Quantum Readiness in Latin American High Schools: Curriculum Compatibility and Enabling Conditions

TL;DR

This study develops a qualitative, regionally tailored framework to assess Latin American high school readiness for quantum education by examining curriculum compatibility and enabling conditions. It analyzes six countries, identifying Chile as the most prepared and other nations as displaying a mix of curricular gaps and enabling factors, such as infrastructure and teacher training. The authors propose a phased, regionally coordinated roadmap (diagnosis, pilots, scaling, and integration) to gradually embed quantum concepts, leveraging open-source resources and local-language materials. The work sets a baseline for future quantitative and mixed-method studies of learning outcomes and informs policy directions for equitable quantum-education expansion in Latin America.

Abstract

The accelerating global development of quantum technologies strengthens the case for introducing quantum computing concepts before university. Yet in Latin America, there is no consolidated, region wide integration of quantum computing into secondary education, and the feasibility conditions for doing so remain largely unexamined. This paper proposes a qualitative, comparative framework to assess academic readiness for quantum education across six countries - Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia - grounded in the relationship between curriculum compatibility and enabling conditions spanning institutional capacity, teacher preparation, infrastructure, and equity. Using official curricula, policy documents, national statistics, and educational reports, we apply structured qualitative coding and a 1-5 ordinal scoring system to generate a cross country diagnosis. The findings reveal substantial regional asymmetries: among the six countries studied, Chile emerges as the most institutionally prepared for progressive quantum education integration, while the remaining countries exhibit varying combinations of curricular gaps and fragmented but promising enabling conditions. Building on this diagnosis, we propose a country sensitive, regionally coordinated roadmap for staged implementation, beginning with teacher development and pilot centers, leveraging open source platforms and local language resources, and scaling toward gradual curricular integration. This work establishes a baseline for future quantitative and mixed method studies evaluating learning outcomes, motivation, and scalable models for quantum education in Latin America.