Francisca Bustamante, a PhD student at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in the GEPS (Globalisation, Education and Social Policies) research group. Holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) and a Sociology Professional Degree from the Universidad Central de Chile (UCEN). Her research focuses on the sociology of education, particularly on students’ transitions between academic stages and social inequalities in higher education access. Currently, her PhD project explores persistent horizontal inequalities in the higher education admissions system, examining how social structures influence academic choices.
With a background in public policy and higher education reforms in Ecuador, she served as Under Secretary of State for Professional and Academic Training at SENESCYT and as Director of Evaluation and Accreditation of Technical and Technological Institutes at CACES. Following her government roles, she led the Student Welfare Department at PUCE, designing programs to enhance the inclusion of underprivileged students.
She also brings extensive teaching experience in both Chile and Ecuador, covering subjects such as sociology of education, research methodology, and topics like inclusion, interculturality, and diversity at various universities, including Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación (UMCE), Universidad de Playa Ancha (UPLA), Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE), and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE).
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francisca-Bustamante-4