantly to the professionalization of the same. Examples of the above are non-formal and informal education that lack certifications that guarantee and validate the acquisition of skills and the degree of development achieved of them. Due to the above, it is concluded that the type of education suitable for the professionalizing training of S.P. is the formal one.

On the other hand, there are different paradigms of education among which the following stand out:

Table 2

Paradigms of education.

Source: Own elaboration based on conference of (Orozco Alvarado, 2018)

Unlike the approach that was made before regarding the choice of a single type of education, despite recognizing the importance of all, in the case of educational approaches, it is not suggested to choose a model exclusively but to delimit an eclectic paradigm in which aspects are incorporated, fundamentally, of the constructivist, socio-critical and competency paradigms and to a lesser extent of the others. The main elements that suggest that this eclectic paradigm of education applied the professionalization of S.P. resume, are the following: 1. The student is the center of the learning process; 2. Promote values such as reason, freedom, humanity, and so on; 3. Citizenship training is a priority; 4. The ideological character of curriculum and practice; .5 Contents are a means and not an end; 6. Encourages the formation of a conscious, critical, and responsible citizen; 7. Promotion of collaboration and complex thinking; 8. Reflective skills are developed; 9. The teacher becomes a mediator, leaving aside his hegemonic role.

Finally, the E.S.XXI should define which current of education is most relevant to the P.S.P. On this, it is important to review the taxonomy proposed by Fierro Celis (2017)who takes up the previous works of other theorists such as Spencer & Spencer, Mertens, and Levy Leboyer to mention three of the main currents that are the following:

Table 3

Currents of education

Source: Own elaboration based on the work of, who in turn is based on the work of Spencer & Spencer (1993), Mertens (1997), and Levy-Leboyer (1997). (Fierro Celis, 2017)

Although the three currents contain valid and useful contributions for the P.P.S. It is maintained that the most valid current for it is the constructivist one because it integrates the two previous approaches and focuses on the person, who, with sufficient skills, will be able to develop the tasks of the position.

From what is addressed in this section, it is observed that the P.S.P. represents a challenge of great dimensions for the E.S.XXI, which can only be fulfilled if a type, a paradigm, and a current of education adapted to this challenge are based on the determination. Such a determination will allow the entire P.S.P. process to be built on a solid foundation. It is evident in this section that the type of education that the E.S.XXI must use for the P.P.S. is formal education, that the paradigm must be eclectic taking up elements fundamentally of the constructivist, socio-critical, and competency paradigms, and that the current education to follow must be the constructivist one.

3.2. Training of public servants

To be able to properly measure the importance of the P.S.P. and the competencies that it must generate, it is first necessary to know the nature of the public function and the public servants who exercise it. According to Escorcia, (2009)”the public function is how the State fulfills its attributions or administrative activities”; while Bitbol explains that it is known as public function to the (1996, p. 523)” system of active relations that have society as the recipient, user or beneficiary to the State as its obligated benefactor, to the service structure in the administration, as an instrument or means of charitable activity, and to collective well-being as an end.”

Those who exercise the so-called public function are therefore public servants, who, under article 6 of Law 476, Law on civil service and administrative career, are

“all natural persons who, by the provision of the Constitution and the laws, by-election, by appointment of authority, or by having been hired by this Law and who, in the name or at the service of the State Administration, participate in the exercise of the public function”.

These public servants are classified under article 7 of the same Law into civil servants and public employees, being civil servants those natural persons who “direct the public function by appointment to develop a career or by temporary hiring, who occupy positions of hierarchy level corresponding to the Management Service”. While public employees are “all-natural persons who execute or operate the public function by an indeterminate contract to develop a career or by temporary hiring”.

Based on the definitions presented, it can be pointed out that the public function is essential for the Public Administration to achieve the achievement of its aims and objectives. Since public servants are an integral part of the public service, their professionalization is a fundamental task that contributes significantly to responding to the multiple demands that society, in general, presents concerning the public function.

“Society demands from government institutions alternative solutions to meet various requirements with clear and timely responses based on respect for the rule of law. These actions are designed and executed by public servants who represent the human capital that give efficiency, effectiveness, and warmth to the activity of the state; these principles are aligned with transparency and probity in the management of public resources; integrity in the attention of duties; and reliability in decision-making; as well as in the strengthening of the attributes of good performance, which through professionalization reinforce knowledge, results, skills, positive attitude, experience and vocation in service.

Public servants, under the premise that they are citizens with the privilege of serving other citizens, personify the public administration; they are the face of the government before society, and therefore its public image; they also constitute the greatest asset of any reform or improvement action that is undertaken and, therefore, in those who reside the success of public policies”. (Michoa, 2015)

The P.P.S. is, therefore, essential, to ensure that the S.P. have the competencies required to be able to fulfill their mandates and respond adequately to the demands of society in general and the position they hold in particular.

“It is a notorious fact that currently, the entities demand public servants capable of exercising their jobs to contribute effectively to socio-economic development, the strengthening of democracy, the promotion of social inclusion, and the promotion of equity in the opportunities of access to collective and individual well-being”.(Moreno, 2014)

This reinforces the proposal made in the first section of the analysis of results, in which reference was made to the need to define an eclectic paradigm that, combining aspects of the constructivist, socio-critical, and competency paradigms, could guarantee the training and professionalization of teams of public servants that, in addition to having a high degree of personal development and as a team, they could do their jobs.

“A new way of conceiving the management advanced by government entities, for the achievement of their increasingly demanding and broad objectives and institutional tasks, is based on the conception of having human teams endowed with particular characteristics, values, capacities, and skills, which are highly competent as professionals, as human beings and as members of teams.

In this context, the management of human talent in Ibero-American countries took an important turn, leaving aside the traditional models of personnel administration and addressing management by competencies, as the most appropriate model to guarantee, on the one hand, the fulfillment of state tasks, and on the other, the effective development of personnel from and for their jobs. “(Moreno, 2014)

The development of these competencies also serves as evidence for the public administration to carry out efficient public servant hiring processes that ensure the quality of the hired professional and thereby increase the chances of improving the function that they are called to perform.

“David McClelland developed the term in 1975, stating that “Success in hiring a person is not in the degrees he brings or in the results of the psychological tests he undergoes. He affirms that performing the job well depends more on the person’s characteristics, their competences, than on their knowledge, curriculum, experience, and skills”. Competencies are therefore indicators of observable behavior or behavior that are supposed to be necessary for the performance of a job. Spencer and Spencer, for their part, refer that Competence is an underlying characteristic in the individual that is causally related to a standard of effectiveness and/or superior performance in a job or situation.” (Moreno, 2014).

This becomes especially relevant when two elements enter into the analysis: 1. the importance of the public sector, not only in the economy but in social life in general, and 2. It the importance for the public sector to be able to count on competent professionals to guarantee the efficient development of its activities. In this regard, Villalva points out the following:(1997)

“For the success of public action, whatever its purposes and content, it is required that public administrations have qualified personnel for the professional activities to be carried out. Such a truism becomes duly emphasized when one realizes the quantitative and strategic importance of the public sector of the economy in which public action takes place, as well as the political and social consequences of the degree of satisfaction of citizens with the services they receive, especially when it comes to those offered by so-called welfare states. The concern, therefore, to guarantee the training of public employees, and to keep it up to date through the possibilities of lifelong learning, usually presides not only the reflection on the improvement of the performance of public administrations but the programs that try to implement it. And the Spanish Administration is no exception in this regard.”

Having defined the type, paradigm, and type of education that the E.S.XXI should use for the P.S.P. as well as the importance of the public function and public servants, we proceed to explain the definition, importance, and type of competencies that the S.P. must-have.

There is no uniqueness of criteria in terms of how to define the concept of competencies, which is why some of the main definitions of it are presented according to what Moreno (2014) compiled:

“Claude Lévy Leboyer defines competencies as a series of behaviors that certain people possess to a greater extent than others, which transform them into more effective for a given situation. These behaviors are observable in everyday work life and also in evaluation situations; the behaviors materialize the aptitudes, their personality traits, and the knowledge acquired.

Bunk, G. P. states that “It has professional competence who has the knowledge, skills, and aptitudes necessary to exercise a profession, to solve professional problems autonomously and flexibly, and to collaborate in their professional environment and the organization of work”. (Bunk, G. P, 1994).

The National Institute of Employment (Spain), in the competencies, are integrated and imbricated knowledge and skills, as well as cognitive, operational, organizational, strategic, and resolutive skills that are mobilized and oriented to solve real problematic situations of a social, labor, community, axiological nature. In the case of the world of work, competencies are those attributes that allow individuals to establish cognitive and resolute strategies concerning the problems that are presented to them in the exercise of their work roles, and in that sense, the rules of competence pretend to be dense descriptors of these skills, knowledge, and criteria of action.

Job competence is more than just technical knowledge that refers to knowledge and know-how. The concept of competence encompasses not only the skills required for the exercise of professional activity but also a set of behaviors and faculties of analysis, decision-making, the transmission of information, elements considered necessary for the full performance of the occupation. “(INEM: 1995).

Gonczi, Andrew, and Athanasou, James pointed out that “Competence is conceived as a complex structure of attributes necessary for performance in specific situations. It is a combination of attributes (knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills) and the tasks that have to be performed in certain situations.” (Gonczi and Athanasou: 1996).

For Gallart and Jacinto, “competence is “a set of properties in a permanent modification that must be subjected to the test of solving specific problems in work situations that involve certain margins of uncertainty and technical complexity.” (...) they do not come from the application of a resume... but of an exercise of application of knowledge in critical circumstances”. “(...) the definition of competences, and even more so of the levels of competences for given occupations are built-in social practice and are a joint task between companies, workers and educators”. (Gallart and Jacinto: 1997).

According to LeBoterf, 1998, competence is “a construction from a combination of resources (knowledge, know-how, qualities or aptitudes), and environmental resources (relationships, documents, information, and others) that are mobilized to achieve performance”. (LeBoterf: 1998).

Beyond the doctrinal definitions, Moreno also presents the definitions that authorities from different countries present on the concept of competencies, some of the most outstanding are the following: (2014)

“Focusing on the regional context, some definitions of competencies adopted in the institutions that are responsible for the standardization and/or certification of competencies are brought:

Ministry of Labor of Chile: Labor competencies consist of the ability of an individual to perform a productive function in different contexts, according to the quality requirements expected by the productive sector. Unlike practical knowledge and skills, which can be validated through the diplomas and degrees of the technical and vocational education system, competencies require a special system of assessment and certification. (Ministry of Labour and Social Security: 2008).

Council for Standardization and Certification of Labor Competence (CONOCER) of Mexico: Productive capacity of an individual that is defined and measured in terms of performance in a given work context, and not only of knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes; these are necessary, but not sufficient on their own for effective performance. (Know: 1997).

Ministry of Education of Brazil: Ability to articulate, mobilize and place into action, values, knowledge, and skills necessary for the efficient and effective performance of activities required by the nature of the work. The Law of Basic Guidelines of Education establishes that a person is competent when “he constitutes, articulates and mobilizes values, knowledge, and skills for the solution of problems, not only routine but also unexpected, in his field of action”.

National Employment Institute (INEM) of Spain: Professional skills define the effective exercise of the skills that allow the performance of occupation, concerning the levels required in employment. “It is more than just technical knowledge that refers to knowledge and know-how.” (INEM: 1995).

Federal Council of Culture and Education of Argentina: An identifiable and valuable set of knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills related to each other, which allow satisfactory performance in real work situations, according to standards used in the occupational area. (Center for/ILO: 1997) “.

The main elements included in these definitions of competencies indicate them as 1. Behaviors; 2. Knowledge, skills, and abilities; 3. Attributes; 4. Properties; 5. Construction and; 6. Personality characteristics. Although in different ways, all these concepts coincide in the idea that competencies are capabilities or attributes that a subject possesses concerning being able to perform a certain activity. Based on the above concepts, and for this work, the following own definition of competencies is proposed:

Competence is the capacity that, after a process of conjugation of knowledge and actions, a subject has developed to achieve the effective fulfillment of a determined or determinable activity.

Having defined the concept of competencies according to the object of study of this work, it is important to point out that the development of the same, framed especially in the processes of P.S.P. start from the correct identification of the competencies that an S.P. requires for the development of its functions and culminates with the development, through training, standardization and certification of the same.

“The capacities that allow satisfactory performance are formed from the development of reflective scientific-technical thinking, the possibility of building referential frameworks of action applicable to decision-making required by professional contexts, of developing and assuming attitudes, skills, and values compatible with the decisions that must be taken and with the processes on which we must act responsibly.

Consequently, competencies make it possible to identify the capacities of individuals in terms of doing, knowledge, and wanting or knowing how to be, which they put into play in their daily work and constitute updated, more powerful, and clearer instruments to verify their performance.

Thus, knowing how to constitute the central axis of this work, since it is these characteristics that are put at the service of technical knowledge and expertise and that refer to aspects of the personality of the public servant, especially attitudes, which are put into play to obtain a competent performance and that are the essence of the analysis in this document, or, in other words, the proposed emphasis.

Now, for a competency model to be entered in the field of human talent management, it is required that it fulfills a cycle, which begins with the identification of competencies and culminates with the training of the same, going through standardization and certification, so then very quickly we will address this cycle. (Moreno, 2014) “.

To achieve its objective, the process of identifying competencies for S.P. must consider what are the purposes of the S.P. Villalva training process, pointing out the following:(1997)

“Cassese points out that the training of public servants is oriented to one of these three purposes: to prepare them professionally (which would characterize the traditional British model), to train them to carry out the transformation of an obsolete or underdeveloped Administration (purpose to which the Mexican model would correspond, or that of the so-called Spanish technocratic reform of the first half of the sixties) or to train them to be part of the class leader of the country (objective of the French model). In any case, he says, “half of the training experiments of developing countries, and at least a third of Europeans, fail because the objective to be achieved is not clear” (Cassese, 1989: 435) “.

Due to the breadth of the Public Sector, the process of identifying competencies for P.S should be able to differentiate the general competencies required by any P.S. given its nature as P.S. and the specific competencies it needs to develop under the specific functions of its position. This has involved a complex analysis that differentiates the competencies for P: S: between generic and specific, horizontal and vertical, and other types of taxonomies. In this regard, based on the experience of the State of Mexico and derived from the System of competencies for performance, Michoa (2015) presents the following classification of competencies:

a.Universal or common for all posts;

b.Mastery of the general processes of public administration;

c.Management for command or coordination posts;

d.Specific to the specialty of the position; and

e.Social and human development.

This represents a proposal of different categories in which the competencies of the P: S. can be grouped. It is considered that, due to its specificity, this taxonomy can be useful to classify the competencies of the S.P. for the case of Nicaragua.

Concerning the above to the previous taxonomy, the competencies by categories proposed by the Government of the State of Mexico are resumed, presented in the following table: (2017)

Table 4

Basic table of competencies for S.P.

Source: Reelaboration of the “Basic Table of Competences” of the Government of the State of Mexico. (2017)

The competencies grouped in the table above do not include all those that a P.S. should have. However, it has been decided to resume them due to the relevance with which they are ordered. That is, these are presented, without prejudice to the fact that other competencies must be developed by the P.S.

As a conclusion of this section, it can be pointed out that due to the importance of the public function and the public servants who perform it, it is extremely important to define a concept of competencies that fits the P.S.P. process and that the process of identifying competencies takes into account the purpose and appropriate classification of them, as well as the values that the P.S. must-have.

3.3. Contribution of twenty-first-century education to the training of competent public servants

The competencies that the Public Administration demands of its P.S. have evolved over time and for this they have also evolved, as pointed out in the first section of this discussion of results, the types, paradigms, and currents of education used by the educational systems for the achievement of these competencies.

Education in general, responds today to the P.S.P. from the perspective of education of the XXI Century that recognizes the complexity of the human being, the integrality that the educational process must have, and the relevance of the process to guarantee the formation of citizens who contribute to the development of a better world.

“Training today, in the twenty-first century, is undoubtedly a great challenge, but at the same time, it becomes a profound obligation, an urgency. The human being is complex in itself and forming it is an integral matter that surpasses the university and the school itself.”(Roveda, 2010)

This has special meaning when talking about the training of Public Servants, who by the nature of their work play a transcendental role in the processes of sustainable human development. For this role to be exercised positively, it is necessary, in addition to the acquisition of skills, the acquisition of values that arise from the ethical perspective provided by the Education of the XXI Century and in particular critical pedagogy.

“Education must form for the understanding of life and exercise its activities in an ethical and citizen way in all its possible dimensions. Education must allow us to feel like human beings and citizens of the planet; citizens of planet Earth who live and share a community of destiny. Our atoms, cells, particles are a summary of the history of the universe; our language, culture, consciousness, and ways of communicating, educating, dreaming, of feeling are expressions of who we are, and all this must be recognized as key factors of formation in the university”.(Roveda, 2010)

Some of the values that the S.P. must develop for the ethical exercise of their functions are those highlighted by Villalva, (1997)in particular, the following:

“Integrity: Those who hold a public office will not enter into financial or other obligations with persons or organizations outside the service that may influence them in the performance of their duties.

Objectivity: In the performance of their duties, including appointments to public office, the award of contracts, or the nomination of candidates for awards or other benefits, those who hold public office shall base their preferences on the principle of merit.

Responsibility: Those who hold a public office are accountable to the public for their actions and decisions, and must undergo any inspection that is appropriate to the function they perform.

Transparency: Those who hold a public office must be as open as possible in all the decisions and acts they carry out. Their decisions must be reasoned, and they will only limit information when the public interest so requires.

Honesty: Those who hold a public office must declare the private interests that are related to their responsibilities, as well as take the necessary measures to resolve the conflicts that may arise in this regard, in such a way that the public interest is safeguarded.

Exemplarity: Those who hold public office will promote and support these principles with their ability to influence others and by their example.”

The ethical contribution of twenty-first-century education becomes especially relevant in the context of the capitalist mode of production that is not only contrary to these values but tries to suppress them.

“In the context of the globalized world, where it seems that the power of capital passes over any initiative of opposition to neoliberalism, this book is an argued and detailed contribution towards a pedagogy of critical spirit, intransigent with the forms of exclusion and profoundly transformative (Ruiz, 2010)”.

This ethical contribution of the pedagogy of the XXI Century arises, in a main but not exclusive or exclusive way of one of the basic categories of the education of the XXI Century and that historically precedes it: the critical pedagogy.

Critical pedagogy arises from the opposition that different pedagogues made, mainly throughout the twentieth century, against the traditional, reactionary and conservative pedagogy, reproducing the vision and “values” of capitalism.

“A key element of this conservative social education has to do with this adaptation, the attempt to foster a philosophy of markets. Corporations, today, sponsor schools or become directly part of joint ventures of colleges and companies. If you analyze it, you begin to discover a pattern in the choices that are taught to students in the corporate curriculum of privatized education. Imperial education is built on a series of free-market goals. Schools are expected to graduate students who help corporations:

To increase the output of the working class without increasing wages.

To reduce changes in the working class.

To appease conflicts between management and workers.

A will convince citizens that the working class and business share the same goals.

To create a workforce loyal to both the corporation and the goals of the empire.

Unfortunately, critical pedagogy must enter into the debate about the objectives of schools without losing sight of all these realities. (Kincheloe, 2008)”.

This critical pedagogy starts from the idea that education is also an expression of politics, in such a way that educational institutions must take firm political positions. In particular, genuinely democratic positions, that is, that align themselves with revolutionary democracy, defender of the rights of the majority. The above is a disruptive approach because, although the ruling classes have configured a bourgeois educational system functional to their class interests, they have not done so clearly but trying to hide this instrumentalization of education, which clashes with the honest idea of a critical pedagogy of making clear the importance of educational processes being guided by revolutionary values.

“Proponents of a critical pedagogy perceive the fact that all educational spaces are unique and politically contested. Built by history and questioned by a wide variety of interest groups, educational practice is an ambiguous phenomenon, as it takes place in different arches, is molded at the mercy of numerous and often invisible forces and structures, and can act, even under the wood of democracy and justice, of oppressive and totalitarian ways. Practitioners of critical pedagogy report that some teaching students, school principals, parents, and members of the general public often find it difficult to assess the fact that schooling can be fraudulent for some specific pupils of particular backgrounds, within unique social, cultural, and economic frameworks. (Kincheloe, 2008)”.

Some even go further from critical pedagogy as such and have proposed a revolutionary socialist pedagogy that allows the profound transformation of current pedagogy and with it of the world as such.

“Recovering Freire, McLaren proposes a revolutionary socialist pedagogy to critically transform the limits to which critical pedagogy is currently subjected. Below are several practical examples of analysis of the political consequences of critical pedagogy, such as Sandy Grande’s work with the Red Lake Indians, Gregory Martin’s vindication of a critical pedagogy based on a politics of commitment, or the reflections presented by Noah de Lissovoy on the character of Frantz Fanon, a psychiatrist of Caribbean origin who worked in Algeria whose work Lissovoy claims has proved crucial to understanding the dynamics of colonization and racism. This part closes with a chapter by William B. Stanley on democratic realism, neoliberalism, conservatism, and a tragic sense of education. Through these ideas, Stanley reviews the political conditions that surround education today. (Ruiz, 2010)”.

This is extremely relevant for the processes of P.S.P. because only a critical and revolutionary pedagogy can provide Public Servants with the skills and values they require to develop their functions that transform reality through the critical and transformative review of it.

“Weiner, quoted by Ruiz, (2010)the possibility of a critical pedagogy involves being able to critically review our capacity for “imagination” so that we can break with what is supposedly fixed and established.”

As a conclusion to this section, it can be pointed out that the main contribution of twenty-first-century education to the P.P.S. is through the incorporation of the postulates of critical and revolutionary pedagogy, to provide public servants with an attitude, skills, and values that allow them to understand, criticize and transform reality.

4. Conclusions

As a general conclusion, the preponderant role played and is called to play, by the education of the XXI century in the development of various educational processes, and in particular of the processes related to the Professionalization of Public Servants, is highlighted.

The particular conclusions of the study are as follows:

1.The processes of professionalization of public servants represent a challenge of great dimensions for the Education of the XXI Century due to the specialty of the competencies and values that public servants must develop for the exercise of their functions. This challenge can be overcome through the application of a formal education that follows an eclectic paradigm, which takes up elements fundamentally of the constructivist, socio-critical, and competency paradigms, and a current of constructivist education.

2.For public servants to be considered competent, they must be able to demonstrate and certify a series of general competencies as public servants and specific concerning the function they perform.

3.The education of the XXI Century contributes decisively to the processes of professionalization of public servants by contributing, in addition to the development of skills and values, with the development of critical and revolutionary sense in public servants.

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