Enfoque Educación

How many women would Amelia Earhart have inspired without her incredible determination? Would Gandhi have changed the course of social movements without empathy? Or would Albert Einstein have revolutionized our understanding of the universe without his ability to handle frustration or think creatively? The history of humanity and its progress has been built on the shoulders of those who persevered, were passionate, creative, resilient, and demonstrated empathy towards the needs of others.

Caregiver engagement is vital for early childhood development. When parents or other caregivers actively participate in their child's learning, provide a nurturing and supportive environment, and engage in meaningful interactions—children benefit in multiple domains, including cognitive, social, and emotional. Yet, many caregivers, particularly those in low-resourced households, may face challenges in optimal engagement. Factors such as limited time, financial constraints, lack of access to educational resources, and other socioeconomic pressures can impact caregiver engagement.

Policymakers in the education systems of Latin America are bracing themselves for what they expect will be unwelcome news. Following the devastating impact on schooling of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are looking ahead with some trepidation to the results from the latest round of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that will be released at the end of this year.

Let us reflect on two dates. The first one is 1440: the approximate year in which Gutenberg invented the printing press. The second one is 2022: the year in which OpenAI launched ChatGPT, technology capable of generating language, which by January 2023 already had more than one hundred million users. The world was not and is not the same before and after those two dates.

What is the main challenge facing educators in a post-pandemic context? Academic results? An increase in bullying? Student desertion? These are all recurring concerns. Nevertheless, one overarching challenge is a root cause that intersects all the aforementioned. In 2022, Coschool, an IDB 21st Century Skills Coalition member, asked this question to over 200 educators from rural and urban settings in Colombia.

A year of education is estimated to raise future earnings by 10%. That is a large and significant return, along with the other benefits of more education. And that’s only what the person pursuing the education can expect to receive. One’s family, community, and country also benefit. That is to say, education has both private and social returns. 

Like in other countries, South Korea's traditional technical and vocational schools have been struggling to attract prospective students due to concerns about the lack of guarantee for decent jobs and career stability after graduation. Students often have difficulty finding a job immediately after graduation and are often poorly treated by companies.

Pinocchio had it clear: "(...) at school, I want to learn to read immediately. Then tomorrow, I will learn to write, and the next day I will learn to count. Later, with my skill, I will earn a lot of money." These words of Carlo Collodi (1882) are still relevant today as we seek to promote a job creation agenda that guarantees the essential components of recovery and transformative growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We live in a world of noise, where social networks and technology-mediated interpersonal communication encourage us to continuously speak, write, and give our opinions. However, although we engage in dialogues, we often hardly listen to each other carefully. Therefore, developing listening skills is crucial.

A recent survey indicated that seven of the 10 most requested capabilities in job postings were skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, or leadership.