Education, Science and Technology > Education, Training, Science & Technology
Reforming Primary and Secondary Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. An IDB Strategy
(05/00, EDU-113, En, Es)
This strategy (GN-2067-3) was favorably considered by the Bank's Board of Executive Directors on March 1, 2000.
Children in Latin America and the Caribbean attending primary and secondary schools, especially those in rural areas and in urban slums, achieve levels of school completion, knowledge and skills that are inadequate to compete in a world where mathematics, language, and communication skills as well as flexibility, creativity, and the capacity to work cooperatively are increasingly fundamental for economic growth and social development.
Within this context, this paper summarizes experience to date and provides a set of objectives and strategies to guide the IDB in its support of primary and secondary education over the next decade. The paper defines five critical areas of reform?making teachers partners in reform, providing more and better textbooks and teaching materials, selectively supporting the use of technology in education, decentralizing educational management and increasing accountability of key stakeholders, and strengthening early childhood education and development. It also summarizes the new challenges facing secondary education in the region?to meet increasing quantitative and qualitative needs while at the same time serving a more diverse clientele. This report sets out the information and management tools needed to meet long-term goals and confirms the fundamental importance of engaging in a long-term and consensual reform process.
To prepare this strategy, the authors distilled the experience of many years of educational reform efforts in the region and elsewhere. As a result, it is hoped that this paper will also prove useful to policymakers and stakeholders throughout the region who are committed to educational reform and development.
Last updated: 02/22/07
