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

TL;DR

This paper assesses Latin American high schools' readiness for quantum computing education by analyzing curriculum compatibility and enabling conditions across six countries, proposing a staged implementation roadmap.

Contribution

It introduces a qualitative framework for evaluating regional educational readiness for quantum computing integration in Latin America.

Findings

Chile is most prepared institutionally for quantum education.

Significant curricular gaps exist in most countries.

Enabling conditions vary widely across the region.

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.