Chile and the neurodiverse rights law: lessons for teacher training in Latin America
Keywords:
neurorights, teacher training, applied neuroethics, higher education, cognitive governanceAbstract
Introduction Law 21.383, enacted in Chile in 2021, is a global milestone in recognizing neurorights as a constitutional principle, aimed at protecting mental integrity against the use of neurotechnologies. This legal framework, supported by international initiatives such as the NeuroRights Initiative, poses challenges for higher education, where teacher training must integrate the ethical, cognitive and normative understanding of these technologies in a Latin American context marked by digital divides and scarce neuroethical institutionalization. Method A mixed sequential explanatory design was developed with a stratified sample of 126 university professors belonging to five Chilean institutions. A 20-item Likert questionnaire (α = .89; KMO = .81; p < .001) and 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted, coded by inductive thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed with ANOVA and post hoc tests. Results 72% of teachers are aware of the existence of Law 21,383, but only 28% have addressed its content in training spaces. Significant inter-university differences were recorded (p < .05) and a positive correlation between experience and ethical disposition (r = .62; p < .01). Qualitatively, demands for institutional guidelines, neuroethical literacy and interdisciplinary integration emerged. Conclusions The educational implementation of Law 21.383 requires strengthening teacher neuroethics training, institutionalizing cognitive governance, and articulating regional frameworks that allow the Chilean model to be adapted to other Latin American contexts.
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