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Showing posts with label Education Latin America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education Latin America. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Why do Latin America and the Caribbean have low learning levels?

If learning were a disease, we would be talking about a global pandemic

 

Understanding The Learning Crisis: Where Are Students with Learning Gaps Located?


iadb Blog


Education for all
The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) published the results of PISA 2022 in December last year.  Those results showed a global crisis in learning.

What happened in Latin America and the Caribbean?  We saw that three out of four 15-year-old students lack basic skills in mathematics, and almost half do not understand what they read.

We partnered with the World Bank to publish the report Learning Can’t Wait: Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean from PISA 2022.  We sought to better understand the reasons behind this learning crisis in the region.

And, just as with child mortality, we know where and why.

Where? 

Education for all children
Also, in low—and middle-income countries, on average, 15-year-old students in the region lag five years behind the average student in OECD countries.  If we compare Latin American and Caribbean countries with those above the OECD average, the gap is 12 years of learning compared to Singapore, which leads the PISA rankings.

We not only know where the learning crisis is located and in which countries these learning challenges exist, but we also know who the lagging students are within countries.

There is an enormous inequality in learning by socioeconomic status: 88% of low-income students underperform in mathematics, compared to 55% of the wealthiest students.  That’s a difference of more than 30 percentage points between the two groups.

Why do Latin America and the Caribbean have low learning levels? 

We not only know where, but we know why: 

  1. First, we are not investing enough in education.  Our countries invest, on average, three times less in education than OECD countries. 
  2. There is also a relationship between investment and learning.  With the current level of investment, we could improve learning outcomes.  Therefore, there is room for efficiency.  The countries in the region are below the trend line, which means they could achieve better learning results for every dollar they invest. 
  3. Third, there is a distribution problem and an equity issue. The teacher is the main input an education system has to achieve learning.  And what we see is that this main input is unequally distributed.  The highest-quality teachers are systematically in schools where the highest-income students attend.
Three keys to overcome the education crisis: solutions that work

Just as in the case of child mortality, we know where; we understand why. And we also know the solutions that work.
 
  1. Measure more and better.  Measuring learning means knowing where we stand and providing a sense of purpose and direction.  It indicates where we want to be in the coming years. 
  1. Investing more.  Countries in the region need to invest more. 
  1. Investing better.  Investing better means generating efficiencies and spending better on the one hand.  On the other hand, it means investing in programs that we know are effective and can improve learning. 
Examples of solutions that work to enhance learning

  • Early literacy programs.  We know, for instance, that if we offer good literacy programs to young children from an early age, we can improve their reading skills by 30%.  “Let’s All Learn to Read” is one such solution. 
  • Intercultural bilingual education.  We also know that when we culturally contextualize the learning of mathematics, indigenous children develop 50% stronger math skills. 
  • Remote tutoring.  We also know that when we provide personalized support to the most vulnerable, lagging students through highly cost-effective remote tutoring, we can accelerate their learning by 30%. 
  • School feeding programs.  We also know that offering school meals to students increases their participation in school.  We see a 9% improvement in school attendance. 
  • Education management and information systems.  Finally, having management and information systems is crucial.  They not only help us generate efficiencies but are also essential to ensure equity.  This data allows us to distribute resources more equitably in education systems to compensate for student differences.  

We know the magnitude of the problem.  We have studied it in depth.  We know where the problem lies and why we are facing this challenge.  And we also know the effective solutions.  We have done it before; we can do it again.  The main challenge is how to transform the region’s education systems at scale.  Because learning can’t wait, these generations of children and youth cannot wait.

Source

Saturday, July 6, 2013

PETROCARIBE consolidated as regional force

• Group rejects Cuba’s inclusion on list of nations sponsoring terrorism



PetroCaribe

 
MANAGUA.— Petrocaribe was founded eight years ago as an Energy Cooperation Accord, in an effort to respond to world economic conditions and prevailing policies implemented by industrialized countries which marginalized Third World nations. The enterprise has been consolidated as an economic mechanism with significant impact in the region. This was clearly demonstrated during the recently concluded 8th Summit of the undertaking, based on the ideas of Comandantes Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.

In his comments to the event held June 29-30 in the Nicaraguan capital, Cuba’s First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the regional body is based on solidarity and humanity, helping those who most need an oil supply at fair prices and payment options appropriate for each of the member countries.

Díaz-Canel advocated expanding the objectives of the integrationist bloc, with an economic zone supporting the elimination of poverty and illiteracy, promoting development in the countries which make up the multinational entity.

He added that Cuba supports the establishment of a Petrocaribe Economic Zone and the proposal to extend cooperation with other ALBA countries, according to La Voz del Sandinismo.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said that the entity, established in 2005 by 18 countries in the region, was a way to assure energy security for peoples and allow for the strengthening of economies.

"The Petrocaribe Economic Zone is not conceived as solely serving commercial ends, but also the creation of production sequences in the region, in defense of our peoples’ interests and not those of multinational companies’ centers of power," Ortega said.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro emphasized that Petrocaribe must become a poverty-free zone in which illiteracy is eradicated; better health care provided and a comprehensive food plan developed, AVN reported.

"Defeating illiteracy with education must be first. Second, expanding Mission Miracle and third, implementing a food plan. All of these measures in the spirit of that giant named Hugo Chávez," he added.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, who attended the meeting as a guest, said that this type of initiative emerged "to free ourselves from those who would subjugate us, dominate us and plunder our natural resources."

Morales indicated that his experience in Bolivia has prompted him to propose a new relationship between Petrocaribe and other ALBA countries, to broaden the economic zone and link it to other integrationist entities in the region.

Porfirio Lobo of Honduras commented that the Petrocaribe Economic Zone will help the most needy overcome their challenges.

President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic supported the creation of an economic zone and thanked the Venezuelan people for their solidarity with this type of initiative which promotes the region’s development.

Likewise, Haitian President Michel Martelly saluted the efforts of Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro to realize the dream of unity.

Those present at the 8th Summit condemned the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba on the U.S. government list of states which sponsor terrorism, according to PL.

Inclusion on this State Department list implies serious sanctions and, in the case of Cuba, serves to justify the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed on the country for more than 50 years. (SE)

July 05, 2013