Francisca Bustamante is a PhD researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in GEPS (Globalisation, Education and Social Policies) research group. She is a member and Research Officer of the LEARNER project, responsible for research coordination, data collection, and data analysis.
She 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 access to higher education. Her doctoral research examines persistent horizontal inequalities in higher education admissions systems, analysing how social structures shape 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, where she designed and implemented programmes aimed at enhancing 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 related to inclusion, interculturality, and diversity at several 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
Mail: francisca.bustamante@uab.cat