Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Overview

Despite recent advances, educational systems in the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) continue to face serious challenges. The overall quality of education is poor, and LAC students consistently score near the bottom on international test comparisons.

The compromised quality of education impedes the ability of the region to move forward politically and economically. LAC lags behind its competitors educationally.  Young workers in the region enter the labor force with fewer years of education than do workers in countries of similar incomes in Asia and the Middle East.  In some of the countries in which USAID works, as many as four out of ten students do not complete primary school, and even more do not go on to secondary school.  Of those who enroll in secondary school, at least 40 percent do not graduate.  As few as 30 percent of students read and write at grade level.  A growing number of youth leave school without basic literacy and life skills and, because of a rise in youth unemployment, are susceptible to joining gangs, committing crimes, and remaining in poverty

Indigenous, rural, and poor urban students particularly suffer from unequal access to quality education. The responsibility for the high numbers of illiterate children lies partially with the teachers. A good number have not finished secondary school. Many are ill-prepared and have insufficient materials and support in the classroom. High rates of students who have to repeat a class drains already inadequate education investments.

Training and Support
USAID views education as one of the best development investments. Improved educational quality is linked to strengthened human capacity that supports development across all sectors, especially improved health, more vibrant economic growth, more democratic governance, and improved environmental management.
USAID focuses its education activities in the LAC region to:

• Upgrade teacher skills and improving the quality of instruction
  Through integrated, school-based approaches to reform, USAID has succeeded in improving educational quality in the classroom.  Examples include model school programs in Nicaragua, Expanding Education Horizons in Jamaica, and AprenDes in Peru.
  
  
• Increase community engagement that contributes to education reform
  USAID strengthens policy analysis and dialogue among government and civil society, raising the profile of education as an issue for public debate.  One example is in Guatemala where dialogue resulted in agreement on a common political agenda for education.
  
  
• Raise the quality of instruction through the use of learning standards and assessment
  USAID helps ministries of education revise and improve national learning standards and performance assessment, as well as curriculum and teaching materials.  For example, In Honduras, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic,  USAID helps the government implement standards and testing, drawing on relevant international best practices.
  
  
• Provide disadvantaged students with the opportunity for a high-quality education
  Part of USAID’s strategy in the region is providing increased access to disadvantaged and poor students. In Haiti, USAID provides primary school scholarships to poor children who otherwise could not attend school.  In Honduras, the Educatodos program gives youth who have dropped out of school a second chance to complete their basic education.
  
  
• Increase higher education opportunities for indigenous or disadvantaged young leaders
  USAID provides technical training scholarships for disadvantaged young leaders and professionals  to attend U.S. community colleges and universities. 

USAID LAC at Work
In addition to the country-based education programs, the LAC Bureau implements a number of regional programs that involve multiple missions and cross-regional learning and exchange of the best ideas and practices. LAC’s regional programs aim to improve the teaching of literacy across the hemisphere and strengthen the policy dialogue on education reform.

These programs include:
The Centers of Excellence for Teacher Training (CETT) focuses on improving reading because it is the foundation for all future learning. CETT provides a model for effective teacher training to upgrade the reading instruction skills of classroom teachers in Grades 1, 2, and 3. CETT coordinates with teacher training institutions in LAC to train highly skilled and motivated teachers who will give their pupils a strong reading and writing foundation. Since its inception in 2002, CETT has trained over 25,000 teachers and helped over 730,000 underprivileged students in 16 countries get a better education.  Currently alliances with governments and the private sector are expanding CETT to more teachers and schools.

The Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL)
For nearly 15 years, PREAL has helped to improve the quality of education in the region by conducting quality research, disseminating best practices, and monitoring national and regional progress on improving education systems. PREAL works with civil society groups to produce national Education Report Cards, which are disseminated to a diverse non-technical audience and enhance national capacity to promote reform.  PREAL’s establishment of new business-education alliances has contributed to increased private sector engagement in educational policy dialogue.  PREAL also publishes and distributes papers such as “Education in Haiti: The Way Forward” and “The Paradox of a Good Student: Race and the Brazilian Education System,” to further inform and stimulate dialogue.

Scholarships for Education and Economic Development (SEED) provides higher education scholarships to US community colleges and universities for poor, disadvantaged, and disabled students from seven countries including Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Students receive two-year technical or shorter-term professional training in sectors key to their countries’ social and economic development. The training complements bilateral activities by strengthening human capacity for transformational development.