Myth, Reality, and Reform: Higher Education Policy in Latin America
By Claudio de Moura Castro, Daniel C. Levy (04/00, En, Es) See also Education, Training and Science & Technology
Higher education plays a crucial role in the development and leadership of Latin America and the Caribbean, and in today's world of fast-increasing diversification, which requires an array of educational options.
Higher education, once reserved for preparing the elite, long ago moved into the professional areas. It provides the general education that people need as citizens and workers, and technical training for highly skilled workers in modern economies. Higher education is being called on to fulfill a variety of roles and to deal with formidable differentiation in the background of students, scholastic ability, labor markets, and social roles. These conditions present a challenge to today's policymakers.
The region's system of higher education has many strengths and examples of excellence. At the same time, however, waste, inefficiency, and chronic distortions remain serious and endemic problems. Governance is poor in most public institutions and rules and regulations do not provide the appropriate incentives.
Myth, Reality, and Reform tries to make sense of the dynamics in higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, examining institutions, rules, incentives, and functions. Since Felipe Herrera, the IDB's first president, said that this was the "bank of education," the Bank has confronted these topical issues, most recently with the formulation of its Higher Education Strategy.
This book is available in English only. To request a copy, please contact the IDB's Publications Section
Last updated: 05/08/07
