1

Introduction............................................................................................................................................3

Chapter 1: Equity and Quality...............................................................................................................5Background........................................................................................................................................5Barriers and Dilemmas......................................................................................................................6

Repetition and Drop-out................................................................................................................6Including Marginalized Students.......................................................................................................8

Compensatory Programs................................................................................................................8Street Children...............................................................................................................................9Child Labor..................................................................................................................................10Addressing Indigenous Students..................................................................................................12Migrant Students..........................................................................................................................13Students with Special Needs........................................................................................................14

Increasing Educational Quality........................................................................................................14Quality Assessments....................................................................................................................14Ensuring Equity and Quality through Prevention: Early Childhood Education..........................15Initiating Educational Change.....................................................................................................16

Reflection Questions........................................................................................................................17

Chapter 2: Secondary Education.........................................................................................................18Background: Secondary Schools....................................................................................................18

The Origins of Secondary Schools..............................................................................................18New Changes to Basic Secondary Education..............................................................................19Professional & Technical Training..............................................................................................20

Challenges........................................................................................................................................22Socioeconomic and systemic barriers to secondary education....................................................23Results of Barriers to Secondary Education................................................................................24Relevancy....................................................................................................................................25Certifying Competencies and Knowledge Learned.....................................................................26

Innovations......................................................................................................................................27Individual Country Level.............................................................................................................28International Cooperation............................................................................................................30

Generative Questions.......................................................................................................................31

Chapter 3: Teacher Education in the Americas: Diagnosis, Challenges, and Innovations..................33Introduction......................................................................................................................................33Context.............................................................................................................................................33

Working conditions and social prestige.......................................................................................34Gender..........................................................................................................................................36Salaries.........................................................................................................................................37

Diagnosis of Teacher Education Components.................................................................................38Pre-service Teaching Requirements............................................................................................38In-service training........................................................................................................................40Untrained teachers.......................................................................................................................42Emergency or alternative training...............................................................................................43Evaluation....................................................................................................................................44

Challenges in Teacher Education....................................................................................................44Relevancy....................................................................................................................................45

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Quality.............................................................................................................................................50Curriculum...................................................................................................................................51Pedagogy......................................................................................................................................52Teacher Educators.......................................................................................................................53Internal Efficiency.......................................................................................................................53

Innovations......................................................................................................................................54Professionalization.......................................................................................................................54Lifelong learning.........................................................................................................................54Teachers as leaders/reformers......................................................................................................55Decentralization...........................................................................................................................55Integrated reforms........................................................................................................................56Action-research............................................................................................................................56Technology..................................................................................................................................57Microcenters................................................................................................................................57

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................58

Bibliography........................................................................................................................................59Chapter One Bibliography...............................................................................................................59Chapter Two Bibliography..............................................................................................................62Chapter Three Bibliography............................................................................................................64

Appendices..........................................................................................................................................69

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Introduction

Our generation inherited the school as the place where each nation’s identity is consolidated and defended. In recent years, this work has been done cognizant of the vast social, cultural, and political diversity of identities within and between our nations. For that reason today we recognize the school as a fundamental space for the constitution of democratic political life and we reaffirm it as a source of solutions to the tremendous equity challenges that our hemisphere confronts. Finally, we also share the notion that the school is a central place for the formation of the values, abilities, and imagination necessary for our survival and progress as a regional and world community. Within education the idea of progress is sheltered and reconfigured.

In the previous two Meetings of Ministers of Education in Brasilia (1998) and Punta del Este (2001), Ministers of Education emphasized their agreement about the importance of both Quality and Equity. In many ways, education reforms have made it possible for people from diverse cultures with diverse identities to become dignified members of the national community. In numerous education systems, school activities have been brought to work together with the creativity, initiative, and will for change in local and national communities. In some countries, education systems have granted special resources to combat the marginalization and extreme poverty in families. Some of these resources are directed at helping families do without the labor of their daughters and sons. The success of these educational developments in each country depends on the ability of schools and communities to see themselves as educational partners with shared responsibility.

In spite of the increase in public funding for education, none of the works in education have sufficient resources. At times, this scarcity of resources has generated flexibility in thinking, allowing new proposals and producing lessons that challenge the assumptions of routine services. At other times, however, scarcity has produced services that are a pallid reflection of basic educational services.

The results vary, but they confirm the power of consensus, legitimizing projects in the long run and leading continually to an informed national debate in which the role of researchers and authorities overlaps. Consensus based in an informed national debate is especially important when education systems have developed systems of evaluation that publicly account for both advances and the lack thereof. In these cases, there is a danger that evaluation could become the hostage of partisan competition, creating disincentives for its implementation. This is, at present, one of the greatest challenges facing education systems, because it is evaluation that permits us to strengthen research on the quality of the impact brought about by the different aspects of education reforms. Thanks to the research on educational performance evaluation exercises, we have revalued public education, we have been able to measure the effectiveness of in-service teacher education programs and we have gained a deeper appreciation of the complexity of incentive systems for the performance of schools and teachers.

Evaluation is an urgent need for pre-service teacher education because it will contribute to the direction of pending reforms, which will permit us to educate teachers in ways which reinforce overarching education reforms.

Informed national debate is also important to help define better ways of strengthening secondary education. Such debate helps secondary education fulfill its purposes of both molding apt and responsible citizens with the flexibility to integrate themselves in an ever-changing labor market and of supporting these citizens’ ability to continue taking advantage of educational opportunities. Within this topic of secondary education, there are experiences of programs in the hemisphere that have managed to reconcile the training of skills with those of knowledge for life, work and later

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academic development. Some of these experiences have arisen out of an enriching dialogue among the different national sectors.

But none of the existing relevant experiences of dialogue and debate is merely national. Each one of them is enriched and supported by the multiple links among researchers, institutions, universities and ministries of education from different countries. The hemisphere is a laboratory offering a multiplicity of lessons of both success and failure from countries that had enough resources or the necessary internal consensus to attempt innovations in the past. Therefore, one of the most pressing educational challenges at the hemispheric level is to consolidate a hemispheric community that reflects about and discusses public education policy, thereby strengthening the capacity of all countries.

This consolidation is even more necessary if we consider the ongoing integration processes and the realities that accompany it. Realities like migration that not only enrich the cultural wealth of nations and create linkages among countries, but also underscores the challenge of addressing diversity and the need for hemispheric dialogue and cooperation.

Other regions in the world are attempting unique forms of integration in the hopes of guaranteeing peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit. The Americas will also continue venturing forward, constructing a lesson on coexistence to share with the rest of the world.

This paper is a contribution of the Unit for Social Development and Education of the Organization of American States. It aims to support the hemispheric dialogue among Ministers of Education to define initiatives on Equity and Quality, Secondary Education and Teacher Training in the framework of the III Meeting of Ministers of Education in Mexico City, August 11-13, 2003.

Sofíaleticia Morales GarzaDirector of the Unit for Social Development and Education

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Chapter 1: Equity and Quality

Background

The 1990 World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand called for universal access to education. Focusing on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, education ministries in the countries in the American continent have made progress toward that ambitious goal. During the 1990’s net enrolment in primary schools rose to over 90 percent for most countries in the hemisphere (ECLAC 2002, p. 93). In 1996 net enrolment in primary schools was 86 percent in the Andean region, 91 percent in Mercosur, 81 percent in Central America, and well over 90 percent in the Caribbean and North America. Nevertheless, today the most vulnerable groups, such as street and migrant children, children with special needs, and indigenous children, still have difficulties enrolling in school. Special programs have to be developed to reach these children and integrate them into the school system and into society.

Moreover, high enrolment rates can lead us to overlook student retention. According to ECLAC (2002), lowering the drop-out rate is one of the greatest challenges facing Latin American countries (p. 93). A related problem is grade repetition, which according to Eisemon (1996) “leads to school failure and drop-out” (p. 30). Students who experience failure in the beginning of their school career tend to become disinterested in learning.

Another flip-side to increasing enrolment is a corresponding increase in the demand for educational quality. Comparative studies on educational achievement provide sobering information on the actual learning that has taken place in classrooms. In 1997 the Latin American Laboratory for Quality in Education (LLECE) assessed fourth graders in language and mathematics skills; all 16 Latin American countries which participated in the assessment except Cuba performed below the international average (ECLAC 2001, pp. 71-73). LLECE also showed that there was an achievement gap between urban and rural schools, as well as between private and public schools. The upcoming second assessment will include almost all Latin American countries and will provide new findings on skill development and teacher performance.

Other international studies such as the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provide comparative data on "new knowledge and skills necessary for successful adaptation to a changing world" (p. 12). The program was launched to measure not only performance of students in 43 countries, but also equity in educational opportunity and outcomes. Once the technical challenges of assessing educational achievement are met, countries must then develop the ability to use the results in a constructive way. National assessments such as Chile's System of the Measurement of Educational Quality (SIMCE) bear the danger of being used for political party battles instead of informing parents and policy makers how to pursue educational change.

Yet another way of increasing educational quality is exchanging innovations, trends, and programs. Of course, a method that works best with one teacher in one place does not have to work with another teacher in another setting. Therefore a horizontal exchange of innovations seems the most appropriate way to learn about projects and the conditions in which they are effective. This second step will be the focus of the third Ministerial Meeting in Mexico.

The present chapter will provide an analysis of how to prevent repetition and drop-out in urban and rural areas in the hemisphere, and how to reach marginalized groups of children and young people. It will also discuss assessments of educational quality and offer examples of

Figure 1.1: School Attainment Rates (%) in Bolivia, ages 15-19 (1997)

BoliviaGrado promedio mínimo de escolaridad, 15-19 años, 1997 (%)

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20

40

60

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich MenMiddle Income MenMiddle Income WomenPoor Women

Fuente: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

Figure 1.2: School Attainment Rates (%) in Colombia, ages 15-19 (1997)

ColombiaGrado promedio mínimo de escolaridad, 15-19 años, 2000 (%)

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20

40

60

80

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich Men

Middle Income Men

Middle Income Women

Poor Women

Fuente: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research Figure 1.3: School Attainment Rates (%) in Peru, ages 15-

19 (1997)

PerúGrado promedio mínimo de escolaridad, 15-19 años, 2000 (%)

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20

40

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100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich MenMiddle Income MenMiddle Income WomenPoor Women

Fuente: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

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innovative strategies that enhance students’ learning in the Andean, Mercosur, Central American, the Caribbean, and North American sub-regions in preparation for the third Ministerial Meeting.

Barriers and Dilemmas

Repetition and Drop-out

Most children come to school with an intrinsic interest in learning. We therefore have to analyze why so many children and especially poor children become disinterested in learning and drop out of school. One of the major reasons for drop-out is poverty and students' need to work or to care for siblings. Another reason is disengagement from learning due to school failure, grade repetition or a perceived lack of relevance in the curriculum. Examining drop-out rates in the U.S., the National Research Council concluded: "Dropping out is not an isolated

event that happens in high school; it is the culmination of a process of disengagement from school that can often be traced back to children's earliest encounters with school" (p. 36). Often, schools fail to address students' interest in learning, particularly if they do not meet the cultural and social needs of indigenous people and racial minorities. In all Latin American countries, dropping out of school occurs as early as the primary school cycle, particularly at the cycle’s end. Figures 1.1-1.3 show school attainment rates among the 15 to 19-year-age group in 2000. They also

show the attrition rate by grade level. Among this group of adolescents, almost one hundred percent had completed at least one year of school. In Bolivia, for example, almost all men from wealthy families stayed in school until the completion of the seventh grade. Only after grade 7 does drop-out begin. Out of the poor rural women age group, however, 20 percent dropped out of second grade and 60 percent did not finish 7th grade.

As expected, we find that attrition is more extreme in rural areas and among poor people than

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in urban areas. Rural girls tend to drop out of primary school at age 10 in Bolivia and Colombia, and at age 11 in Peru.

They also enroll later than their urban male peers (see figures 4 for Bolivia). In Nicaragua, for example, only 80 percent of the 15 to 19 year old women completed one year of schooling; in Guatemala it was less than 70 percent, and in the Dominican Republic it was 90 percent (see

Appendix Figures 1a-1c). In Guatemala, one of the countries with the largest differences between men and women, rich and poor, and urban and rural inhabitants in the hemisphere, almost all men from wealthy families stayed in school until the completion of the sixth grade. Only after grade 6 does drop-out begin. Out of the poor rural women age group, however, more than 80 percent did not finish 6th grade. Rural girls tend to drop out of primary school already at age 11 in Guatemala, and at age 12 in Nicaragua. They also enroll later than their urban male peers (see Appendix Figures 1d-1f).

One of the reasons for early drop-out is that many first graders have to repeat a grade. In 1997 Colombia had an

estimated repetition rate of 14.3 percent for urban areas and 40.5 percent for rural areas (Reimers 2000, p. 73). Eisemon (1997 p. 20) suggests that in some Latin American countries the actual repetition rate at the primary level is likely to be around twice that reported. Grade repetition is perceived as a failure, and "families respond to signals they receive from schools regarding the academic potential of their children to complete the cycle" (Reimers 2000, p. 68). These families tend to withdraw their children from school when they see them fail time after time. In some rural areas of Latin America, however, "students with good academic performance are held in the same grade simply because the school they attended has not been sanctioned to offer higher grades" (Eisemon 1997, p. 21). In these rare cases, grade repetition can be seen as an opportunity for continued study.

To overcome grade repetition and drop out, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and St. Kitts and Nevis have experimented with automatic promotion. According to Eisemon, automatic promotion can increase the internal efficiency of schools and encourage students to stay. However, teachers still find ways of holding students back while reporting high promotion numbers (Eisemon 1997, p. 30). It is therefore important to support the idea of automatic promotion and its positive effects on students' motivation when teachers are being trained.

Box 1.1: Escuela Nueva

Colombia’s well-known program, Escuela Nueva, which has been adapted to many countries worldwide since its creation in 1976, has made large strides in preventing repetition. As Mantilla writes of the Guatemalan adaptation (1999, p. 18), students in this school model never fail; those who do not complete their course work in a given year are considered "in progress." They are encouraged to come to school the following year and continue where they left off. A flexible curriculum enables students in rural areas to learn at their own pace while meeting family and school obligations. A Ministry of Education evaluation of Escuela Nueva in 1988 showed that both repetition and drop-out rates in these rural, multi-grade schools had been reduced and that students performed at the level of the control group or higher (Schugurensky, 2003).

Figure 1.4: Net enrollment rates (%) by age in Bolivia (1997)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Total Urban Men Rural Women

Source: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

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Including Marginalized Students

Brazil, Mexico, and Chile have implemented programs that provide monetary subsidies to poor rural mothers who send their children into school. In the next section I will first give an overview of these compensatory programs and then analyze projects which address street, working, indigenous, migrant, and special needs children.

Compensatory Programs

Compensatory policies are intended to close the socio-economic gap between the rich and the poor by giving more resources to those children and families who are still excluded from school. Such policies increase access to pre-school education, health checks and nutrition, and help to pay for books and other learning materials. They also reform curricula and train teachers to work in multi-grade classrooms. Brazil, for example, not only introduced the Bolsa Escola program in order to retain poor rural children in school, but also increased per student spending to $300 for grades one to eight, thus equalizing spending differences between the richer south and the poorer north of Brazil (Reimers 2000, p. 95). The impact of these reforms is difficult to determine, since few assessments have been made. As Reimers (2000) suggests, reforms aimed at increasing educational quality do not always reach the students who need it the most. As he writes: "Most of these programs were developed in a context of financial scarcity and with greater sensitivity to their overall costs than to their cost-effectiveness. The aim was to provide positive discrimination at low cost" (Reimers 2000, p. 96).

Box 1.3: Mexico - “Opportunidades” (Formerly Progresa)

Mexico has a program similar to Brazil’s Bolsa Escola. In 1997 the Ministry of Social Development initiated the Progresa program in order to reduce extreme poverty through education. Eligible mothers receive monetary subsidies for children under 18 who regularly attend school between the third grade of the primary cycle and the third grade of the secondary. Progresa, unlike Bolsa Escola, gives more support to older children to compensate for their higher opportunity costs of going to school instead of working. In the case of Mexico, it was the World Bank’s suggestion to create a program like Bolsa Escola. In the future it could be desirable to have countries share their innovations directly with each other. In order to prevent repetition and drop-out, schools could experiment with automatic promotion. However, this method would not address the issue of increasing learning quality, nor would they target marginalized students who are not enrolled.

Box 1.2: Brazil - Bolsa Escola Program

In order to create more equal opportunities in Brazil, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso invested more resources in education through programs such as Bolsa Escola. Primary school net enrolment rates increased from 85 percent in 1994 to 96 percent in 2000. In addition, completion rates in primary school increased by 67 percent during the same period (Cerqueira 2002, also see figures appendix 2). The Bolsa Escola program gives money to poor rural women who send their 6 to 15- year-old children to school on a regular basis. A compensatory program such as Bolsa Escola fails, however, to reach the poorest of the poor. Bolsa Escola requires that the family must have lived in an area for more than five years in order to be eligible for a scholarship. Children of inner state migrants, therefore, do not receive any assistance. Another vulnerable group that is often excluded from state assistance consists of street children. Governments will have to make special efforts in order to reach them.

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Street Children

The main characteristics of street children are that they usually come from vulnerable families, are homeless, neglected or abused, and often failed in school. There are different degrees of disconnect between children and their families. Programs for street children therefore try to reintegrate children back into their family and into the school system. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Relief Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are about 100 million street children world wide, half of them in Latin America.1 However, no more precise data are available since most street children have no passport or birth certificates, and since they tend to go from one city to another. Volpi (2002) analyzed 18 intervention projects and arrived at the following strategies aimed at a reintegration of street children into society: 1) Prevention (school support, health promotion, recreation, social integration) 2) Intervention (specialized family support, protection and organization of working children,

abuse prevention, drop-out prevention)3) Rehabilitation (group homes, drop-in centers, targeted health and education services,

psychological and legal support, job training, children organization, and family and school reintegration.)

1 Volpi emphasizes that data on street children are only estimates and may "oscillate with the source of information" (Volpi 2002, p. 4).

Box 1.4: Chile - P-900 Program

In Chile, education reformers during the 1990s gave extra funding to low-income communities and children. The P-900 program was designed to give additional funding and teaching support to the poorest 10 percent of students in primary schools. Such support was intended to create teacher networks in rural areas, install in-service training, and provide information technology for students (Delannoy 2000, p. 15). The Chilean government has also introduced the Sistema de Medicion de la Calidad de la Education (SIMCE) which assesses student achievement in 4th and 8th grade. Achievement for lower-income and rural students in the primary and secondary cycle has improved. Questions about sustainability remain. For example the Center for Educational Research and Development is researching the issue of what happens to the school when it finishes with the P-900 program. It is also important to note that culturally and economically disadvantaged students are still largely excluded form pre-school and tertiary education.

Box 1.5: Brazil - Axê Program

The Axê Program, in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil focuses specifically on the first and third levels. It prevents disconnection from society by providing early childhood education, theater, dance, and songs to children in marginalized neighborhoods, thereby creating interest in learning. It also provides food and medical care. It rehabilitates street children by placing them in public schools or companies for vocational training. Governments should consider building and strengthening alliances with NGO's to provide funding for social workers helping street children reintegrate into society.

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Child Labor

Another vulnerable group that needs special attention is child laborers. 17.4 million, or 16 percent, of children ages 5 to 14 in Latin America and the Caribbean are active participants in the workforce. By comparison, 42.4 percent of children ages 10-17, 8.2 percent ages 7-14 and 2.8 percent under age 7 are among the working population in Guatemala. These averages are higher for indigenous and urban children. The average workweek includes about 44-48 hours; this figure grows to 51 hours for indigenous girls. Child labor contributes a total of 1.7 percent to the country’s GNP2, approximately the same amount that the government spends annually on its education system.3 The child laborer population is often in and out of school, working more during certain times of the year. Some children even combine work and school, attending classes during the mornings and then going to work in the afternoon and evenings. Clearly, long periods of absence, repetition due to lack of studying and homework completion and drop-out are big problems for these populations. Programs that have been devised to respond to the child labor situation in Central America take two approaches. The first attempts to compensate families with incentives for sending their children to school; these programs include full or partial scholarships that may cover costs associated with schooling (books, uniforms, etc.) or even pay families some percentage of what the children would have earned if they had been working.

The second type of approach are programs which provide more flexible schooling for students that must work. This approach acknowledges that it might be impossible to stop child labor in the short run, but finds ways for these students to continue with their education in the hope of breaking the poverty cycle and giving the students more opportunities in the future. Some programs of this type include: module-based curriculum that does not require continuous attendance, but rather the completion of units of learning to eliminate grade repetition; flexible school year scheduling which is in line with local harvest times; and split shift schedules and tutoring programs that offer classes at different times of the day to adapt to students’ work schedules. At the secondary level, school-work programs and local small businesses linked to school programs are other ways to respond to working children’s needs.

2 These data are from the Informe Nacional sobre Trabajo Infantil Guatemala, 1999.3 Jacobs and Harwood (2002), p. 2.

Box 1.6: IPEC/ILO Program

The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Program for the Eradication of Child Labor (IPEC) began a pilot project in conjunction with the Guatemalan government in July of 2001 to introduce a scholarship program in San Rafael Chilasco, a small village in the western highlands of Guatemala. In exchange for coupons that would buy school supplies and other household essentials, parents had to agree that their children would attend school 8 hours a day. Part of this time included an after school tutoring program that helped this population catch up with missing work and gaps in learning. At the end of the program, families of those students who participated in at least 90% - a total of 205 families - of the program were given the coupons. While the program was started on a very small scale, this type of pilot is now the basis for ongoing efforts of ILO/IPEC in Central America.

Figure 1.5: Average Years of Schooling of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous in Select Countries (IDB, 2001)

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Addressing Indigenous Students

It is difficult to find data on indigenous people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Only Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico collect data desegregated by race and ethnicity in their census or household surveys (ORLEAC 2002, p. 35). Whereas in Mexico 7 percent of the population spoke an indigenous language in 2000, in Bolivia 57 percent of the population belonged to an indigenous group (ibid.). As figure 1.5 demonstrates, there is a large gap in educational attainment among 25 to 60 year-old adults in Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, and Peru.

In Bolivia the proportion of indigenous people is especially high (PREAL 2001, p.14); at least half of the population speaks a language other than Spanish (McEwan and Jimenez 2002, p. X). Indigenous students in Bolivia tend to have a lower socioeconomic status, their schools tend to have fewer textbooks and other learning devices, and students tend to have lower achievement than their non-indigenous peers (McEwan and Jimenez 2002, p. X). Furthermore, most indigenous people tend to live in rural areas. The results of the Latin American Laboratory for Quality in Education (LLECE) study show a large gap in learning outcomes between rural and urban areas (see Figures 1.6 A and B). In order to increase learning outcomes for indigenous children, bilingual education has been introduced in 1994 in Bolivia. Bilingual early childhood education that prepares children to understand Spanish, in addition to bilingual literacy and multicultural instruction in primary school, seem to be a useful tool in attracting indigenous children to school and keeping them there. In addition, the Bolivian government has taken the lead on developing assessments in both Quechua and Azmara.

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Figure 1.6 A: Language scores by country, geographic zone, and proficiency level (Fuente: LLECE-UNESCO, 2001)

Figure 1.6 B: Math scores by country, geographic zone, and proficiency level (Fuente: LLECE-UNESCO, 2001)

Migrant Students

A dilemma of growing importance, especially in North America, is that of responding to the educational needs of the migrant population. The phenomenon of migration can be broken down into two types: internal and international. For all three countries in North America, international migration – that is, the immigration of masses of people from other countries looking for work – is a great concern. Immigrants from poorer areas of Central America travel through the southern states of Mexico with the intention of making their way toward the U.S. or moving to cities looking for

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work. The same south-north trend happens between Mexico and the U.S. and Canada. An estimated 10 million Mexicans travel back and forth to the U.S. at various points of the year for work-related reasons.

About 40 percent of this population from Mexico are indigenous, and 20% are school-age children. In light of this large and heterogeneous movement, the education of mobile groups of students and the coordination of their education presents a huge challenge to North American countries. So far some 150 community centers have been established in the US to strengthen the national identity of migrant students and to provide extra help with schoolwork so that they can catch up with their native peers. The US government provides part of the funding for these centers. In addition, the Mexican television program Telesecundaria provides secondary school instruction throughout the United States. (More about this program in the second chapter of this paper). Only a few widespread programs have been created to respond to this population, largely because the challenges of international and intersectorial cooperation make their design and implementation difficult.

Students with Special Needs

The OECD (2000) provides internationally comparative data on students with special needs. It categorizes special needs for students with a) organic impairments, b) emotional and behavioral disorders, and c) socio-economic, cultural, and linguistic disadvantages. In the U.S., for example, 5.6 percent of students in primary and lower secondary schools had organic impairments (p. 79 f.). Most of them attended regular classes (70 percent), one quarter attended special classes, and a small number of students attended special schools (5 percent). In addition to students with organic impairments, the U.S. considers 8.4 percent of all students in the primary and lower secondary cycle to have emotional and behavioral disorders. Three quarters of them are enrolled in regular classes (p. 83). The largest group, 21.4 percent of students in the same cycles, are considered socio-economically, culturally, and linguistically disadvantaged and receive extra support (p. 85). Interestingly, there is a clear gender difference not only in the U.S., but also across all 23 participating OECD countries. In all these countries 60 percent of boys with special needs received extra support compared to 40 percent of girls (p. 94). Latin American countries are currently preparing a similar assessment in cooperation with the OECD. It will be important for countries in the hemisphere to provide additional services to students with special needs based on the findings of this assessment.

Increasing Educational Quality

Quality Assessments

Looking at educational quality in the hemisphere, we find large differences in outcomes. In 2000 the OECD's Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed 15-year-old students in 43 countries in reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy skills. The program was launched to measure not only mean performance, but also equity in educational opportunity and outcomes. While Canada ranked 4th in reading literacy skills, and the United States ranked 16th, Mexico and the participating Latin American countries were among the lowest performing countries (Argentina ranked 33rd, Mexico ranked 35th, Chile ranked 36th, Brazil ranked 37th, and Peru ranked 41st). In mathematical and scientific literacy skills the ranking was similar. The results of PISA suggest that Latin America in general faces a serious challenge in preparing its students.

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In terms of equity there are also large differences. Some countries such as Canada have high levels of performance regardless of students' socio-economic background. In Mexico as well as in the U.S., however, family wealth is an important predictor for students’ achievement. As the PISA study concludes: "Students in the United States are at least twice as likely to be among the 25 percent lowest performers in reading literacy if they are in the bottom quarter of the PISA index of wealth as if they are in the top quarter. Brazil, Mexico, and Portugal have the next largest gaps" (PISA 2000, p. 143). In Argentina, Chile, and Peru, the socio-economic background is also an important predictor for students' performance.

Nevertheless, lack of family wealth does not have to be a predictor for poor performance. As countries like Finland, Canada, and Japan show (PISA 2000, p. 143), it is possible for a country’s education system to raise performance and reduce inequality between students. Therefore, policies that consider differences among students and use compensatory programs could raise the overall performance of a country while creating more equal learning opportunities. As the PISA study shows, it is difficult to disentangle equity and quality issues. Therefore, both issues should be addressed hand in hand.

Ensuring Equity and Quality through Prevention: Early Childhood Education

Compensatory programs at the early childhood level provide a means for ensuring an equitable start to the educational experience for all students. Young (2002) argues that an inadequate early environment can compromise brain development during key developmental stages. When children are between the ages of three and five their brains are 2.5 times more active than adults (Shore, 1997 in Young, 2002). Although brain growth spurts do occur throughout ones life, this early period is critical in affecting physical and mental health, learning, and behavior throughout one’s life (Giedd, 1999 in Young, 2002). Quality early childhood development programs are associated with lower school drop-out, higher school enrollment and higher student achievement especially in regards to literacy and mathematics skills (Young, 2002).

Young (2002) defines Early Child Development Programs (ECD) as those that address health, nutrition, emotional and intellectual development of young children. Therefore, ECD programs should include such early intervention components as nutrition, health care, and nurturing. Further, the emphasis must be given to the development of standards of quality for such programs if they are to have significant effects on people throughout their lives.4

In order to develop the pertinent skills for our rapidly globalizing world, ECD programs must direct the curriculum towards developing students from an early age in the skills of critical thinking, self-confidence, problem solving and the ability to cooperate with others. Since only qualified teachers can teach such curriculum, another important component to ensure equity and quality is to equip such programs with these teachers. It is essential that policies for teacher training at the early childhood level be harmonized with existing policies and strategies in the region.5 Further, collaboration with existing policies must address issues of parental involvement and the identification and assessment of learning outcomes.

4 The representatives of the Ministries of Education of the Caribbean (July, 2003) recognized the fact that ECD programs are not a panacea, but rather the first step in the process of offering equity and quality in schools. 5 These policies should be complementary with existing boards of teacher training legislation (among the OECS, Western Caribbean nations, and the Association of Chief Education Officers).

15

Initiating Educational Change

Educational innovations can be found in the most marginalized places -- extreme rural areas home to poor and indigenous communities. In these areas the lack of resources seems to stimulate ideas and changes which are difficult to realize in more well-off settings.

A Costa Rican program, "Educational Informatics," is an illustrative example of how small groups of students are able to learn in a collaborative way using a multidisciplinary approach along with computers and the internet. The Ministry of Education, together with the Omar Dengo Foundation, has carried out the program since 1989. This program sets up a computer lab in each primary school and organizes children into teams of three and four to design projects that represent and explain a phenomenon of their particular interest, using multidisciplinary approaches to understand it.6

The experience of Costa Rica shows how computers can stimulate individuals' curiosity and research.7 They can also promote teamwork, which allows the school to establish the notion that knowledge building is a collaborative task where the expression of individual theses, errors, and agreements become legitimate and necessary. As we have seen above, it is important for all countries in the hemisphere to tackle the equity issue of universal enrolment hand in hand with the quality issue of cooperative, meaningful learning tailored to the students’ needs. Educational programs in other countries may differ from the Costa Rican example in their details, but they can still share its underlying philosophy.

6 At the core of this strategy there's a software package called Micro worlds that enables the student to program logic-mathematical and multimedia computer applications. 7 In Seymour Papert's words, "The most common element with all kids is that they start off as enthusiastic learners, but by the time they have been in school for a few years they have stopped being enthusiastic about learning. The learning instinct is strangled. That makes their lives poorer. It makes society poorer. it makes the economy rigid and inflexible. It makes for a more rigid society all around. For those kids computers could make a very big difference by shaping education to fit their approach to learning" in School´s out? A conversation with Seymour Papert by David Bennahum, 2002.

Box 1.7: US - Head Start Program

Head Start is one of the US initiatives to provide early childhood education for low-income students. The program, started in 1965 has since expanded to the national level, and is a well-established part of the education system. Run by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start has been evaluated and improved upon multiple times during its more than thirty years. Head Start is a model compensatory program that enrolled 905,235 students' ages 3-5 in 2002, and relied on the participation of over a million volunteers nationally to provide extra support to the regular staff. The program also provides services to a high percentage of special needs and immigrant students. Some advocates of the program argue that the recent shift from federal funding to state funding will mean a large budget cut for the program. By relying on state budgets, moreover, differences between rich and poor states could be difficult to overcome and may even create more inequalities.

16

Reflection Questions

To conclude this section on Equity and Quality we offer the following set of questions that summarize the above analysis and provide additional material for discussion:

After most countries in the region have reached enrolment rates of over 90 percent, how can the hemisphere reach the Millennium Goal of universal enrolment? More specifically, how can it reach children of migrants, street children, children in extreme rural areas, and children with special needs?

What types of policies can equitably and effectively respond to the problem of drop-out, repetition and access? How might a prevention approach differ from an intervention approach?

What kinds of programs are appropriate for what groups of marginalized children? What initiatives should be undertaken by the state, and how can civil society, teachers unions, parents, and NGO's be involved?

How can data collection be improved to capture marginalized groups of children and show where interventions are most needed?

How can bi-lingual and bi-cultural education be improved?

How can we make the curriculum relevant for students, especially in marginalized areas?

There have been experiences with improving schools’ infrastructure: providing textbooks, improving curricula, installing computers, training teachers, strengthening the image of teachers, creating teacher support circles, and involving parents. Which interventions have been most effective and under what circumstances?

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Chapter 2: Secondary Education

Background: Secondary Schools

The Origins of Secondary Schools

Secondary education emerged historically for two distinct and specialized purposes. Some secondary schools were originally created to prepare students academically for university programs, while others were meant to prepare students for the changing professional and technical needs of society. (Braslavsky, 1995) The original rigid division between these two specialized branches of secondary education – the academically driven “bachilleratos” or “grammar schools”, and the vocationally-driven professional schools – has begun to blur as many rethink the purposes of secondary schools in the context of globalization and the new basic skills needed in an information economy. This process of reform of secondary education has led to a debate about defining the boundaries between secondary education and preparation for the workplace.

A later movement combined these specialized branches of secondary education into one "comprehensive" school model which offered both academic courses that build on the basic skills learned in primary school and occupational or professionally-focused courses; thus offering in a single school preparation for a future in either university or a career. This comprehensive secondary school has been the principal model used in the U.S. since the 1950s and even earlier (Holsinger & Cowell, 2000). There are many arguments for transforming secondary schools from a specialized to a comprehensive model. Some claim that they offer a more “real world” approach to learning and that there is more alignment of schoolwork with the job market. Others assert that inclusion of all students in a single building provides more options to minorities who might otherwise have been tracked into separate vocational schools and lost their chance to enter university. Finally, some indicate that there are greater cost benefits to the comprehensive schools when compared with expensive vocational/technical schools that focus solely on job training (Braslavsky, 1995).

In spite of these arguable advantages, there are also shortcomings to this model of schooling. The size of comprehensive schools has fallen under criticism in the U.S., where research has shown that quality of learning is sacrificed in these big, impersonal structures. A move toward smaller schools is now being called for (Noguera, 2002). This is good news for countries with high percentages of rural populations and scarce resources, where creating large comprehensive schools with a diverse set of options for students is difficult to justify. There has also been considerable criticism of the tendency to homogeneously group students by ability within a single school so that in effect there is not much difference between this system and the system which physically separates academic and vocational education. Inevitably, this separation within the school has led to a hierarchical status system within schools that is counteractive for those who are placed in less academic groups and may have poor perceptions of their status in school (Newman, 1992; Steinberg, 1996). In fact, attempts to transport the U.S. comprehensive secondary school model to Colombia, Venezuela and Panama in the 1980s was deemed unsuccessful because of this very drawback (Castro, Carnoy & Wolff, 2001).

This ever-present debate regarding the purpose of secondary is now more relevant than ever, as the hemisphere embarks on a process of defining competencies for certification. Such an attempt is fruitless without prior agreement on the definition of the goals of secondary education and what is expected of students coming out of secondary schools.

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Once the answer to these fundamental questions have been defined, countries can begin to determine what aspects of secondary curriculum should be considered for competency certification.

New Changes to Basic Secondary Education

A recent trend to include some part of the secondary cycle in the nationally-mandated compulsory cycle, also known as general basic education or GBE, has coincided with the shift from specialized to comprehensive secondary. Due largely to the increased levels of primary completion since the "Education for All" initiative in the 1990s, many countries are struggling to expand access to the secondary level. The majority of countries8 in the hemisphere include some part of the secondary cycle as part of GBE to encourage continued school attendance and underscore the importance of attaining a secondary level education. Number of years of compulsory education range from 6 years to 13 years, as shown in (Appendix 2). However, legal expansion of the length of compulsory secondary education does not necessarily translate into higher levels of access to that level. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of Panama, whose legal compulsory level remains at 6 years, but which has attained higher levels of enrollment than any other country in Central America. Many of the countries which have added years to the mandatory cycle have not yet achieved an expansion in access to secondary schools.

This question of legal compulsory definitions of secondary education brings up an important distinction between education as a privilege versus a right. Until the late 1980s, with the introduction of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, education as a human right was very undefined idea. While the EFA initiative helped define primary education as a compulsory right for all young children, this type of strong international initiative has yet to be promoted for secondary education. Part of the problem holding back such an initiative is the lack of a clear and common purpose for secondary education, which serves a much more diverse set of goals than primary education.

There are multiple justifications of the importance of secondary education. Recently, there has been a renewed emphasis on economic justifications regarding the rate of return of a secondary education and its impact on finding a job. Just such a finding came out of the recent ECLAC study, which demonstrated that a minimum of 12 years of education is essential for students to decrease their chances of living in poverty and

8 Exceptions are: Panamá, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica and Nicaragua.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT IS (ARE) THE PURPOSE(S) OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN OUR COUNTRY AND/OR SUB-REGION?

HOW IS THIS SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT FROM THE PURPOSES OF PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL

TRAINING?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO EXPAND ENROLLMENT IN SECONDARY

EDUCATION? ARE OUR REASONS FOR EXPANDING SECONDARY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE FOR

EXPANDING PRIMARY?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

IS SECONDARY SCHOOLING IMPORTANT SOLELY FOR

PREPARATION IN PRODUCTION OR ARE LIFE SKILLS THAT ENHANCE

PERSONAL GROWTH ALSO A PRIORITY?

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increase those of finding a job. (ECLAC, 2002) Other arguments for expanding secondary include the importance of exposure to social capital in bringing together students from distinct classes, and the need to teach citizenship, democratic understanding and other important life skills. These latter skills are important in providing future citizens with the skills needed to transfer and apply knowledge to various areas of their life. The way that countries justify expansion of secondary schools will have implications for the kind of policies they prioritize.

Professional & Technical Training

While the formal education system evolved and established different programs for dealing with both academic and professional preparation of its students, a separate system of training outside the education system has arisen in response to the clear need for more concrete technical and vocational training, especially in the context of both high unemployment among youth in the hemisphere and high instances of non-formal employment. Unemployment among youth in the Latin America and the Caribbean region is triple that of adults. (See Appendix 3 for sub-regional youth unemployment data) At an international summit in September of 2002, an ECLAC report called youth unemployment a “critical” issue in the region, not only because of these high rates of unemployment but also because 70% of jobs in the region are in the non-formal sector (Hopenhayn, 2002).

This system includes training and courses offered by employers in addition to the surge of institutes and training centers that offer specialized courses to those hoping to improve their skills. These training centers may be part of a larger accredited system, as is the case of CONOCER in Mexico, or they may be unaccredited centers that prey on the poor and unemployed with the promise of assistance in job searches. Specialization of training centers range from information and communication technology (ICT) to agriculture and industry to foreign language and the arts.

These two systems are not mutually exclusive. It is common to find a student in secondary school who has decided to complement her academic studies with an ICT course or an intensive English class, another who drops out of school to focus on agricultural training (and may later decide to go back to school), and another who forgoes formal secondary schooling altogether to focus on an industrial training in a particular area of expertise that he considers more valuable for finding work. In addition, it is common to find young adults with various degrees of training in either formal secondary schooling or non-formal training or a combination of both. Some who never completed their secondary degree might decide to go back to school after discovering the value of specialized training in the work world; in these cases, professional training centers might have more flexible programs than the formal secondary system.

While the existence of two systems that share some common purposes relieves some of the pressure on secondary schools to fill the gap in professional training, their presence also complicates the coordination of certification and recognition of degrees. These alternative diplomas and training courses may remain unregulated and run the risk of underserving the public with poorer quality programs.

One response to this question is to eliminate (or greatly reduce) purely vocational course offerings from the comprehensive secondary model. In place of occupational courses, this strategy

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CENTERS THAT REMAIN

OUTSIDE THE SECONDARY SYSTEM? WHAT LEVEL OF COORDINATION MUST EXIST BETWEEN THESE TWO BODIES TO

ENSURE QUALITY TRAINING? WHO SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT

COORDINATION? HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT THE TRAINING RESPONDS TO THE

FLUCTUATING DEMANDS OF A CONSTANTLY CHANGING ECONOMY?

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would integrate more "real-life" or practical and experiential aspects into academic. In this case, math, language, science or other academic courses expand on the use of real-life examples,

experimentation and laboratory time to integrate the teaching of life and work skills into the academic curriculum (Murnane & Levy, 1996). Advances in pedagogy have led to more practical and less theory-based methodologies which can enable well-prepared teachers to incorporate skills valuable to employers into daily

classroom habits and interactions (Castro, Carnoy & Wolff, 2002). However, the approach requires extensive work with teachers, since they must become capable in preparing and teaching these additional student learning goals in their classroom. Teachers must be given proper tools to manage, measure and assess the learning of these new goals, in addition to extra time to work with colleagues on strategies for incorporating them into their regular classroom routines and curricular goals. The lifelong learning movement, which includes the growing need for communicative skills in a multicultural context, also supports the idea that secondary schooling should focus more on expanding on basic academic and life skills that make the individual more able to defend him or herself in the modern world. These skills are transferable to different careers and provide students with flexible skills that are applicable to any situation they will find themselves in after school. Considering that the average number of jobs that a single person has over the course of his or her lifetime has increased greatly in recent decades, learning these transferable skills is even more relevant today than ever. (Ibarra, 2001)

One strategy for improving the comprehensive school, that takes these arguments into account, is the implementation of a core academic curriculum requirement for all students (of 1-2 years) followed by elective coursework in specialized areas (of 2-3 years). Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago have both implemented this type of curricular reform at the secondary level. (Castro, Carnoy & Wolff, 2001) It has also been attempted over the past decade in the U.S. with some success. However, striking a balance between raising academic standards for all students and meeting particular individual needs has proven incredibly difficult. Research has shown that in the U.S., when students are offered the choice between more or less academically rigorous courses, students tend to choose easier courses ones in order to obtain better grades. (Bishop, Ferran & Bishop, 2001) And yet, when schools attempt to group students heterogeneously for “minimum” or “core” academic programs, there is often resistance from parents and teachers who argue that heterogeneous grouping holds advanced students back, alienates less prepared students and is less efficient for teaching and learning. Without question, heterogeneous grouping creates more work for teachers who must challenge different levels of learners in a single classroom.

In summary, the rise and expansion of secondary education has met with great debate regarding its purpose. As the hemisphere embarks on large-scale projects to certify skills, this fundamental question of purpose can not be forgotten since the very definition of those skills relies on a common understanding of purpose.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

SHOULD PURELY “VOCATIONAL” COURSES EVEN BE OFFERED IN

SECONDARY SCHOOLS?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN THE SYSTEM NOT ONLY KEEP TRACK OF

CONSTANT CHANGES IN THE NEW SKILLS DEMANDED BY

SOCIETY BUT ALSO KEEP TEACHERS INFORMED AND

PREPARED FOR PASSING THOSE SKILLS ON TO STUDENTS?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS CHALLENGE EVERY STUDENT TO LEARN AT HIS OR HER OPTIMAL

ABILITY WHEN THERE IS SO MUCH DIVERSITY AMONG STUDENTS IN FAMILY BACKGROUND, PRIMARY SCHOOL PREPARATION, ABILITY

AND MOTIVATION?

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After this brief introduction to the background and dilemmas that have faced secondary schools in recent decades, what follows is a discussion of the current situation of secondary education in the American Hemisphere and challenges which it faces, a look at some key innovations that are responding to these challenges and finally an overview of the questions that are generated by this paper. The scope of the discussion impedes great depth, but an attempt has been made to include a fair representation of the situation of secondary education in the hemisphere. Please refer to the concluding references for more detailed information about the topics mentioned here.

Challenges

The hemisphere, as a whole, has made great strides in secondary education in the past decade; access has reached an average of 70% for Latin America (CEPAL 2002) and discussions about the improvement of quality have begun (UNESCO, 2000). In spite of these advances on average, there exist great sub-regional and sub-national disparities in access and quality of secondary education as well as great challenges in the reform of the same (OAS, 1998).

Box 2.1: Three Stories of Secondary Failure

Janine studied at a school with a mostly academic focus. She studied hard, got good grades, and graduated. Rather than continue at university, Janine decided to get a job at a financial company in the city. Her first few months of work were painful and challenging, as she was trained to use a computer and write reports. She had difficulty adjusting to working in a team and knowing what was expected of her. Years later, she looked back in frustration at what seemed to be “wasted time” in her secondary school.

_______

Xavier completed sixth grade – mandatory primary schooling in his country – and even attended 18 months of secondary schooling. After deciding that secondary was not for him, Xavier enrolled in a technical school to get specialized training in the hopes of finding a good job. In spite of his hard work, when Xavier began applying for jobs, his technical training did not compete with the large numbers of secondary school graduates and he was unable to find a good job in his field of specialization. While he realized that going back to school would help him compete in the job market, Xavier could not afford to stop working for very long and the “alternative” programs that are offered for working students simply do not fit his work schedule.

_______

Xiomara was born in a rural area where secondary schooling was only offered far from her community and she and her family did not consider it important for her to finish more than primary school. She needed to work in order to help support the family, so she gave no thought to continuing in school.

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Socioeconomic and systemic barriers to secondary education

Trying to reach the rural and marginalized youth populations, such as females, migrants, indigenous and impoverished youth, has been a particular challenge to varying degrees in the hemisphere. For example, rural communities in Central America, where a combination of geographic isolation, indigenous traditions and poverty present a compounded set of difficulties for expansion of access to youth in these populations. Geographic isolation makes it particularly difficult to offer large diversified secondary programs; indigenous traditions make relevancy of programs particularly complex as intercultural and bilingual programs have generally not been expanded to the secondary level; and circumstances of poverty present a problem when students must work or migrate periodically and are unable to attend regular school programs. These barriers constitute the category of socioeconomic barriers that make access to quality education difficult for certain populations9.

In addition to social barriers, there are a variety of systemic barriers that have been ingrained in our secondary schools to make progress and secondary attainment difficult. A clear example is that of the Caribbean, where the education system is modeled after that of Great Britain with 6 years of primary schooling, followed by the Common Entrance Exam (known as the CEE or +11). The CEE determines who is tracked into academic or vocational schools. Students who are not admitted to either of these tracks attend the lower secondary level of the all-aged "primary schools with tops" (PWT), which are regarded as poor quality schools and “do not constitute proper secondary education” (Alleyne, M, 1996, 89). In the case of Barbados, the exam serves to stratify students between more prestigious secondary schools and poorer quality schools, based on their test scores. (Lyane, 1999) The prestigious schools have smaller student bodies, more teachers with university degrees, and greater student costs. In this case, then, students with the greatest learning needs are further under-served. The high-stakes testing movement in the U.S. has suffered similar criticism in that it may contribute to drop-outs among racial minorities.

One systemic strategy that responds to some of these issues is automatic promotion. St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean and Bolivia in the Andean region have both introduced automatic promotion throughout primary as a way of encouraging progress through the system. In addition, Bolivia eliminated the use of exams that had been used to determine eligibility for promotion. At the sub-regional Learning Together Workshop (Miami, July, 2003)10, there was some discussion that this policy of automatic promotion served to force a systemic response at the secondary level that would equip all students with the basic skills for academic success. However Forde, G. (1999) states that in the St. Kitts case “there is evidence that the communication and numerical skills of these persons are generally unacceptably low.” (259); indicating that this type of policy actually contributes to lower quality and “reducing overall educational efficiency” (Eisemon, 1997, p. 30).

Systemic barriers exist even in cases where secondary entrance exams are not used. When secondary schools offer tracked systems that include course groupings with a less academic focus, these students will reach a "ceiling" at the end of secondary schooling since their lack of academic preparation makes them ineligible for university studies in many areas. Even within secondary schools, failure to demonstrate a certain level of content mastery in one level of math or language may make it impossible for students to continue in more advanced studies. While some systemic regulations are necessary for student accountability, the existence of too many unnecessary systemic

9 Please see Section 1 of this document, Equity and Quality, for a more in-depth discussion of these issues.10 Learning Together: A Workshop for the Caribbean Education Sector on the OAS Horizontal Cooperation Program (Miami, July 14-18, 2003) was a workshop where representatives of the Ministries of Education in the Caribbean gathered to discuss lessons learned through horizontal cooperation and how these could respond to educational challenges in the Caribbean.

Figure 2.1: Distribution in Percentages of Total Drop-Outs in Latin America, by Cycle, 1999

Figure 2.2: Net Enrollment Rates by Age, 1998 (%)

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barriers contributes to failure of the system in responding to the needs of both the students and society. The results of these failures are outlined below.

Results of Barriers to Secondary Education

Two clear phenomena that are caused by the barriers to education mentioned above are those of repetition and drop-out. While these issues are covered above in Chapter One on Equity and Quality, there are specific dilemmas related to secondary education that merit attention here. High instances of repetition in primary grades leads to overage students. In the cases where these students actually finish primary school, they are more likely to decide not to continue on to traditional secondary schools because they feel unsuccessful or feel like it is a waste of their time (Randall & Anderson, 1999).

Figure 2.1 shows the distribution of drop-out rates in rural and urban areas in Latin America, including those who drop out during the primary cycle, at the end of primary, after the first year of secondary and later in the secondary cycle. There is a very high proportion of drop-outs before entering the secondary cycle.

As shown in the case of Xiomara mentioned above, this drop-out rate tends to include people who do not have a tradition of attending secondary, either because they have to work for necessity or because their family simply does not

consider it important. It is interesting to consider that this problem is more common among boys in the Caribbean, while it is more typical of girls in most Latin American countries. These data point to the need for programs to target populations who do not have a tradition of attending secondary with awareness-building campaigns about the importance of secondary. They also point to the need for secondary schools to respond with more relevant programs. Initiatives such as Colombia's

Secundaria Rural - which is adapted for rural and multi-grade contexts - have made an effort to be more relevant to the needs and experiences of enrolled students in a particular area. Figure 2.1 also shows a higher incidence of drop-out during the first cycle of secondary than during the second. These students, like the case of Xavier, are giving secondary school a try, but finding that they prefer to go into the workforce rather than continue in secondary. Research must focus on understanding better the reasons why these

Source:

Figure 2.3: Average minimum grade completed among students age 15-19 in Nicaragua, 1998 (%)

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students are leaving secondary in order to target those problems with more relevant programs that will convince students to stay in school.The case of net enrollment by age in Ecuador11 in Figure 2.2 shows that a drop in student enrollment is continuous from the very beginning of secondary through the end. This is typical of just about all countries in the hemisphere. In fact, a recent report in the U.S. found that drop-out rates as high as 20-30% were common in New York City secondary schools. Most of these included the worst performing students, who had been unsuccessful in completing basic coursework12.

Figure 2.3 contrasts the level of school attainment at ages 15-19 of the two extremes of the socioeconomic scale; rich men and poor women13. While about 80% of poor women have complete first grade in Nicaragua, less than 40% have completed 6th grade (mandatory GBE) and less than 10% have completed 9th grade, which is the first cycle of secondary in that country. By comparison, rich men maintain high levels of completion, over 80%, through 6th grade and drop only to about 50% completion at 9th grade. While a drop-off in the level of completion is still sharp for rich men, it is shockingly lower for poor females. This graph is useful for understanding the sub-national diversity which is hidden by national averages.

The system is clearly losing women14 and poorer youth at much higher levels than men and the rich. The relevancy of what is taught in schools and how the system is set up must respond to these marginalized populations.

Relevancy

One of the major causes of secondary education failure is the lack of relevancy, which can be analyzed in terms of four important populations; enrolled students, members of the larger society and community, secondary-age youth who are not enrolled, and adults who never completed secondary. Strategies that provide relevancy for those, like Janine, enrolled in the system include course offerings and curriculum that are appropriate for the local context. Janine's complaints are typical of those who have gone through secondary schooling and later must receive additional "real life" training at work. As mentioned earlier, schools can take advantage of recent innovations in pedagogy that help integrate these real-life skills into the regular curriculum. One such program is Canada’s New Brunswick Youth Apprenticeship Program, which is described below in more depth. Secondary schools must also make what is taught relevant to what the larger society and potential employers demand that students learn. This idea goes back to the question of purpose introduced above, and consultation of the public on what is important to them is a big part of making the skills of secondary graduates match what society considers important.

Finally, schools must consider how to make schooling more relevant to those outside the system, who have been for various reasons marginalized from it. There is an unacceptable number of

11 See Appendix 1 for similar data on other countries.12 Lewin, T. and Medina, J. To Cut Failure Rate, Schools Shed Students. New York Times, July 31, 2003.13 See Appendix 1 for similar data for other countries.14 Men in the case of the Caribbean.

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youth between the ages of 15 and 19 in the hemisphere who remain outside the formal education system. As we have seen, many of these youth are also unemployed. It can be further argued that until they receive adequate training, these youth will likely remain unemployable in the formal sector. This situation presents an enormous challenge to society, as this population is greatly at risk of falling into crime or other counterproductive habits. In response to students like Xavier, who are more at risk for dropping out or may, at various times, be in and out of the system, schools can implement more flexible and supportive programs to ensure that youth and adults outside the system can successfully make their way through it. Mexico's Telesecundaria and SEA (Secondary Education for Adults) are both examples of programs that reach out to these populations. Night and weekend secondary school offerings are another example of how schools can adapt to students'

needs. Many of the innovations outlined below take these issues into account in their program design.

Certifying Competencies and Knowledge Learned

As the hemisphere faces increasing levels of unemployment and migration of people across

borders, it becomes more important to move toward international agreement on assessing and recognizing knowledge and competencies learned at the secondary level. It will be important to set up forums for participation from both private and civil society sectors in order to align these skills with societal values in addition to keeping them updated. Depending on how the purpose of secondary schools is defined at the national level - whether they will include vocational and technical programs, or focus on basic skills and life skills and leave vocational programs for non-formal or labor sector institutions - there are different ways to approach certification of competencies. Two examples that represent areas for innovation are the Canadian SAIP and Mexican CONOCER programs. The first focuses on measuring student performance as a way of certifying competencies through the schools. SAIP focuses on life-long learning skills that enhance the individual student and the integration of these skills in math, language and science. The second focuses on certifying strictly occupationally-based competencies defined by the labor market and worker demands.

The Canadian Student Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP), introduced in 1989, approaches the certification of secondary school graduates in a traditional way by controlling the quality of what all students learn in every secondary school. It is a system for measuring the performance of students across the country in order to ensure the quality of secondary schooling in every province. Coordination and consensus between the highly decentralized ministries of education in Canada was necessary to make this program possible. One result of this program is that the meaning of a secondary school degree is becoming more equally recognized and valued across the country. At the same time, there is a system of guidance counseling and career information that supports students for workplace readiness15. In this way, secondary schools focus on building individual skills to prepare students for whatever path they will take later.

15 George Malloy, representative from the Canadian Council of Ministers of Education, comments at the Second Hemispheric Dialogue, July 17, 2003.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REACH HIGHLY MARGINALIZED SECONDARY-AGE YOUTH

WHO ARE OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM WITH RELEVANT AND EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE LOCALLY?

HOW CAN THESE STRATEGIES TAKE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND VALUES

INTO ACCOUNT?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT KINDS OF SKILLS SHOULD BE THE FOCUS OF CERTIFICATION:

PROFESSIONAL-TECHNICAL OR BASIC ACADEMIC AND LIFE SKILLS?

26

In response to changes in the global market and new definitions for workplace competencies, Mexico created CONOCER16, a certifying body which functions in cooperation with the Secretaries of Education and Labor. One of the main aims of CONOCER is to eliminate barriers that face certain people who have not received official certification for competencies that they have developed outside the formal schooling system, either through life experiences or at work. These people may never have attended secondary school, yet they have developed skills, knowledge and capacities that inexperienced secondary graduates may not have. By offering flexible modules of training that are accessible to this population, CONOCER attempts to put these populations on more equal footing when looking for work.

An Occupational Analysis Study compiled information in 1997 about Mexican workers, their credentials and their responsibilities and status at work. Findings from that study indicated that in general, students with higher levels of schooling also attended more professional training. In addition, school attainment was found to be more significant than other professional training in explaining the level of worker responsibility and position in the work hierarchy. (Schmelkes & Ahuja, 1999) These results show that training courses were not serving as compensatory programs for those outside the system and may even be reinforcing advantages held by students with higher levels of schooling. In other words, while certification through vocational training courses may be important for recognizing labor skills, a diploma from secondary school still holds more weight for success in the workplace. These two approaches to certification of competencies are not mutually exclusive and, with careful coordination, can compliment one another. The Canadian SAIP initiative provides an example of the complexity involved in making this happen.

Innovations

The hemisphere contains a myriad of innovations that are aimed at improving the coverage and quality of secondary education, in addition to pushing the limits of how we think of this part of the school system. Particular areas which are important for cooperation and coordination include the following: at the sub-national level, it is critical to recognize the vast differences within each country; at the sub-regional level, coordination must take into account national contexts in attempting to find common ground for recognizing certifications; at the hemispheric level, a key complication is accounting for the variety of different systems and experiences that each sub-region brings to the table. At every one of these levels, intersectorial cooperation between education and labor are particularly important to both ensure universal coverage and avoid creating repetitive programs. Participation of the public and private sectors is part of this. Finally, a cross-cutting issue in all of these areas is that of equity. The tradition of asymmetry between certain populations both sub-nationally and internationally must be taken into account so that recognition of certification is divorced from status and socioeconomic background.

While this background for innovation is daunting, the following compilation of innovations is only a small sampling of the programs that are responding to the secondary school population in the hemisphere.

16 www.conocer.org.mx

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

IF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CERTIFICATION FALLS ON THE

SCHOOLS, WHAT MECHANISMS NEED TO BE IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT THE

SCHOOL SYSTEM IS PREPARED TO CARRY OUT THIS PROCESS?

27

Individual Country Level

At the conclusion of the National Conference of Education for Human Development in Perú in 1997, various goals were set for the creation and maintenance of a national system for evaluation and accreditation of secondary certifications as well as a set of technical modules for secondary

schools. Two years later, the national project FOPECAL (Foro Peruano de Capacitación Laboral17) was created to bring together members from the business sector and labor unions with representatives from the ministries of education and labor to promote intersectorial cooperation for the development of innovations in labor training and competencies and national agreement of certification and licensing. (Anta, 2000) This

diverse group of members has been able to define a philosophy and identify a set of skills that they consider important for secondary youth to learn. The initiative demonstrates that it is possible for diverse sectors to come to a consensus on what is important in secondary schools.

Canada’s New Brunswick Youth Apprenticeship Program represents a “unique and innovative” approach to career and transition preparation for high school students about to enter the rapidly changing and increasingly technological global economy. Reflecting a multi-level collaborative partnership involving secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, government, business organizations and employers, the Youth Apprenticeship Program is aimed at addressing the future skills requirements and employment base required of the province. Its unique delivery model offers high school students successive and progressive work experience and occupational specific skills training that is in addition to, rather than in place of, regular high school offerings. Using outcomes based curriculum and multiple, non-funded, paid summer work experiences, students develop employability and occupational specific skills, setting the stage for further post-secondary education and/or work. Applying the traditional concepts of apprenticeship training to all economic sectors, the Youth Apprenticeship Program offers a model of transition preparation and skills development that engages all stakeholders in mutually beneficial efforts, that have immediate and long-term social and economic benefits.

A great deal of what has been attempted in preventing drop-out, reintegrating drop-outs and making schools more responsive to labor needs, has been implemented within the context of vocational education, entrepreneurial education and distance education for young adults. Relevant and effective responses to some of these challenges can be seen in innovative school for work programs that combine literacy classes with skills development like Uruguay’s Center for Training and Production (CECAP) and Honduras’ National Center for Vocational Education (CENET). Both of the programs demonstrate that success depends on their ability to reintegrate drop-outs into a system that reflects the reality of their context, while simultaneously responding to the needs of rural and urban labor markets.

Honduras’ National Center for Vocational Education (CENET) offers an interesting methodology that begins with raising community awareness about the importance of continuing their education; then creating Community Research Committees to learn about and analyze the local

17 http://www.fopecal.org

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR LABOR COMPETENCY CERTIFICATION TAKE INTO

ACCOUNT THE EVOLVING NEEDS AND VALUES OF THE LABOR MARKET AND CIVIL SOCIETY WHEN CREATING PROGRAMS AND

DESIGNING CURRICULUM?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN COOPERATION HAPPEN BETWEEN THE EDUCATION AND LABOR SECTORS TO

CREATE EFFECTIVE, RELEVANT PROGRAMS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL?

28

reality in the community; then preparing a community development plan that takes into account the community’s analysis and the goals set by its members, which also incorporate social and business organizations; and then implementing the planned projects with special emphasis on occupational training components in response to the needs of the productive or social sectors. According to CENET, the most important outcome is the existence of groups whose members have together generated organizational strengths through productive or social work (that is, use of literacy skills, productive techniques, etc.) The goal is to provide sustainability and permanence to the groups participating in the education program, in order for them to become entirely independently managed and to establish longer-term horizons.

Uruguay faces a number of challenges in the area of secondary education. According to official statistics 15.5% of the population aged 14 to 18 do not go to school. Furthermore, 26.6% of this population does not work either. It should also be stressed that 11.6% of young people aged 16 to 19 neither work nor study. The CECAP program targets mainly young people of both sexes between the ages of 15 and 20, who are outside the regular education system, come from low-income homes, are in a situation of risk, need to work, and aspire to be recognized as citizens. It seeks to contribute to the social integration of young people from needy, at-risk families, by encouraging them to develop their own strategies for joining society and the labor market. CECAP also seeks to encourage young people to develop self-knowledge and self-esteem, and to analyze their social environment.

For those young people who have not completed secondary education and are employed in low wage jobs, Mexico’s experience in Secondary Distance Education for Young Adults (SEA) is yet another way to address the problem. At the turn of the century, approximately 28.3% of the Mexican population over the age of 15 had completed primary, though not secondary education and usually because of financial reasons. SEA has continued to successfully work to reduce the number of adults who have not completed secondary education by means of distance learning supported with printed and audiovisual educational materials, while providing opportunities for the adult population to complete secondary education and to access other levels of education if they so desire. SEA rejoins the youth and adults that have not yet concluded their secondary education into schools, through a combination of distance and classroom learning that combines daily morning televised sessions and one weekend session with the teachers of the program. This strategy groups the 4 blocks of curricular richness in this educational level, but in a pertinent form for the working adults diverse necessities.

The charter school movement in the U.S. has responded to this question with an array of cutting-edge schools with unique missions and programs that are aimed at achieving school autonomy and providing more choice to parents. The charter school movement began in 199118 with local groups made up of parents, community members and even teachers applying to states for funding to found and administer their own schools without the constraints of the formal education system. Initially, these schools claimed to have less expensive, more efficient ways of providing an education as compared with traditional public schools. Regulation of charter schools varies by state, some applying strict periodic evaluations and regulations while others give schools more freedom to run

18 For more information about their history, see: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gi/overview.htm

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS ADAPT TO THE NEEDS OF THOSE THAT ARE OFTEN

MARGINALIZED FROM THE SYSTEM?

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS RESPOND TO THE DIVERSE STUDENT BODIES WITH BOTH HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND

MULTIPLE COURSE OPTIONS?

29

schools with less boundaries. Currently, approximately 2,300 charter schools in 40 states nationwide educate 1% of the public school age population in the U.S. Results from the charter school movement have been mixed, and there is no single answer to the question of their effectiveness. One recent study done by the Harvard Civil Rights Project19 criticized the charter schools because of a tendency to segregate racial minority students. Other reports have shown that some charter schools are not as financially efficient as they originally claimed, and some districts have lost money invested in chartering schools out to private companies that did not fulfill their contracts20 (Woodard, 2002). Since charter schools fall outside the normal public school regulations, some critics believe that these schools are not being held accountable for student learning. Finally, there is much debate about the fact that these schools take away resources and effort that could be focused on the public school system (Willis, 1997).

International Cooperation

At the Second Hemispheric Dialogue on July 17th, 2003, the topic of international coordination of labor competency certification was introduced. The existence of asymmetry between certifications and diplomas based on country of origin means that certifications from certain countries are given more weight and recognized more readily than those of other countries. Thus doors for employment are easily open to some while others may have to go through the certification process anew when they move to a new place because their credentials are not recognized. International cooperation to rectify this situation is clearly necessary, but complicated. While the creation of a system of recognition and certification of labor competencies at the hemispheric level is still too far-reaching to attempt in the immediate future, there are a number of initiatives that have begun at the sub-regional level that may serve as first steps toward this ultimate goal.

In the Andean sub-region, the Convenio Andrés Bello has begun compiling an "Equivalency Checklist" for coursework completed at the basic and secondary level which serves as a first step in the sub-regional coordination of skills and content learned at school. This project serves as a means for serving students that move from one system to another, and will serve as the basis for coordination of labor competencies between these countries.

Two projects in Central America are similarly working to coordinate at the sub-regional level. The first, "Project for National Contextualization of Labor Competencies" was implemented so that the ministries of Labor in the sub-region could hear about the experiences and lessons learned of their counterparts at CONOCER in Mexico. Another project of the Central American sub-region that is being implemented through the ministries of Education in these 8 countries is the project for "Fostering the creation of mechanisms for the recognition and certification of labor competencies and the strengthening of technical education".

Generative Questions

The following questions that have been generated from this document are compiled below, followed by some broader questions regarding the hemispheric context for this project on secondary education.

19 http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/news/pressreleases.php/record_id=36/ 20

Box 2.2: What is the purpose of Secondary Schools?

To prepare students for university To build capacities in the work force To encourage individual growth for life-

long learning To create well-informed, participatory

citizens To produce critical, innovative thinkers To equalize the base level of

knowledge and skills of all students, so that less advantaged students have equal opportunities in the future

To enhance intercultural dialogue and tolerance skills that will contribute to a culture of peace in the world

30

What is the main purpose of secondary education in our country and/or sub-region? How is this similar or different from the purposes of professional and technical training?

Why is it important to expand enrollment in secondary education? Are our reasons for expanding secondary different from those for expanding primary?

Do any of these particular priorities exclude the others?

Is it possible, within the systems that we have created, for individuals with different priorities to coexist? Is it possible for them to move across programs if they decide to change their course of studies? How can the system strike a balance between these multiple purposes of schooling?

What is the role of professional training centers that remain outside the secondary system? What level of coordination must exist between these two bodies to ensure quality training? Who should be responsible for that coordination?

If the responsibility for certification falls on the schools, what mechanisms need to be in place to ensure that the school system is prepared to carry out this process? How would this change affect teachers, school culture, administrative responsibilities, and students?

Should purely vocational/technical courses be offered in secondary schools, or does it make more sense to focus on integrating real-life skills and practical examples into the traditional academic courses? What would this expansion of the curriculum imply for teacher training and preparation?

How can secondary schools challenge every student to learn at his or her optimal ability when there is so much diversity among students in family background, primary school preparation, ability and motivation?

What can be done to reach highly marginalized secondary-age youth who are outside the system with relevant and effective programs that make a difference locally? How can these strategies take community priorities and values into account?

What kinds of skills should be the focus of certification: professional-technical or basic academic and life skills?

How can those responsible for labor competency certification take into account the evolving needs and values of the labor market and civil society when creating programs and designing curriculum?

31

How can cooperation happen between the education and labor sectors to create effective, relevant programs at the secondary level?

How can secondary schools adapt to the needs of those that are often marginalized from the system?

How can secondary schools respond to the diverse student bodies with both high academic standards and multiple course options?

_____________________

Situating Secondary education in the broader context of hemispheric changes:

What are the implications of the Monterrey Consensus and the Free Trade in the Americas movement for secondary education reforms?

How do demographic trends of population shifts and international and internal migration patterns inform the targeting of policies in secondary education, particularly with respect to equity issues?

What are the repercussions of the quality and relevance of primary education on the effectiveness of secondary education?

How can the use of technology be integrated in the secondary reforms being considered?

32

Chapter 3: Teacher Education in the Americas: Diagnosis, Challenges, and Innovations

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to provide concrete information and to stimulate discourse and cooperation to enhance and support the hemispheric project on Teacher Training. This project is one of three hemispheric projects identified for the III Meeting of Ministers of Education of the Organization of American States. The coordinating countries for this project include Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean sub-region, El Salvador for Central America, Bolivia for the Southern Cone, and Mexico for North America. The sub-regional coordinator for the Andean sub-region is still under discussion. The information provided herein concerns the state of professional development in the hemisphere, identifies the gravest challenges in teacher preparation, education and professional development in the Americas and highlights a few of the projects and reforms that are attempting to address those challenges. This chapter does not hope to propose any particular line of action but moreover to synthesize the research, thought, and policy trends concerning teacher education. There is no reference to the term ‘best practices’ because we believe that there is no one way to best educate teachers and professional development practices depend largely on their context and goals.

After discussing the context within which teacher education operates the chapter will offer a diagnosis of the most typical components of teacher education: pre-service training, in-service training, untrained teachers, alternative training, and evaluation. The chapter then turns to look in-depth at two of the most critical challenges in teacher education: relevancy and quality. Finally the chapter outlines several trends in innovations and policy initiatives in teacher education. Throughout the chapter purple boxes contain a series of reflective and generative questions to activate subsequent discussion, research and thought, blue boxes describe innovative programs in diverse countries which address different aspects of teacher education.

ContextChallenges in the preparation of teachers are intricately connected to both the

conceptualization of the role of teachers as well as the realities of teachers’ professional lives. How teachers are, themselves, educated depends to a large extent on how education systems conceive of the work and role of teachers (Rosas, 2000). At the same time teachers’ salaries and working conditions also have powerful effects on who decides to become a teacher, whether they remain in the field, and how they practice their profession. Declining working conditions and low salaries have created a teacher shortage not only in the Americas but worldwide that threatens the quality of teaching and learning. This section looks at the context in which teacher preparation and professional development is placed, examining specifically teacher working conditions and social prestige, the role of gender in the education profession, and teacher salaries. Other factors such as teacher professional organizations also influence the challenges and successes of teacher education but these will not be addressed in this chapter.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND TEACHER UNIONS

BE MORE EFFECTIVE?

33

Policies and reforms concerning teachers’ work and education are intricately connected to these realities of teachers’ lives. Unfortunately, this interconnection largely works to the harm of the successful implementation of innovative and promising reforms. For, although the discourse on teachers has come to espouse teacher empowerment and professionalization, in all too many countries there has been a deterioration in the status, working conditions, salary, and education of teachers resulting in negative consequences for teaching quality (Rosas, 1996).

Working conditions and social prestige

Schools and teachers once held esteemed positions within communities and societies, serving as local leaders, experts, and role models. While this remains the case in a limited number of communities, for the most part teachers, today, are considered sub-professional and are not held in high social esteem. Thus the well-known expression in the United States: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” The golden age of teachers has passed largely with the end of education as a privilege of a select few. When education came to be seen as a universal social good, a right of all children, and a responsibility of the state, there was an exponential growth in the number of teachers and resources needed as inputs in education systems. This growth put unprecedented pressure on nation-states and in many cases led to a reduction in the social prestige and the quality of teaching (Navarro and Verdisco, 2000).

These explosions in the supply of public education occurred at different moments in the histories of each nation. Impelled by such visionaries as José Sarmiento in Argentina, José Vasconcelos in Mexico, and Horace Mann in the United States, public school systems were implemented in these countries by the beginning of the 20th century. The creation of public schools systems reflects a profound change in the conceptualization of education in which schooling came to be seen as a means of building national unity and growth. More recently, in the 1960s and 1970s there has occurred another major conceptual change with education coming to be understood as a basic human right.

Free and obligatory public education began in Mexico in the 1920s after the Mexican revolution. However it wasn’t until the 1970s that education in Mexico began to have widespread primary coverage. This growth in educational demand in the 1970s resulted in a burgeoning of private teacher training schools (normal schools) throughout the country. The sudden growth in normal schools, however, was not adequately planned or monitored and the quality of instruction and materials in these schools declined precipitously. This crisis was the impetus behind the

Box 3.1: Mexico – Carrera Magisterial

In an effort to improve basic education quality México launched the Carrera Magisterial in 1992. Carrera Magisterial takes a multi-pronged approach to improving the quality of teaching through expanding professional development opportunities, creating salary incentives (organized by levels), and improving working conditions. Teachers in initial education, basic education, indigenous schools, and téle-secundarias (televised distance lower secondary schools) are eligible to participate in the program though participation is voluntary. A 2002 study shows that enrollment in the Carrera Magisterial program has a positive impact on student learning at the national level, particularly in rural areas. The study also found potential problems within the program such as the finding that the level of attainment of Carrera Magisterial is negatively correlated with student learning outcomes. Another potentially troubling finding was that the distribution of test scores was equivalent for teachers enrolled and not-enrolled in Carrera Magisterial. This indicates that teachers in the program are not raising up the lowest performing children (López-Acevedo 2002).

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHY DO TEACHERS CONTINUE TO SUFFER FROM LOW PRESTIGE AND

HOW CAN WE CHANGE THAT?

34

creation of a national curriculum and monitoring system for teacher preparation institutions (SEP, 2003). Mexico serves as an example of how because of a democratization of the conception and goals of education the resulting expansion of educational coverage led to a crisis in teacher quality.

Currently, teachers’ working conditions leave much to be desired in many schools in the Americas. Public schools are often overcrowded, have few material resources, and have poor infrastructure without electricity, water, and bathrooms. Furthermore, teachers are often isolated in their work, have little time to prepare their classes or reflect on their practice, and increasingly have heavy administrative duties (Villegas-Reimers, 1998). These conditions have a deleterious effect on teacher practice, discourage promising candidates from the field, and decrease the value communities’ ascribe to their local schools and teachers.

While there are excellent teachers throughout the Americas, studies have shown that in general individuals going into the teaching profession are less motivated, have poorer prior academic achievement, greater drop-out rates, and come from poorer families than individuals in other higher education fields (see for example Delannoy et al, 2000 on Brazil and Mizala et al, 2000 on Chile). Studies have

also shown that students studying to become teachers are more likely to study at night due to day jobs and have lower grades in high school than students in other fields. This unfortunate condition has been mitigated slightly in some regions such as in Southeast Brazil where improved conceptions of teachers and schools, salary incentives, and high unemployment rates have combined to improve the number and quality of applicants to teacher education programs (Delannoy et al,2000).

An important component of attracting highly qualified people to the teaching profession is offering a career path and incentives for teachers. Several innovations of this nature are in effect or being considered in countries. These include scaled career paths) as well as incentives such as merit-based pay, competency-bonuses, or school-based incentives (see Boxes 3.1 and 3.2) (Morduchowicz, 2002). Paradoxically, some of these incentives have had negative consequences on teaching quality. Salary increases based upon professional development experience, for example, has resulted in the proliferation of low quality, ineffectual teacher in-service courses in certain countries. In other countries, such as Antigua and Barbuda, incentive structures have backfired through promoting excellent teachers to administrative positions rather than finding ways of keeping that critical talent in the classroom (Learning Together Workshop, July 2003). Another problematic incentive in Mexico allows teachers to choose the locations of their schools through seniority. This has unintentionally resulted in rural schools being largely taught by

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE WORKING CONDITIONS AND

INCENTIVES TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN PEOPLE IN THE TEACHING

PROFESSION?

Box 3.2: The Bahamas: The Master Teachers Career Path

In the Bahamas there is the level of a master teacher within the establishment of schools. These master teachers receive the same salary as school administrators but maintain their positions as classroom teachers. The position is considered elite and only obtained by a minority of teachers. The hope is that this position will serve as an incentive and raise the status of teachers. Importantly it serves as an alternative path than the traditional school administrator. Through a rigorous selection process, based on the assessment of teachers, principals, MOES, and national team of highly regarded educators, candidates are selected. The criteria they are measured by includes: more than five years experience as a teacher, excellence as a classroom teacher, evidence of instructional leadership through action research and actions as a resource teacher, and sustained involvement in professional activities and associations outside of the school (Miller, 1999).

35

inexperienced teachers. As another example, many countries, including Bolivia, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago guarantee lifelong teaching positions to graduates of teacher preparation institutions. While having the positive effect of providing job stability and security for teachers, because it is virtually impossible to fire teachers it also has the negative consequence of providing no pressure or leverage to ensure high quality teaching. In some countries this problem is in part mitigated by promotion scales, salary incentives, or continuous education opportunities.

Another critical issue that is emerging in many countries as the prestige, working conditions, and overall satisfaction of teachers becomes more precarious are high numbers of teachers abandoning their teaching careers. In many countries this problem is particularly acute in subject areas, such as math and science, where trained individuals have opportunities for better paying jobs outside the classroom. In the United States the crisis in teacher supply is caused not by a lack of trained teachers but by low teacher retention. One in three teachers quits teaching after three years and one in two quits after five years resulting in a situation in which more teachers are leaving the field each year than are entering (NCTAF, 2003). It is of the utmost importance that steps are taken to support the training and learning needs of teachers working in disadvantaged areas in order to avoid this detrimental abandonment of the teaching career.

GenderAs in much of the world, teachers in the Americas are more often women than men,

especially at the lower levels of education. Table 3.1 shows that the percentage of all primary and secondary teachers who are female varies by subregion ranging from 64 percent and 66 percent in the Andean and North American subregions respectively to 81 percent in the Southern Cone. The high proportion of teachers who are women and the low social status of the profession are believed by many to be intertwined.

“Women’s work” is historically and widely undervalued and at the same time women for much time have been pushed into low paying and poorly respected jobs. A 1999 study of teacher pay found that even after controlling for teacher experience, schooling, and other “pay-relevant”

characteristics female teachers earn significantly less than male teachers in seven of twelve countries studied (the results in the other five were insignificant rather than positive) (Liang, 1999).

Even more telling data appears in Figure 3.1 which shows that in all of the five subregions there is a clear downward trend in the percentage of female teachers as the level of education rises.

A much greater proportion of women teach at the preprimary and primary levels than teach at the lower and upper secondary levels. At the same time, salaries and prestige tend to rise with education level, secondary teachers receiving greater pay than preprimary and primary school teachers. A few countries do not follow this gendered pattern. Canada, for example, has a

Table 3.1: Percent Female Teachers

Country %Andes 64Caribbean 73Central America 72Mercosur & Asoc.s 81North America 66

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN WE PROMOTE THE INCORPORATION OF WOMEN INTO MORE

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS WITHIN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION AND HOW CAN WE

ATTRACT MORE MEN TO CLASSROOM TEACHING?

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

HOW CAN WE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUPPORT THE RETENTION OF GOOD TEACHERS WHILE RAISING THE STANDARDS OF

TEACHER QUALITY? WHAT DOES RAISING THE STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS IMPLY

FOR ATTRACTING PROMISING CANDIDATES TO THE FIELD?

36

constant 68 percent of female teachers at the pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels as reported by UNESCO for 2000-2001.

Salaries

Low salaries and high poverty rates among teachers have far-reaching effects on teaching and learning in schools. Most poignantly, as Ministers meet in Mexico for the III Meeting of Ministers of Education teacher strikes for increased salaries and better working conditions resound around the hemisphere (Montero, 2003). Low salaries harm teacher practice and student learning through strikes, high incidence of second jobs, job dissatisfcation, and poor recruitment of talented individuals to the field.

Teachers earn comparatively lower salaries than individuals in other professions. In her study of twelve Latin American countries Xiaoyan Liang (1999) found that there is a statistically significant premium for

being a teacher (see Table 3.2) in nine of the twelve countries. Lower annual salaries contribute to lower standards of living and higher incidence of teachers working more than one job.

In some countries where schools operate on multiple shifts, such as Nicaragua, teachers teach more than one shift a day. In other cases teachers have altogether separate jobs in order to make ends meet. Figures show that as high as ninety percent of teachers hold second jobs in Guatemala, eighty percent in Uruguay and Paraguay, and that even in countries such as the

Table 3.2: Premium of being a teacher (Source: Liang 1999)

Country Slope Coefficientand level of statistical significance

Bolivia -0.38***Brazil -0.35 ***Chile -0.19***Colombia -0.05***Costa Rica NSEcuador (urban) -0.37***El Salvador -0.22***Honduras NSPanama -0.05~Paraguay NSUruguay -0.14***Venezuela -0.09~ ~p<=0.10 ***p<=0.001 NS Not significant

Figure 3.1

Percent Female Teachers by Region (2000-2001) Source: UNESCO

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Andes

Caribb

ean

Centra

l Amer

ica

Mercos

ur

North

America

Perc

ent

Preprimary

Primary

Low er Sec.

Upper Sec.

37

United States many teachers work second jobs, especially during the summer (Cuadra, 2003; CNN, 200321). In UNESCO’s first Latin American Laboratory Study teachers who worked second jobs had, on average, students who earned ten points less on administered exams. In contrast, teachers who felt that their salary was adequate for the work that they performed had students who scored an average of ten points higher on the exam (Cusucca et al, 2002).

Teachers’ salaries vary substantially from country to country and within countries as well. As noted earlier, female teachers earn less than male teachers even once controlling for other factors in many countries including Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Panamá and Paraguay (Liang, 1999). Figure 3.2 shows average annual salaries as expressed in 1999 US dollars for select countries. On average, teachers in Peru earn half what their counterparts earn in Mexico and one fifth what they earn in the U.S. as reported by the World Education Indicators study.

In summary, the work that teachers do in the classroom is the result of many, many factors. To speak of changing teacher practice through workshops, for instance, without addressing the working conditions, salaries, and gender bias which surround the work of teachers is to severely jeopardize the effectiveness of professional development policies. Later in this chapter we will discuss integrated reforms which link professional development opportunities with improvements of working conditions, salary incentives, school management reforms, or curricular transformations. The next section examines issues of relevancy in teacher education.

Diagnosis of Teacher Education Components

The following section summarizes research on the qualities and challenges common in the most typical components of teacher education: pre-service education, in-service education, untrained teachers, alternative or emergency training, and evaluation.

Pre-service Teaching Requirements

In recent years there has been a trend to move teacher preparation from the upper secondary level to the tertiary level in many countries. While increasing the base number of years of education necessary to become a teacher, this shift alone does not ensure or even necessarily promote high quality teacher

21 From http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/18/pf/easy_teachers/ retrieved July 28, 2003.

Figure 3.2

Annual Teacher Salaries in 1999 US Dollars (Source:WEI)

05000

1000015000

200002500030000

Figure 3.3

Latin American Laboratory Test Results and Average Years of Schooling of Teachers by Country (Sources:

UNESCO, 2002; Liang, 1999)

200210220230240250260270280

024681012141618

MathLanguageYears

38

preparation. Countries in the Americas have very different teacher training requirements. Nicaragua only requires two years of teacher training at the upper secondary level while the United States, Costa Rica, and Chile have long histories of university level preparation of teachers. Many other countries train teachers in post-secondary teacher training institutes. Despite this range all of these nations, irrespective of years or level of training, are troubled by the quality of their teachers.

Part of the reason for the wide range in required teacher preparation between nations may be due to the continued debate over whether the education of teachers has clear effects on the learning outcomes of students. Some studies have shown there is no significant correlation between the years of teachers’ schooling and student learning outcomes (see, for example López-Acevedo, 2002 on Mexico and Rivkin et al, 2002 on the United States). On the other hand, other studies have shown that the level of teacher education does indeed have an impact on student learning. UNESCO’s Latin American Laboratory study, for example, found that for every additional year of teachers’ post-secondary schooling student test scores increased by 2.44 points in language and 2.06 points in math. Also, a recent study in Canada found that teachers’ qualifications - defined as their education, experience, and licensing exam scores – are the single largest predictor for students’ scores on standardized exams, larger than parent education or other background factors (Phillips 2002). The mixed findings that propel this debate suggest that the quantity or level of teacher preparation may have less impact than desired if that preparation does not consist of high-quality and relevant training.

Figure 3.3 shows the relationship between standardized test scores in the Latin American Laboratory and average years of schooling of teachers in select countries. This graph indicates a possible weak pattern between these two indicators. Paraguay, Bolivia, and Venezuela all show similar relationships between test scores and years of schooling. Brazil, however, has higher test scores than we might predict based on their teachers’ schooling, while Chile and Colombia have somewhat lower test scores than those we might predict. These findings correspond with the mixed results of studies indicating that years of schooling alone is not an adequate commitment to teaching excellence. Alternate methods to ensure consistency and quality in teacher education are being experimented with. Professional teacher entry exams such as those used in Paraguay and the United States are meant to create a required bar of knowledge and skill amongst teachers.

As is evident in Figure 3.4 the average schooling level of teachers in most countries is between thirteen and fifteen years. Interestingly, the variance between countries does not appear to

correspond with sub-region. Chile has the highest level of average years of teachers’ schooling while Brazil, also a member of the Southern Cone sub-region, has the lowest average. Similarly, we see these glaring differences between Costa Rica and Honduras in Central America and between Ecuador and Venezuela in the Andean region. With the move of teacher preparation from secondary to post-secondary and university programs countries are facing new challenges. Brazil, for example, is struggling not only with training new teachers at a higher level but also with re-training many practicing teachers who have

Figure 3.4

Average Years of Schooling of Teachers by Country (Source: Liang 1999)

10 12 14 16

BoliviaBrazilChile

ColombiaCosta Rica

EcuadorEl Salvador

HondurasP anama

P araguayUruguay

Venezuela

39

only secondary degrees. In other countries this move has also generated problems of increased theoretical removal from the practical realities of the classroom and the loss of some candidates to higher paying fields of university study (Navarro and Verdisco, 2000).

Despite these challenges many countries are enthusiastic about increasing the academic background of their teachers. Bolivia and El Salvador have found that universities add rigor and research capacity to teacher preparation programs. Both of these nations are attempting to combine the best qualities of each institution, the rigor of the university with the accumulated experience and working knowledge of teacher training institutes.

Many countries require different amounts of training for primary and secondary level preparation. In general, primary teachers are largely taught instructional methods while secondary teachers are instructed in content area knowledge. This division between primary and secondary level teacher preparation has resulted in some cases in fragmented education systems where there is little continuity between primary and secondary schooling (Arríen 1997). This fragmentation disables education systems from supporting the continuous growth and learning of citizens as is advocated by such bodies as UNESCO (2000).

Another challenge in pre-service training concerns the issues of recruitment and selection. Because of teacher shortages in many countries combined with the factors of low salaries and poor working conditions discussed above, teacher training institutes often have little opportunity to selectively admit applicants. Some countries are trying to strengthen their ability to recruit qualified candidates or select qualified individuals from a pool of applicants through more active recruitment in high schools, or incentives such as salary increases, study grants or housing subsidies. To attract promising teachers the Ministry of Education in the Bahamas has a “Future Teachers of the Bahamas Programme.” The program began in 1995 and attracts secondary school students into the profession through activities like classroom observations, field trips, resource speakers, educational films, panel discussions, peer tutoring, journal writing and groups discussions. Other countries, such as El Salvador, are intensifying entrance requirements to teacher preparation programs requiring minimum standardized exam scores or high school grade point averages.

In-service training

In recent years in-service teachers’ education has come under heavy critique. Identified as a way of improving teacher practice while avoiding having to reform weak pre-service teacher preparation programs, in-service programs themselves have been shown to be ineffectual in many instances (Villegas-Reimers, 1998). Many of the problems with pre-service education are present or even exacerbated in in-service programs. The once popular “cascade” trainings22, for example, have been shown repeatedly to be largely ineffective (Navarro and Verdisco, 2000).

22 Cascade training is a strategy in which a core group of trainers prepare a larger group to become trainers who, in turn divide and train more individuals, etc.

Box 3.3: Barbados: EduTech

This program equips teachers with knowledge and technical skills to understand and utilize technology in their work with students. Further it provides teachers the opportunity to use technology for integration of students with special needs. In addition, EduTech is a model of collaboration across sectors for it has the institutional support of the Ministry of Education and the Edistron Teachers’ College. A recent study surveyed graduates of teacher training programs and found that only those from Barbados who had participated in the EduTech program felt fully prepared for the utilization of technology (Jennings, 2001).

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In-service opportunities tend not to respond directly to teachers’ needs. Instead topics are identified, and courses and workshops planned and implemented with little or no input from teachers themselves. Even when appropriate topics are identified, in-service programs are often no more than a one-day or partial-day workshop, or at most a once a week or once a month course on a select topic. In many cases these offerings are too short to have a lasting impact on teachers’ work. In-service offerings also face other dilemmas shared with pre-service training including poor teacher-trainers, weak curriculum, traditional methodology, and limited resources – challenges which will be discussed at more length in the sections on relevancy and quality. (Villegas-Reimers, 1998). Many of these problems stem from a lack of commitment to sustained, quality, relevant programming for teachers. In UNESCO’s Latin American Laboratory study, for example, there was no statistically significant correlation between in-service training and student achievement as there was with pre-service training (Cassasus et al, 2002).

This does not mean, however, that all in-service education is worthless. Indeed several innovations in the structure, content, and organization of in-service programming show great potential and positive initial outcomes (see Boxes 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5). Some of these are discussed later in the innovations section. In general, these innovations are centered around decentralizing professional development to the community or school-based level. Rather than national or cascade trainings many countries are working to support pedagogical advisors (El Salvador), master teachers (Trinidad and Tobago), or principals (Bolivia) to guide and facilitate in-service teacher education.

In recent years Chilean education policies have changed their emphasis from pre-service training to in-service professional development. Many Chilean reforms including P-900, MECE RURAL and others focus on improving teacher practice for those already working in classrooms. The conception of what in-service teacher education should be has also changed in Chile. Rather than imparting skills and knowledge, new in-service professional development programs attempt to involve teachers as agents of their own learning and transformation (Núñez Prieto 2000).

The country of Barbados is also redefining and giving increasing importance to in-service professional development. There, in-service training has been institutionalized as a requirement every three to five years in order to maintain teacher certification. Barbados has also situated this requirement in a reconceptualization of teacher training towards a child-centered approach that

involves a “paradigm shift in the teaching/learning process” (MEYAC as cited in Jennings, 2001, p.109).

In contrast, Canadian teachers themselves decide what if any professional development they wish to receive. This is very different from Barbados or the United States, where periodic professional development is required in 47 of the 50 states in order to maintain teaching certification.

Box 3.4: Guatemala: Nueva Escuela Unitaria

Studies of the Nueva Escuela Unitaria (NEU) reform in Guatemala found that using techniques such as teacher reflective practice – where teachers engage in classroom research and problem-solving – NEU schools have increased retention, student participation, teacher prestige, and community satisfaction (Craig et al, 1998).

Box 3.5: Brazil: Federal Incentive Grant for Continuing EducationThis new program established by the federal government is aimed at creating incentives for teachers to invest in their own professionalization. It allows teachers who have passed the National Entrance Exam to receive grants to enroll in ongoing professional development programs. These grants will be managed and disseminated by a national board comprised of basic education teachers.

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The total autonomy of professional development in Canada could benefit from national or provincial requirements for on–going professional development or from school-based collective decisions on professional development (Phillips 2002).

The Inter-American Development Bank has also shown a commitment to in-service training, funding trainings for one out of every five teachers in the region. The funding of programs and even the commitment to pedagogical transformation of ineffectual trainings however does not guarantee the success of these projects and countries and organizations should carefully monitor and evaluate the implementation and effects of their programs.

Untrained teachers

In many countries in the Americas, both wealthy and poor, untrained and under-trained teachers remain a pressing problem in the quality of teaching in classrooms. Figure 3.5 shows the magnitude of the problem of untrained teachers by subregion in the Americas (data was not available for North America).23 The Caribbean and Central America face the most severe challenges in terms of the proportion of teachers who lack the required education for teacher certification. Close to forty percent of teachers in the Caribbean lack appropriate training while in Central America the corresponding statistic is thirty-four

percent. In the Andean region and in the Southern Cone there are significantly fewer teachers without appropriate training but, as discussed below in the section on relevancy, the remaining

untrained teachers are concentrated in poor, rural, and indigenous schools. In the United States it has been shown that over one quarter of newly hired teachers do not meet qualifications for their positions. More than 12% have no formal training and 14% have incomplete or insufficient qualifications (UNESCO, 1998). These figures represent a serious challenge to improving teacher quality in the Americas.

Figure 3.6 shows the great variation in the proportion of trained teachers by education level and sub-region.24 In general, there is a greater incidence of untrained teachers at the lower and upper secondary levels than at the primary levels. Ecuador, for example,

23 These estimates are based only on the countries within each sub-region for which there is available Unesco data. These countries include: for the Southern Cone – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile; for Central America – Nicaragua and Panama; for the Caribbean – Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname; for the Andean Region – Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.24 See previous footnote.

Figure 3.5

Percent Trained Teachers by Region (Source: Unesco 2000-2001)

81.7566 60.28

77.88

18.2534 39.72

22.12

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Mercosur CentralAmerica

Caribbean Andes

UntrainedTrained

Percent of Trained Teachers by Level and Subregion (Source:Unesco)

4045505560657075808590

Andes 2000-01

Caribbean2000-01

Central Amer.1999-00

Mercosur2000-01

P reprimaryP rimaryLower Sec.Upper Sec.

Figure 3.6

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has approximately 85 percent of preschool and primary school teachers trained but little more than 70 percent of teachers trained at the lower and upper secondary level.

Historically, there has been a greater effort to train primary teachers than there has been to train secondary level teachers. This is seen in Dominica where primary training was in existence twenty-five years before the development of secondary training in 1998. In some areas this has created a major secondary teacher shortage, especially due to the increase in the demand for secondary schooling and changing demographic patterns in which the proportion of the population that is of secondary-school age is increasing (UNESCO, 2000). Several countries in the Caribbean cited the related problem of teachers being hired to work in secondary schools who are trained to work in primary schools. This has negative implications for the quality of teaching at the secondary level, especially in regards to subject knowledge in literacy and mathematics.

Uncertified teachers remain a barrier to student learning especially in marginalized areas. Much of the effort to train teachers has focused on primary school teachers while, in Nicaragua for example, over fifty percent of secondary teachers remain untrained.

In many of the Caribbean nations a curious problem has emerged in which teacher preparation programs have more stringent entry criteria than do actual teaching positions. Thus many individuals who have been rejected from teacher preparation programs are getting jobs as teachers despite their lack of training (Thompson, 1996).

Emergency or alternative training

Rather than focusing on supporting the professional preparation and training of high quality teachers and providing working conditions and salaries that can retain those teachers in their field, many countries are becoming increasingly dependent on emergency and often poor quality credentialling methods. In this vein the No Child Left Behind Act, the new education plan in the U.S.A., puts particular emphasis on alternative credentialling programs such as "Teach for America" (see Box 3.6), "Transition to Teaching" and "Troops to Teachers".

Another interesting alternative training program is the CONAFE program in Mexico. The mission of the CONAFE program is to support differentiated education in economically, socially, and culturally marginalized areas recognizing their cultural and socio-economic diversity. CONAFE places lower secondary school graduates, “CONAFE youth”, as teachers in these schools after a few months of intensive training. “CONAFE youth” are between fourteen and twenty-four years old, must have completed lower secondary school, and by and large come from

Box 3.6: United States of America – Teach for America

Teach For America (TFA), begun in 1990, addresses both teacher supply and quality concerns. TFA recruits high achieving college graduates with leadership experience to teach in high-poverty, under-performing schools in 18 districts in the United States for a period of two years, a different candidate pool than usually enters teaching. They provide five weeks intensive course training, an additional approximate month of classroom experience as team or assistant teachers over the summer and then place individuals in needy schools as teachers. TFA teachers must also enroll in local emergency credentialling programs in their area. TFA has received both praise and critique in the U.S. The program has been criticized for perpetuating inequalities in teachers’ experience and qualifications between high and low income and white and non-white groups in the country. It has also been criticized for not providing sufficient training to its novice teachers. On the other hand the program has received extensive praise for bringing thousands of promising young people into the education field and particularly into very needy classrooms. Many TFA alumni continue working in the field of education after the two years of the program and a recent study of TFA teachers in Houston found that TFA teachers have a positive impact on student performance when compared to non-TFA teachers (Raymond et al 2001).

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the same or similar communities as those in which they work. The idea is that this facilitates a greater knowledge and understanding between the teachers and the students and their families and can help combat low demand for education and low quality schools (CONAFE website, 2003, SEP, 2000). While this program addresses the immediate need for bilingual teachers in marginalized multi-grade schools it also brings up serious concerns regarding the quality of the instruction offered by these teachers. Questions arise as to how well young teachers with minimal training in highly disadvantaged schools can effectively teach. An additional concern is the high turnover rate as these teachers are recruited for only two-year periods after which time they receive grants to continue their own education.

The current emphasis on alternative credentialling processes may be adversely affecting teaching quality and student outcomes. A recent U.S. study identified complete certification with a degree in their field as the single most important indicator of student achievement on standardized exams across states (Darling-Hammond 1999).

Evaluation

Internal and external evaluation, measurement and assessment are fundamentally important pieces of the discussion on teacher education. Assessments of teachers and schools, evaluation of professional development workshops, curricula, and methods, and measurement of program impact on teacher practice and student outcomes need to become the basis of policy formation and implementation (see Box 3.7). In the past this has not been the case and it has taken far too long to realize that the goals set out for teacher education have not been realized in the actions, knowledge, and role of teachers.

Yet in the current climate of hyper-evaluation and assessment in certain countries, many of the purposes of these kinds of measurements are undermined or ineffective. Punitive teacher assessments and school closures may be failing to take into account the harsh conditions in which many teachers and students operate – environments of heightened violence, poverty, immigration, under-education and unemployment. Similarly, evaluations that measure teacher performance can pit teachers in the same school against each other and harm school atmosphere instead of promoting cooperation and mutual support. Indicators, too, often fail to measure the actual phenomenon under investigation, being carelessly chosen, inaccurately collected, or given too much importance.

All of these subtleties need to be taken into consideration in developing appropriate evaluation strategies.

Challenges in Teacher Education

Box 3.7: St. Lucia: Teacher Assessment Indicators

The framework for St Lucia is one in which teachers are assessed annually by Education Officers. This fits into their professional development scheme and appraises teachers on nine items, which in total equal a score of 100. Such evaluated components include: Punctuality and Regularity, Planning and Preparation, Knowledge of Subject matter, Teaching methods and strategies, Testing and evaluation strategies, Classroom management, Interpersonal relations, Professional development, and Professionalism. A score between 80 to 100 is considered excellent, below 50 unacceptable, and in the 50s-70s will be offered assistance by principals and

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It has been shown that high-quality teachers increase student learning and can counteract the academic disadvantages of students due to social, economic, ethnic, developmental or linguistic background (Rivkin et al 1998, Reimers 2003). It is due to evidence such as this that education ministries throughout the hemisphere are looking to improve and expand both pre-service and in-service teacher training as a means of improving teacher quality.

Yet equally important research in this area has shown that much of the present training offered to teachers is highly deficient and fails to improve teacher practice or student outcomes (Villegas-Reimers 1998, Ibrahim 1991). These findings make identification and implementation of effective models of teacher professional development critical, and they underpin the decision of Ministers of Education in the hemisphere to commit to exploring and working together to advance teacher professional development as one of three Hemispheric Projects in education. The following section hones in on two focal areas of concern in teacher education: relevancy and quality.

Relevancy

A major concern regarding the preparation and education of teachers concerns the relevancy of what teachers learn in terms of its applicability and usefulness for the work that those teachers confront daily in their classrooms. This is commonly true of both pre-service and in-service educational opportunities. The following section examines challenges in teacher education relevancy, first looking at three major weaknesses in relevancy and then turning to look at how teacher education addresses teaching needs in rural schools and schools that serve indigenous and poor communities.

Weaknesses in Relevancy

This first section examines three of the major weaknesses in the relevancy of teacher pre-service and in-service programs.

Theory & Practice

Teacher education is typically based more in theory than in concrete teaching skills and lacks sufficient opportunities for students to practice teaching in schools with guidance and supervision. In his article concerning the Caribbean sub-region, Jennings (2001) argues that there needs to be a strong connection between teacher training colleges and school systems. While Ministries of Education create policies of teachers as ‘facilitators of learning’ who guide students in interactive activities, provide opportunities for thoughtful reflection, and stimulate problem-solving development, they frequently do not provide these new teachers with sufficient opportunities to develop these techniques in the classroom. The recent trend to transfer teacher education to the post-secondary level in many countries has exacerbated this problem (Villegas-Reimers, 1998). When practicums do exist, they are often tacked on to the end of training programs rather than interwoven throughout the training as a fundamental component of teacher education. This is particularly problematic because research has shown that teachers tend to reproduce not the teaching styles they have learned, but rather those that they have experienced either in their own primary and secondary education or in their teacher preparation programs (Silva, 1995 as cited in Villegas-Reimers, 1998).

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

DO THE CURRENT OFFERINGS FOR TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PREPARE

TEACHERS FOR THE ROLE THAT THE COUNTRY WISHES TEACHERS TO EMBODY OR IS THERE A DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE CONCEPTION OF

TEACHERS AND THEIR PREPARATION AND EDUCATION?

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Some countries are attempting to incorporate more opportunities for practical experience in the classroom. Peru, in an effort to increase practical training for its teachers, now has a mandatory 1.1 years of practical teaching experience before primary school teachers can become certified (UNESCO, 2001). It is important that these practicums are well supervised and that teachers-in-training receive mentoring and guidance in their experience in the classroom otherwise the usefulness of the practice is jeopardized. The length, structure, and content of teachers’ practical experience should be carefully planned and implemented to optimize impact of teacher practice and student learning (Tatto, 2000).

Teaching to the ‘Average’

Teacher education institutions tend to teach teachers how to work with a homogenous group of middle class, urban students rather than poor, rural, indigenous, over-age, or working students (Navarro and Verdisco, 2000). Yet these types of students make up the majority of public school students in most countries in the Americas. Analyst Ana Patricia Elvir has studied how in Nicaragua teacher programs ignore or remain incognizant of the context many of their students live. One example of this is the abundant use of homework assignments. In many contexts like Nicaragua, homework assignments may not be appropriate instructional practice because many students live in families where parents are unable to help them with school work, in homes that may not have electricity, or many students, after school is out, must go to work or care for younger siblings (Elvir, 2003).

This, perhaps unwitting creation of an “average” child as urban and middle class prevents teachers from receiving the kind of professionalization and skills that they need in order to combat the severe barriers to educational opportunity due to exogenous social, economic, and political factors.

Teacher Education and Realities within Schools

The previous two sections on the over-emphasis on educational theory and the tendency to train teachers to work with middle class students speaks to a general trend in which teacher education programs fail to address the complex realities in schools (see Box 3.8 for an innovation

attempting to rectify this problem). Schools are microcosms filled with all of the social, economic, cultural, and political complexities of the communities surrounding them. Too often teacher education – whether pre-service or in-service – is not applicable or responsive to these realities. Because of the traditional pedagogy of lecture or text work employed in many programs

(discussed below) the knowledge and experience of teachers either from their classrooms or from their lives is denied rather than utilized to deepen learning (Torres, 1996). Not only does this diminish the quality of learning and communication in professional development programs but it also can mean that what is taught in programs is not or can not be implemented in classrooms.

A related problem is the growing emphasis in several countries on standardized test performance. In many countries of the Caribbean teachers are limited in implementing new methods learned in training programs because of the pressure to perform for the Caribbean Examinations Council Leaving Certificate (CXC). Thompson (1996) notes that this is especially the case for new student teachers that seek principals who support innovative new teaching techniques but instead are confronted by principals who demand that they teach to the test.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO MEET THE NEED FOR APPROPRIATELY

TRAINED TEACHERS DUE TO THE CHANGING AGE-DISTRIBUTION OF

THE POPULATION?

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In situations like this teacher preparation programs and school curricula commonly ignore local educational needs. This limits learning by not capitalizing on the capacity and knowledge that students bring to school from their rich and varied lives. It also prevents both students and teachers from becoming involved in the critical practice of knowledge construction. For example, in the Caribbean the syllabi for lower secondary schools are highly centered on the CXC. Yet only twenty-three percent of the age-appropriate cohort actually takes this test. This brings up serious questions as to whether this curriculum is appropriate for most students and their teachers (Craig, 1998 as cited in Jennings, 2001).

Several countries are currently or have recently completed identifying a new teacher ‘profile’, identifying the traits that teachers should have in order to respond to changing social needs and realities. Mexico has drawn this profile to include such traits as fluency in two languages, mastery of new technologies, thorough academic and pedagogical knowledge and skills, and communication dexterity. Bolivia includes traits such as knowledge of the social needs of their students, and promotion of democratic values and social integration. Trinidad and Tobago has also added that teachers should be able to build learning communities in their classrooms and that they should be independent professionals (Professional Development Videoconference, July 31, 2003). These profiles are important initial steps which can support the creation of education policies that do reflect contemporary school realities. On their own, however, these profiles do not guarantee any change in actual teacher identity. It is critical that countries not hide harsh truths with pretty profiles but rather use these profiles to create meaningful change in schools.

Addressing the needs of diverse populations

Rather than preparing teachers to work with a mythical “normal” child, teacher professional development must ensure that teachers are educated to work with the children that they teach or will teach in the future. This is complicated by the fact that most teachers-in-training do not know specifically about the population they will be working with, and increasingly, as countries become more urbanized and heterogenous, teachers face tremendous diversity within one classroom or from year to year. One potential solution to this difficulty is to prepare teachers with the capacity for reflection about their practice: to conduct research about their students and their own teaching methods, and to experiment and adapt their practice based on student needs and outcomes. Armed with these skills, and with a firm foundation in integrated content knowledge and pedagogical techniques, teachers should be able to transform and adapt their own practice to support the diverse and changing needs of their students. This next section looks at the current situation as it related to the relevancy of teacher education in terms of working with indigenous, poor, and rural students.

Box 3.8: Colombia: Program for the Permanent Training of Teachers (PFPD)

This PFPD program was developed as an alternative to the proliferation of short and bad quality courses often available to teachers. The objectives of PFPD are to prepare teachers for the everyday challenges faced in the classroom and to prepare teachers to participate in school management. The program emphasizes a method that is based on practice rather than abstract theory. The program lasts for one year and teachers are encouraged to enroll every 3-4 years to update their skills and knowledge base. Unique to this model is the integration of teacher training into overall school improvement projects. Additionally, program training is offered by both private and public institutions that are certified. This allows for more diversity in terms of materials and methodologies (PREAL 2001).

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY EVALUATE TEACHER PRACTICE? WHAT ARE SOME

USEFUL INDICATORS?

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Teacher Education and Indigenous Populations

A pressing concern in the Americas is the professionalization of teachers who work with indigenous children and communities. The history of education for the indigenous in modern nation states in the Americas is one of repression, violence, and acculturation. Education of indigenous populations came very late in many countries. In Mexico, indigenous education began in the 1920s and was largely aimed at destroying indigenous culture and identity (Dawson, 2001). In the United States, Indian children were kidnapped from their families and forced into English speaking boarding schools. In Bolivia, where over fifty percent of the population speaks an indigenous language, bilingual education was not implemented until the 1970s and then only in a few schools (McEwan and Jiménez, 2002).

Tragically, the education of indigenous children continues to this day to be highly inferior to non-indigenous children in most areas of the Americas. A study of indigenous education in Peru, for example, argued that characteristics of indigenous communities – culture, language, geographic location – have deleterious effects on student outcomes due to traditions of mestizo-centered prejudiced curricula and social attitudes and beliefs manifested in teaching practices (Hoover and Wolforth 1997). Not a surprising conclusion, this observation shows how the cultural, linguistic, and historical richness of indigenous communities is turned into disadvantage due to inappropriate and biased teaching practices resulting in increased incidence of student failure. Other studies in diverse countries have come to similar conclusions, finding that indigenous children have lower school attainment, lower achievement, and higher drop-out and repetitions rates (see Chapter One of this document on Equity and Quality).

Indigenous schools have teachers with lower education levels, fewer years of experience, and a greater likelihood of being uncertified (Reimers, 2000). Furthermore, in several countries including Bolivia and Mexico teachers in bilingual indigenous schools regularly do not speak the appropriate indigenous language (see, for example, McEwan and Jiménez, 2002). Countries are attempting to rectify these inequities through compensatory programs, such as bilingual-intercultural schooling,

that prepare teachers to reverse the discriminatory practices of indigenous education. Many of these compensatory programs work with teachers to sensitize and prepare them to support the unique needs of indigenous populations (see Box 3.9). Bilingual certification in the United States, multicultural curriculum development in Mexico, and a Masters programs in Bilingual/Multicultural Education in Bolivia are examples of innovations to address the weakness of teacher practice in

bilingual schools. Other projects seek to prepare members of indigenous communities to be local teachers. Although some of these programs are successful others have yet to demonstrate marked results in indigenous education (Villegas-Reimers, 1998). More sustained efforts must be directed at supporting the education of indigenous teachers and teachers who work with indigenous populations.

Teacher Education to Support the Learning Needs of the Poor

Box 3.9: Peru: Rural Andean Teacher Certification ProgramPeru has implemented an in-service professional development program for unqualified teachers with the primary goal of reaffirming and strengthening the cultural and linguistic identity of Quechua-speaking people. Through interdisciplinary modules based around themes in Andean daily life this program has successfully supported teachers in perceiving their role as bilingual and intercultural role models for students and communities (Hoover and Wolforth 1997).

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Populations that lack economic resources have unique needs. These needs vary person to person and community to community but they may include issues such as malnutrition, child labor, limited adult supervision, high levels of community violence, illiterate parents or parents with little education, unstable living conditions, and lack of electricity, water, or other basic resources. Public basic education, in most countries, tends to have a high proportion of students who are poor or extremely poor as wealthier students are more likely to enroll in private schools. Yet teacher education for those teachers working with poor children is often highly deficient and not designed specifically with the needs of these communities in mind. Studies in the United States, for example, have shown that teachers of the poor are more likely to lack the basic minimum teaching qualifications and are more likely to teach a subject area that they did not study (Ingersoll, 2002).

Teachers serving the poor frequently have fewer years of schooling that those serving the middle-class, and wealthy. Whether or not years of schooling is a useful indicator of teacher quality is a debated issue (discussed above) but the importance that many assign to years of schooling coupled with this inequality between wealthy and poor schools is nonetheless a testament to unequal teacher preparation. Reimers (2000) found that teachers had significantly lower levels of education in disadvantaged schools in México where higher percentages of fathers were illiterate. In schools where teachers had only lower secondary degrees thirty percent of fathers were illiterate. In schools where teachers had tertiary education degrees only nine percent of fathers were illiterate. The inferior education level of teachers in poor areas is, at least in part, a purposeful policy initiative in Mexico to encourage local community members - knowledgeable of local culture, history, peoples and languages – to teach in their own communities despite limited education and training (see the CONAFE program discussed above).

This brings up a difficult dilemma in differentiated teacher education programs for distinct populations. While on the one hand it is critical that teachers are familiar with and incorporate the specific learning needs, experiences, and background of the children they work with; on the other hand, it must be ensured that alternative training programs such as emergency certification programs for teachers of the indigenous, rural or poor do not offer inferior education.

Teacher Education for Rural Schools

Similar to teachers serving indigenous and economically disadvantaged students, teachers working in rural areas face unique challenges in their preparation and ongoing education. Teacher preparation for rural teachers is often worse than that of urban teachers and in-service professional development is frequently inaccessible in rural areas. In rural areas there are also substantially higher proportions of teachers without training or who lack the baseline requirements for teaching.

What is worse, these weaknesses in teacher education are coupled by more demanding and difficult teaching environments. Many rural teachers teach multiple ages and grade levels simultaneously in multigrade schools. Many have harsh working conditions often having to live in the school itself or travel long distances to get there. Many more work with students who have a

Years of Schooling of Teachers by Country and Type of School

10 12 14 16

BoliviaBrazilChile

ColombiaCosta Rica

EcuadorEl Salvador

HondurasP anama

P araguayUruguay

Venezuela

MarginalUrban

Figure 3.7

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greater likelihood of being poor, hungry or malnourished, or who do not speak the teacher’s language (Villegas-Reimers, 1998).

Liang’s study of teacher salaries in twelve Latin American countries found that teachers are paid less in rural areas than non-rural areas, even once controlling for years of education, experience and other variables (1999). This finding was especially surprising considering that many countries have implemented salary bonuses or incentives for rural teachers.

Figure 3.7 shows the average years of schooling of teachers in urban and “marginalized”25

schools in various Latin American countries. On average, teachers in marginalized schools have fewer years of schooling on average than teachers in urban settings. This is the case in ten of the twelve countries studied. Costa Rica and Paraguay are exceptions to this tendency. These countries support learning in marginalized schools by placing well-educated teachers in those communities. In Costa Rica teachers in marginal schools have more average years of schooling than teachers in urban schools, while in Paraguay urban and marginalized teachers have equivalent years of education.

In other countries the inequities between rural and urban teachers are tremendous. Brazil, for example, a country with one of the greatest inequalities of wealth in the world, suffers acutely from these inequities. In 1999, teachers in the poor, rural Northeast – a region with a large proportion of black Brazilians – had close to fifty times as many first to fourth grade teachers with eight or fewer years of education than the urban Southeast. Even within geographic regions twenty percent more urban teachers had higher education degrees than rural teachers (Delannoy & Sedlacek 2001).

Quality

Given the broad range of national and subnational contexts in the Americas and given the diversity of ideas of and goals for education it is difficult to identify what precisely makes high-quality teacher education. Indeed, there is no definitive conception of what constitutes a “good” teacher and so the components or qualities of the programs and institutions that train teachers are also subject to interpretation, fluctuation, and contestation. Despite these ongoing debates there is general consensus among countries that the role and work of teachers is critically important and, because of this, so too their education.

Because of the diversity of contexts and educational visions, however, most of the specific indicators of quality are context-based and must be discussed and determined on a sub-regional, national, or local level (see Boxes 3.10 and 3.11). This chapter defines quality in teacher education, then, as the ability of teacher education programs to support the type of human development, learning, and capacity building identified as goals by Ministries of Education or more decentralized authorities.

25 An imperfect indicator – termed “difficult schools” by the author of the study (Liang, 1999) – constructed to differentiate between urban and rural or less urban settings encompassing rural schools, multigrades schools, indigenous schools etc depending on the sample of schools in each country

Box 3.10: Uruguay: Regional Teacher Centers

CERP is an intensive residential teacher preparation program that focuses on preparing teachers for difficult and disadvantaged school settings and which promotes professional prestige though highly intensive and demanding work. Students participating in CERP live on-campus and are immersed in the culture and work of teacher professionalization. CERP offers a series of incentives that attract high quality applicants to the program. This program successfully reduced the participant drop-out rate from 40-50% in traditional teacher training programs to 5% in the CERP Program.

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Most countries in the Americas have, themselves, identified problems if not crises in what they deem the quality of teachers and their preparation in their nation. The critiques of professional development follow clear patterns – concentrating primarily on issues of curriculum, methodology, teacher educators, and internal efficiency. These issues will be briefly addressed. It should be kept in mind that some countries may not consider one or more of these areas problematic or they may feel that the area is problematic in ways that are not addressed in this paper. If this is the case hopefully the country will be willing to share some of their successes with other nations who are experiencing challenges in that area. The attempt here is to synthesize the general trends concerning challenges in the quality of professional development.

Curriculum

Curriculum in many teacher education programs, both in-service and pre-service, is outdated and deficient. Tatto, 2000, in her international overview of teacher preparation research, describes how much of the content of teacher education programs offers weak and disjointed content area knowledge, little practicum, and heavy theory and pedagogy. Similarly Villegas-Reimers and Reimers (1996) identify global problems including the separation of content knowledge from

Box 3.11: Nicaragua: Microcentros de Intercapacitación - Proyecto BASE

This project has linked up teachers in neighboring schools, both rural and urban, multi-grade and traditional, bilingual and monolingual, in teacher quality circles. While still in incipient stages these circles offer teachers the opportunity for increased professionalization within their own professional development. Teacher circles meet on at least a bimonthly basis to choose in-service topics, conduct and participate in workshops, and share experiences in a school-based setting. This highly decentralized form of teacher professional development is based on concepts of reflective practice, self-inquiry, and teacher-centered professional transformation. Several elements including the relatively small size of the micro-center groups, the school-based setting, the leadership of teachers in the groups, and the active participation and relationship-building of involved teachers are exciting new developments in professionalization in Nicaragua. Other factors, including lack of sustained support from the ministry, continued traditional didactic methods need to be addressed in order to fully actualize the policy intentions of this innovation.

Box 3.12: Argentina: School Management Program

Looking at the needs of all actors - teachers, principals and supervisors – the School Management Program in Argentina bases the professionalization process on intercommunication and responses to current trends and needs in education. Through in-service training by means of long distance innovative methodologies and technology these actors also reflect on their new roles, while affirming the value of their existing knowledge. This process of professionalization empowers teachers and allows them to not see isolated training programs as an end in themselves, but rather as part of a continuum of lifelong learning (Pozner, 2003).

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN A BALANCE BE STRUCK BETWEEN CENTRALIZED GUIDELINES AND CURRICULAR AND

PEDAGOGICAL AUTONOMY IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS THAT CAN PROMOTE BOTH

STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE AND ADAPTATION TO DIVERSE NEEDS?

51

pedagogy, the widespread absence of updated topics such as educational technology and pressing challenges like high drop-out and repetition rates, and the overall lack of curricular evaluation in teacher education programs and institutions. Studies that focus specifically on the Americas or sub-regions within the Americas find parallel challenges. These include overly theoretical training, little application to teachers’ work in classrooms, and piecemeal rather than total updating of content resulting in burdensome and fragmented curricula that do not meet the diverse demands of current education plans (PREAL, 2001; Avalos, 2000; Villegas-Reimers, 1998; Delannoy et al 2000; Torres 2000; Rosas 2000).

Teachers serving impoverished, rural, and ethno-linguistic minority students are often trained using national curricula which, in most instances, do not sufficiently address the pressing concerns of linguistic barriers, poverty, malnutrition, high repetition and drop-out rates affecting these populations (Villegas-Reimers 1998). The possible benefits of efficiency and equality afforded by

national teacher education curricula are counterbalanced with potential negative consequences of not addressing diverse and divergent needs of these populations (see Boxes 3.12 and 3.13 for innovations in teacher education curriculum).

PedagogyA second area of concern in teacher education is

the pedagogy employed in programs and institutions. Here again, there is a common disconnection or, as Rosa María Torres (1996) puts it, a contradiction between the active methodology promoted in education plans and the protracted use of traditional and passive methods in those very institutions that are teaching teachers how to teach (Villegas-Reimers, 1998; Navarro and Verdisco, 2000; Torres 2000; Rosas 2000).

It is of the utmost concern that while primary and secondary education plans embrace the idea of constructivist, creative, and critical education that many teachers in the hemisphere themselves lack these skills. Qualitative studies of teachers have noted these deficiencies in such far-reaching

countries as Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. The continued use of these traditional methods, Villegas-Reimers (1998) argues, “reproduces the traditional teaching systems and the unjust social organization of societies” (p.11).

Clearly, if teachers themselves do not think in critical and creative ways they will not be able to teach their students these skills. A study of professional development in México found that pedagogical methods had highly significant explanatory power in relation to student achievement (Lopez-Acevedo 2002). This factor was much more important than even the presence of didactic material in the classroom.

Again, studying and evaluating methodology is a complicated matter and not always predictable. In some cases the use of manuals and texts - traditional media - has been shown to increase teacher reflective practice by supporting teacher independence while at other times

Box 3.13: Bolivia: The Andean sub-regional Masters Program in Intercultural Bilingual Education at The Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba

Since its inception in 1998, this collaborative effort between Andean nations has five interconnected goals. These include: a Masters degree in Bilingual Intercultural Education for indigenous language speaking individuals in the field of education; academic and applied research on education in multiethnic and multilingual settings; publication of scholarship on these themes; technical services to diverse institutions working in this field; stimulation and creation of a network of Bilingual Intercultural Education training programs. This program is widely considered a success due to its high internal efficiency (almost zero program desertion) and the diverse and important positions where graduates of the program now work throughout the Andean countries (López 2001).

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interactive methods do not have the desired results because they are not targeted to instructional themes or are poorly-implemented (Tatto, 2000).

A recent study in Argentina indicated that teachers in that country continue to think of their work in traditional ways despite education reforms. Teachers say that they see their work as a vocation rather than as a professional career (Regina Gibaja as cited in Alvarez and Majmudar 2001). In Nicaragua, the Curricular Transformation reform in the mid-1990s attempted to change the role of the student,

converting it into the principal actor of their own education. Similarly, this reform called for the transformation of the role of the teacher, converting it into a facilitator of children’s learning processes. But except for a small number of schools that receive concentrated training, this reform has yet to succeed in changing teacher and student roles. Continued traditional didactic methods in normal schools and insufficient and poor-quality in-service workshops have prevented successful implementation of this reform in much of the country.

For education reforms calling for active, student-centered learning to become successful, teachers’ education should support the professionalization of teachers—helping them become agents of educational transformation (Torres, 2000; Schiefelbien, 2000). Methods to support meaningful teacher professionalization are varied and context-based but include techniques such as teachers as classroom action-researchers, teachers creating and adapting curriculum, teacher professional development circles, and opportunities for teachers to share experiences and innovations at conferences, in publications or in professional associations. This professionalization of teachers will also require the incorporation of teachers into the development and implementation of education reforms.

Teacher Educators

Another widespread challenge concerns teacher educators – those teaching current and future teachers. There are very few studies or evaluations of teacher educators despite the critical role that these individuals play. Jennings (2001) notes that few countries of the Caribbean, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, mention measurement and evaluation of teacher trainers in their national education plans. This deficiency is true in much of the hemisphere. Tatto, (2000) in her review of teacher preparation research found only one study dealing with this issue. Either the professional education and study of teacher educators remains an after-thought within the ministries’ education plans or it is disregarded all together.

General knowledge, however, holds that the preparation of teacher educators themselves is poor. In Jamaica, Belize, and Paraguay, for example, teacher educators are only required to have undergraduate university or teaching degrees and have little if any additional training in how to work with teachers (Villegas-Reimers 1998). Added to this problem is the fact that there is a frequent lack of communication between schools and training institutes/programs, making it difficult for teacher educators to keep classes and workshops relevant and up-to-date (Villegas-Reimers, 1998).

Internal Efficiency

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

DESPITE POLICIES’ FREQUENT ESPOUSAL OF THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF

TEACHERS, TEACHERS THEMSELVES OFTEN REMAIN IN PASSIVE,

TRADITIONAL ROLES. HOW DO WE MOVE BEYOND ‘CONFERRED

PROFESSIONALISM’ TO ‘ASSUMED PROFESSIONALISM’ IN WHICH TEACHERS

TAKE ON AGENCY IN THEIR PRACTICE? (NÚÑEZ 2000)

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

WHAT SYSTEMS NEED TO BE IN PLACE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING TO

BE MORE FLUID AND LESS DISJOINTED AT EVERY POINT IN THE

LIFE OF A TEACHER’S CAREER?

53

Pre-service training institutions also suffer from high repetition and drop-out rates. This is likely to be due to a combination of both the severe quality issues discussed above along with the characteristics of the student population in teacher training programs. Again there is little available data on this phenomenon, but, in the province of Chuquisaca, Bolivia, for example, between 1991 and 1998 only 13.5 percent of enrolled students in normal schools graduated (Alvarez, 2001).

Innovations

In recent years countries throughout the hemisphere have implemented reforms which address challenges in teacher professional development. Many of these reforms have begun to show encouraging results. Some of these innovations have been presented in the boxes scattered throughout this chapter. Other reforms, however, have not had the intended impact and/or have been perceived as intrusive and alarming. This is particularly true for those reforms that undermine the strength of teachers’ unions, those that are not in-depth or sufficiently sustained to support real change, or those which demand increased work from teachers without ensuring that teachers have sufficient capacity to successfully perform that work.

In general, however, one of the challenges faced in overcoming the challenges with teacher preparation in the Americas is that due to weaknesses in educational research and the relatively recent implementation of many of these reforms, there is very limited reliable data about what reforms are working and why.

It is worthwhile to repeat at this point that this chapter does not look to propose any of these innovations as models for countries. Moreover, the intent is to open dialogue between and within nations in the effort to improve teacher education in the hemisphere. This section synthesizes a few of the trends in teacher education in the Americas.

Professionalization

A guiding principle of many teacher education reforms is to support the professionalization of teachers. Professionalization (Burke, 1996) is the internal process in which teachers gain autonomy, competence, decision-making power, and agency in their work. This movement comes as a reaction to what has been termed the “proletarization” of the teaching force (Perrenoud, 1996), referring to the degeneration of the professional role of teachers into inactive inputs in the education equation. Specific reforms based on the goal of increasing the professionalization of teachers are varied (some are discussed below such as microcenters and action-research) but generally these reforms encourage teachers to take increasing responsibility for their own education and classroom practice.

Lifelong learning

The concept of life-long learning is another concept that lies at the foundation of many recent reforms. This concept views teacher education as a permanent and ongoing process rather than limited to specific periods of education. The concept is a fundamental diversion from previous structures of teacher professional development in that it requires that teachers’ education be offered on a continual basis. It also requires that teacher professional development institutions work together to create a cohesive whole rather than disjointed moments of preparation and training.

Box 3.14: Colombia: National Teacher Preparation Program

This recent professional development decentralization reform allows Superior Normal Schools and Universities to function with curricular autonomy following guidelines and policies of the central government. Flexible curricula with guidelines to ensure national standards for content and equality allow for local adaptation to meet the needs of the sub-region’s diverse population, notably the indigenous peoples.

54

Teachers as leaders/reformers

This innovation involves incorporating teachers into leadership, policy-maker, and curriculum-designer positions. It is a change in that rather than passively hearing about reforms and then having the task of implementing them, teachers are the spearheads and catalysts behind educational transformation and improvement. One complication in this innovation is assuring that a handful of teachers are not brought on as token participants in the reform process but rather that all teachers have the ongoing opportunity to participate in these active leadership roles. Reforms which support exchanges between policy and practice positions are an example of this type of innovation.

Decentralization

Countries in the Americas have strikingly different levels and types of educational decentralization. Some countries like Canada and the United States are highly decentralized administratively and financially. In Canada, teacher certification requirements are entirely determined by province or territory (FISK 2000).26 Though the United States has a long history of decentralized management, the country is now rapidly centralizing pedagogical and curricular control with the current push towards standards and evaluation. Meanwhile, many other countries are taking the opposite path, moving from centralized to decentralized administrative control of education (see Box 3.14). This has in some cases, particularly in Central America, resulted in weakening the power of teachers and teacher unions by placing control over hiring, firing, and salary decisions in the hands of local school councils.

This example is illustrative of the double-edge of the concept of decentralization. While decentralization is critical to empowering local communities and teachers towards greater agency and professionalization (Perrenoud, 1996), it can also paradoxically result in disempowerment and increased inequality (Torres, 1996). In Chile, for example, initial teacher education is conducted almost exclusively in universities, institutions that have high levels of autonomy and decentralization. There is, therefore, a great heterogeneity of curricula, requirements, length of study etc, a condition that has resulted in very different characteristics, skills, and levels of quality among trained teachers. While differing skills and characteristics can be highly beneficial, unfortunately, these differences often manifest hierarchically along lines of traditional social segmentation (Núñez Prieto 2000).

This is not to discount the importance of decentralization but rather to emphasize the importance of careful planning and implementation of decentralization policies. As U.S. education expert, Linda Darling-Hammond (2001), wrote: “Bureaucratic solutions to problems of practice will always fail because

26 http://www.kingsu.ab.ca/~fisc/teacher.htm

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

HOW ARE OUR REFORMS IN TEACHER EDUCATION RELATED TO LARGER REFORMS

OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM? ARE THERE WAYS OF MAKING THESE CONNECTIONS

STRONGER?

55

effective teaching is not routine, students are not passive, and questions of practice are not simple, predictable, or standardized. Consequently, instructional decisions cannot be formulated on high then packaged and handed down to teachers."

Integrated reforms

This trend deals with the integration of teacher education reforms into over-arching education reforms in structure, curriculum, and pedagogy and/or teacher human development reforms in salaries, incentives and working conditions. Crosscutting and complementary reforms have been demonstrated to more effectively improve student learning outcomes (Lowden, 1999). One example of such an integrated reform is Colombia’s recent professional development reform, Sistema Nacional de Formación de Educadores. This reform is part of a national curriculum reform (Tatto 2000). As is stated by the Colombian Ministry of Education: “…there is no hesitation in linking the transformation of schools and strengthening of educational quality with the modification of the function of teachers and the enrichment of their professional development” (Artunduaga, no date, p.9).27

Another form of integrating reforms is bringing key stakeholders into the reform design and implementation process in order to elicit wider support and more effective implementation. Stakeholders, such as teachers’ unions, can often make or break reforms and non-governmental organizations, international organizations and the private sector can have critical insights and

resources to support teacher education.

Action-research

Action-research is one method of teacher professionalization. Action-research involves teachers in a research process in which they reflect on the specific realities that they face in their classrooms, identify challenges or problems they wish to resolve, make hypotheses about these challenges, develop strategies to resolve them, and then, implement, evaluate, and modify their strategies. This process has been implemented in such far reaching countries as Lesotho in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States (Stuart, 1991).

Action-research initiatives are being implemented in both in-service and pre-service programs. El

27 Translated from the Spanish: “…no dudan en vincular la transformación de la escuela y el fortalecimiento de la calidad educativa con la modificación de la función de los maestros y el enriquecimiento de su desarrollo profesional.”

Box 3.15: Costa Rica: Program for Educational Computer Science (PIE and PRIES)

Initiated in 1988 in primary schools and 1994 in secondary schools the Program for Educational Computer Science is an educational quality reform which seeks to improve student learning and achievement and democratize access to technology through access to and knowledge of computers. By 1998 over half of all of Costa Rica’s primary schools were equipped with computers. A key component of these initiatives is teacher professional development for those teaching Computer Science classes. Professional development opportunities include intensive in-service workshops, academic programs for pre-service accreditation in educational computer science, and a biannual national conference. These strategies are aimed at building horizontal relations between teachers and students towards the cooperative building of knowledge. Evaluations of this program have shown it to have decreased student absenteeism at the primary level and increase student achievement in almost all academic subject areas at both the primary and secondary levels. Studies at the primary level also indicate that the program has had a positive influence on social conceptions of school, school enrollment and student self-esteem and autonomy. Continuing challenges in this program include expanding access to computers to all schools at both the primary and secondary level and providing more and better training to all teachers (PREAL Best Practices website, Gurdián 1999).

56

Salvador, for example, is spearheading an initiative to develop research capacities as a core skill in teacher preparation programs in universities.

Technology

Recent reforms in teacher education are also using technology to enrich and strengthen outcomes. Several of such reforms are highlighted in the boxes in this chapter. Technology used in such programs as distance teacher training for uncertified teachers allows geographically isolated teachers to receive quality programming. Also programs which support teachers’ working knowledge of advanced technologies using computers allow teachers to communicate with one another and support enriched learning of both themselves and their students (see Boxes 3.15 and 3.16).

Microcenters

Microcenters are an informal professional development innovation comprised of groups of teachers, usually from one or a small group of schools, who come together on a regular basis to work together on improving their practice. Countries such as Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Nicaragua have microcenter programs (see Box 3.17). While microcenters vary from country to country, and indeed from school to school, they are based on the idea of sustainable peer-professionalization. Teachers meet together and discuss their practice in the classroom, share the difficulties and successes that they experience, and develop plans and strategies for

improvement. Sometimes these strategies take the form of action-research in the classroom, sometimes of developing strategic improvement plans, sometimes teachers choose themes for

Box 3.16: Caribbean: The University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE)

The UWIDITE program provides long distance education based on interactive teleconferencing networks. The program operates out of campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago and serves an additional eleven other countries through an alternative model to the traditional pre-service education programs. Learning centers are equipped with microphones, speakers, and audio-graphic equipment for interactive teleconferencing, as well as videos, tapes and printed material for offline work. The in-service component has wide appeal because it allows students to work and study from non-campus territories (Hall and Marrett, 1996).

Box 3.17: Chile – Rural Teacher Microcenters – MECE RURAL

This exciting innovation begun in 1992 brings rural teachers working in multi-grade or incomplete schools together in groups to analyze their practice, exchange pedagogical experiences, design curriculum and activities, and create new ways of teaching. The microcenters are also a space to participate in workshops offered by ministerial technicians and non-governmental organizations. The goal of rural microcenters is to stimulate innovation and promote learning through lifelong teacher professionalization. The policy acknowledges that teachers know the needs, strengths and difficulties present in their communities best and are, therefore, the most appropriate people to design and promote change in their schools. These microcenters are gaining in strength and influence and while studies have shown that they have not yet stimulated dramatic change in classroom practice, they have created better relations between teachers and technicians (Ministry of Education Chile).

57

workshops and themselves lead activities, and sometimes the teaching circle decides to bring in external individuals to lead them in professional development sessions on particular topics.

Microcenters are generally based upon three key assumptions. The first assumption is that each educational experience, context, and situation is different and requires distinct and individualized improvement strategies. The second assumption is that teachers themselves, as the individuals with daily knowledge and experience in the classroom, are the individuals who know and understand their schools and students best. And finally microcenters are based on the assumption that teachers working together with state support are necessary to create real pedagogical innovation in schools (MINEDUC 2002).

Conclusion

This chapter has examined the challenges, debates, and innovations in the preparation, education, and professionalization of teachers in the Americas. From this chapter it is clear that the challenges are great. As scholar Rosa Maria Torres wrote: “While policy formulation elicits the ideal teacher, policy implementation does not take the required stops to build such a teacher” (1996, p.448). Yet what is also clear is that many of the challenges in the education of teachers are shared by multiple countries irrespective of size, wealth, or location. While on the one hand this demonstrates the scope of the work ahead necessary to confront and resolve these problems, it also creates opportunities for countries to share, discuss, and learn from one another. As Sarmiento and Mann in the nineteenth century came together in their nations’ efforts to build public schools, so too can Ministers of Education, policy-makers, and, of course, teachers themselves come together today in horizontal cooperation, knowledge sharing, and critical transference.

The preparation and ongoing education of high-quality teachers does not require rocket science. In the innovations section and from the many promising programs and reforms highlighted in this chapter we can see that the hemisphere has already assembled and put into action many important lessons, ideas, and policy examples. What is critical now is that Ministries of Education demonstrate commitment and persistence in their efforts to improve teacher quality. Sound policies, accurate and honest implementation, articulation between sectors, sufficient economic, material, and personnel support, and steadfastness may indeed be the only magic ingredients in the challenge to improve teacher practice.

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION…

HOW CAN MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION AND MINISTERIAL TEACHER EDUCATION

DEPARTMENTS IN DISTINCT COUNTRIES COLLABORATE MORE EXTENSIVELY

CONCERNING RESEARCH, CONSOLIDATED PROGRAMS, RESOURCES, AND CHALLENGES?

58

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68

AppendicesAppendix 1

Figure 1a: Nicaragua, Average minimum grade completed, age 15-19, 1998 (%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich MenMiddle Income MenMiddle Income WomenPoor Women

Figure 1c: Guatemala, Average minimum grade completed, 15-19 years, 1996 (%)

PerúTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 2000 , %

707580859095100

1E dad

#REF! #REF!

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich MenMiddle Income MenMiddle Income WomenPoor WomenRich WomenPoor Men

Source: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research Group, The World Bank

Figure 1b: Dominican Republic, Average minimum grade completed, 15-19 years, 1996 (%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Rich MenMiddle Income MenMiddle Income WomenPoor Women

Figure 1d: Nicaragua, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 (%)

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Total Urban Men Rural Women

Source: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

Figure 1e: Dominican Republic, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1996 (%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Total Urban Men Rural Women

Source: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

BrasilGrado promedio de escolaridad, 15-19 años, 1996 (%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grado

Total Urban Men Rural Women

Figure 1f: Guatemala, Net Enrollment Rate by age 1999 (%)

ChileTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

Costa RicaTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

República DominicanaTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

EcuadorTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1Edad

El SalvadorTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

ParaguayTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

PerúTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 2000(%)

7580859095100

1E dad

UruguayTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

VenezuelaTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

020406080100

1E dad

CanadáTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 1998(%)

02 04 06 08 01 00

1

E d a d

PerúTasa neta de escolarización por edad simple, 2000, %

707580859095100

1E dad

#REF! #REF!

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Grade

Total Urban Men Rural Women

Source: "Educational Attainment and Enrollment Profiles: A Resource Book based on an Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data" by Deon Filmer. 2000 and updates. Mimeo. Development Research

69Appendix 2

Typical Ages in Primary and Secondary Education and Net Enrollment Rates by Age Groups*

CountryLength & Ages of Mandatory

SchoolingNet Enrollment1

Year

Ages4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Latin America and the Caribbean

At any grade level a 1991 23 43.2 76.6 95 96.3 94.6 94.3 91.6 86 78.8 68.6 56.7 47.5 42.3 37.7 32.9

In primarya 1991

In Secondary a 1991

Anguilla

1 Antigua y Barbuda

12 years, ages 5-16

2 Argentina

10 years, ages 5-14

At any grade level b 1998 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 97 95 80 70 63 30

In primaryc 1997 1.9

In Lower Secondary c 1997 9.3

In Upper Secondary c 1997 47.3

In primaryd 1997 4 100 100 100 100 100 100 93.4 27.5 11.2 3.5 0.8 0.2 0.1

3 Bahamas

12 years, ages 5-16

In primaryd 1993 90 98.4 100 99.4 100 99.1 13.2

In Secondary e 1993 90.9 92.2 87.3 87.4 84.6 75.5 16.4 6.8 0.6 8.2

4 Barbados

12 years, ages 5-16

In primaryd 1991 91 90.1 93.2 86.7 86.2 83.9 11.6

5 Belize

10 years, ages 5-14

In primaryd 1994 97 100 100 100 99.1 100 95.2 87.4 61 26.1 8.5

In Secondary e 1992 0.3 5.3 21.9 40.5 43.5 37.4 25.6 12.2 4.2 1.7

6 Bolivia

18 years, ages 6-13

At any grade level k 1997 87.8 95.9 97.9 99.1 98.8 99.5 99.2 99.1 98.7

In primaryd 1990 5 90.2 100 100 100 97.2 84.3 72.2 58.2 20.3 6.8 2.5 0.4

7 Brazil

708 years, ages 7-14

At any grade level k 1996 82.7 93.6 96.1 95.9 96.4 95.9 95.4 92.6 88.4

In primaryf 1997 8.7

In Lower Secondary f 1997 29.6

In upper Secondary f 1997 31.6

In primaryd 1994 21.8 76.7 91.2 95.3 96.1 96.5 95.5 89.3 76.7 63.9 37.1 24.1 13 9.4 7.1

8 Canada

varies by province

In primaryd 1995 27 91 99.2 100 100 89.4 87.1 13.3 1.6 0.1

En secundaria e 1995 11 13.3 86.9 99.6 99.7 98 92.8 69.4 34.3 10.5 13.4

9 Chile

8 years, ages 6-13

At any grade level b 1998 40 97 100 100 99 97 96 94 92 89 90 80 56

In primaryg 1997 0.9

In Lower Secondary g 1997 2.4

In Upper Secondary g 1997 71.5

In primaryd 1996 40.1 99.5 98.6 95.4 94.1 93.3 93.1 92.4 69.4 23.7 7.7 2 0.4

10 Colombia

10 years, ages 5-14

At any grade level k 2000 80.3 91.9 96.1 96.3 95.6 92.8 90 85.3 80.7

At any grade level h 1999 28.8 66.5 82.3 91.2 96.6 99.3 98.5 88.2 85.4 77.7 71.5 62.7 53.6 37.2 22.6

In primaryd 1996 10 70.5 85.9 90.9 91.4 85.4 54.8 37.8 22.1 13.7 3.7 1.3 0.5 0.7

In Secondary e 1995 9.3 30.5 45.2 52.2 53.5 49.5 43.2 33.5 23.6 17.1 12.2

11 Costa Rica

10 years, ages 6-15

At any grade level b 1998 60 95 100 100 99 96 90 80 63 49 41 28 10

In primaryd 1997 55.9 92.6 97.6 94.4 96.6 97.2 60 20.9 7.2 1.8 0.4 0.1

In Secondary e 1997 0.3 22.1 40.5 40 33.6 28.7 16 4.9 1.3 0.4

12 Cuba

9 years, ages 6-14

In primaryd 1996 5 100 100 100 99.9 95.7 93.3 21.7 7 1.9 0.5

In Secondary e 1993 0.1 11.5 71.6 75.5 71.7 50.1 49.2 39.1 25.4 14.3 9.9

13 Dominica

13 years, ages 5-17

14 Dominican Republic

9 years, ages 5-13

At any grade level k 1996 88.6 91.9 92.7 94.9 94.3 96.1 95.2 94.5 90.2

At any grade level b 1998 71 92 99 98 95 90 88 87 77 70 60 48 35

71In Secondary e 1993 0.5 2.6 6.2 15.8 21.8 25.7 27.7 21.5 14 7.8

15 Ecuador

10 years, ages 5-14

At any grade level b 1998 97 100 100 99 99 97 86 71 61 52 51 44 29

In primaryd 1996 16 94.8 99.2 100 100 98.5 87.1 46.8 21 10.8 5 2.2 1 1.4

16 El Salvador

9 years, ages 7-15

At any grade level b 1998 10 45 80 92 97 96 95 88 82 72 62 55 41

In primaryd 1995 3 33.6 81.3 86.2 82.9 87.8 80.6 84.5 80.9 71.3 48.2 25.2 12 8.2

17 Granada

n/d

18 Guatemala

11 years, ages 5-15

At any grade level k 1999 43.5 72.1 82 87.8 88.5 84.7 78.3 68.3 57.4

In primaryd 1997 13.1 65.7 74 77.2 77.9 72.8 67.4 44.6 26 17.3

19 Guyana

10 years, ages 6-15

In primaryd 1995 75 93.7 99.2 96.9 88.8 70.4 41.7

In Secondary e 1995 27.2 66.6 79.6 76.9 62.5 39.2 21.3 4

20 Haiti

6 years, ages 6-11

At any grade level k 1994 56.9 67.2 74.4 77.3 75.1 78.2 80.3 82.6 82.7

In primaryd 1990 1 8.7 15.8 22.4 25.5 31.9 31.6 35.6 35.4 33.2 28.7 23.7 37.9

21 Honduras

6 years, ages 7-12

In primaryd 1993 49.6 87.9 97.3 95.3 95.3 87.8 76.8 49.1 33.8

In Secondary e 1991 2 10.6 17.7 21.8 22.2 22.1 19.1 16.2 11.8 10

22 Jamaica

6 years, ages 6-11

In primaryd 1992 1 77.4 97.4 100 100 99.7 91.7 30.6 2.1

In Secondary e 1992 9.7 67.2 95.8 95 80.8 64.1 30.4 8.8 0.1

23 Mexico

9 years, ages 6-14

At any grade level I 2000 71 89 94 95 96 96 95 92 86 78 66 54 45 35 30

In primaryd 1996 10 100 100 100 100 100 87 40 19 8 5

En secundaria e 1996 14 56 68 64 48 38 26 14 6 2.8

24 Nicaragua

6 years, ages 7-12

At any grade level k 1998 64.9 72.5 78.2 82.7 81.2 82.5 82 74.5 68

72In primaryd 1997 4 49.5 80.1 82.3 78.4 82.3 74.6 65.5 45.5 29 20.7 0.7 0.2 0.1 0 0.1

25 Panamá

6 years, ages 6-11

In primaryd 1990 3 77.4 93.5 97 97 95.8 88.2 47.8 23.7 11.6 5 1.6 0.5 0.2

En secundaria e 1990 0.1 3.3 34.2 54.5 58.2 57.8 53.8 46.1 28.8 14.1 7.6

26 Paraguay

8 years, ages 6-13

At any grade level k 1990 32.2 83.1 94.3 96.7 97.1 96.7 93.4 78.1 56.7

At any grade level b 1998 74 98 98 97 97 92 90 80 71 60 50 42 29

In primaryd 1996 74.4 94.3 94.9 95.9 96.2 92 74.3 37.8 16.1 6.7

27 Perú

11 years, ages 6-16

At any grade level k 2000 99.6 98.8 97.7 96.2 94.8 87.6 85.8 82.9 79.8

At any grade level b 1998 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 80 71 60 50 42 29

In primaryd 1997 9 85.4 92.6 93.8 94.5 93.6 86.2 54.1 37.9 23.5 16.7 16 16.1 15.1 9.7 0.4

En secundaria e 1997 0.1 7.1 37.8 52.4 64.4 65.8 56.1 41.1 21.7 10.9 4

28 Sn. Kitts y Nevis

13 years, ages 5-17

29 Sta. Lucía

12 years, ages 5-16

30 San Vincente y Las Granadinas

11 years, ages 5-15

31 Suriname

n/d

32 Trinidad y Tobago

7 years, ages 5-11

In primaryd 1996 84 91.8 89.5 91.7 92.1 92 77.7 33 14.5 6.5 0.6

En secundaria e 1992 2.2 30.7 63.6 72.8 73.7 68.7 44.9 19.8 8.5 2.3 0.4

33 EEUU

varies by state In primaryd 1995 7 85.4 97.5 92.3 99.1 100 92.9 32.6 4.6 0.7 0.1

En secundaria e 1995 1.1 4.3 71.2 97.3 100 98.7 89.1 81.4 24.4 5 1.5

34 Uruguay

10 years, ages 5-14

At any grade level b 1998 48 99 100 100 100 100 100 100 82 72 69 57 35

In primaryj 1997 0

En secundaria, 1er nivel j

1997 10.7

73En secundaria, 2o nivel j

1997 41.4

In primaryd 1996 51.8 98.9 100 100 100 100 68.1 23.7 9.3

35 Venezuela

10 years, ages 6-15

At any grade level b 1998 80 94 95 96 97 96 87 82 78 68 60 44 35

In primaryd 1996 9 76.1 90.8 90.6 90.9 91.5 86.8 83.5 78.3 64.1 37 17.3 6.2 2.3

Typical Length of Stay 2 Net Enrollment Rates 1

Primary 70 At any grade level

Secondary 70 In primary

Lower Secondary 70 In secondary

Upper Secondary 70 In lower secondary

70 In upper secondary

Ages of Compulsory education

Compulsory Enrollment 3

Notes:* El presente cuadro, elaborado por la Unidad de Desarrollo Social y Educacíón de la Secretaría General de la OEA, tiene como propósito facilitar una adecuada lectura

comparada de la escolarización neta, como indicador básico de los logros y retos de los sistemas educativos del Hemisferio, a la luz de su gran herogeneidad.

1 La escolarización neta se define como el porcentaje de individuos de un grupo de edad determinado que asiste a un nivel o conjunto de niveles educativos. En este cuadro, "En cualquier nivel" es el porcentaje de cada grupo de edad que esta inscrito en cualquier grado de cualquier nivel educativo (preescolar, primaria, secundaria y terciaria); "En primaria" es el porcentaje de cada grupo de edad que se encuentra inscrito en cualquier grado del nivel primaria; "En secundaria" es el porcentaje de cada grupo de edad que se encuetra inscrito en cualquier grado de cualquier nivel de secundaria (ya sea que este estructurada en un solo nivel o en dos niveles); "En secundaria, 1er nivel" es el porcentaje de cada grupo de edad que se encuentra inscrito en cualquier grado del primer nivel de educación secundaria; y "En secundaria, 2o nivel" es el porcentaje de cada grupo de edad que se encuentra inscrito en cualquier grado del segundo nivel de educación secundaria.

2 Los sombreados indican las edades reglamentarias o típicas de ingreso y permanencia en cada nivel educativo. "Secundaria" indica las edades típicas de ingreso, permanencia y egreso de la educación secundaria en aquellos sistemas educativos donde solo existe una etapa en este nivel educativo; en el resto de los sistemas educativos, la educación secundaria esta dividida en dos etapas, constituyéndose cada uno de ellos en niveles.

3 Los contornos negros señalan las edades de estancia obligada en la educación. Fuentes:a Estimaciones de la Unidad de Desarrollo Social y Educación de la Secretaría General de la OEA, realizadas en 1997 con datos del SIRI y del CELADE

b Instituto de Estadísticas de la UNESCO, citados en la versión preeliminar del Informe Regional del Proyecto Regional de Indicadores Educativos (PRIE) publicado en

742001.

c Relevamiento anual 1997 de la Dirección General Red Federal de Información, MCyE. Con proyecciones de población 1997 del INDEC. Citados en Mercosur Educativo

d Instituto de Estadísticas de la UNESCO, Base de datos del World Education Indicators, publicada en http://unescostat.unesco.org/en/stats/stats0.htm

e Instituto de Estadísticas de la UNESCO, Base de datos del World Education Indicators, publicada en http://unescostat.unesco.org/en/stats/stats0.htm

f IBGE e Censo escolar e do Ensino Superior, MEC/INEP. Citados en Mercosur Educativog Departamento de Estudios y Estadística. Ministerio de Educación. Citados en Mercosur Educativoh Ministerio de Educación de Colombiai Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática, XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda, 2000j INE. Proyección de población. Citados en Mercosur Educativok WB. Research Project on Educational Attainment and Enrollment around the World http://www.worldbank.org/research/projects/edattain/edattain.htm

75

Appendix 3

Figure 2a: North America, Youth unemployment rate, ages 15-24, 1996 and 2001

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Canada Mexico USA

1996

2001

Source: United Nations Millenium Indicators, http://millenniumindicators.un.org

Figure 2b: Central America, Youth unemployment rate, ages 15-24, 1995 and 1999

05

10152025303540

Costa

Rica

Domini

can R

epub

lic

El Salv

ador

Hondu

ras

Nicarag

ua

Panam

a

Guatem

ala

19951999

Source: United Nations Millenium Indicators, http://millenniumindicators.un.orgNote: 2000 data used for Nicaragua, Dom. Republic, 1998 data used for Guatemala

76

Figure 2c: Andean Region, Youth unemployment rate, ages 15-24, 1996 and 2001

Source: United Nations Millenium Indicators, http://millenniumindicators.un.orgNote: 2000 data used for Bolivia & Ecuador, 1996 data used for Colombia & Ecuador

Figure 2d: Southern Cone, Youth unemployment rate, ages 15-24, 1996 and 2001

Source: United Nations Millenium Indicators, http://millenniumindicators.un.orgNote: 2000 data used for Argentina & Uruguay

77

Appendix 4

Net enrollment rates by age in various countries in the hemisphere, 1999.

Figure 4a: Argentina, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 Figure 4b: Canada, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

Figure 4c: Chile, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 Figure 4d: Costa Rica, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

Figure 4e: Dominican Republic, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 Figure 4f: Ecuador, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

78

Figure 4g: El Salvador, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 Figure 4h: Paraguay, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

Figure 4i: Peru, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998 Figure 4j: Uruguay, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

Figure 4k: Venezuela, Net Enrollment Rate by age, 1998

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Appendix 5 Survival Rates, Selected Caribbean Countries

Time 1: to last grade in primary cycleTime 2: to first grade in secondaryTime 3: to last grade in secondary