PREAL Blog

Jan 21

Estudiantes en Buena Vista, Guatemala / Rdubois / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The First Monitoring System of School Days: A Project to Improve Education in Guatemala

By Salvador Paiz

When we bake cookies there are two aspects of the process that are crucial: the oven temperature and the time it takes for the dough to finish baking. If the temperature is insufficient or the cookies do not remain in the oven long enough, surely we will have raw cookies.

According to the analogy of the cookies, the temperature at which we are baking refers to educational quality, and the baking time to the school year. Read more

Jan 13

Flags 2007 Pan American Games athlete's village / Wilson Dias/ABr - Agência Brasil / CC BY 3.0 BR

Education, Skills, and Innovation for Development in Latin America

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The OECD Development Centre, the Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC), and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America launched the Latin American Economic Outlook 2015. The report forecasts a slowdown in the region’s rate of growth and argues that reforms to strengthen education, skills, and innovation are necessary if countries in Latin America are to escape the middle income trap. Read more

Dec 16

Photo credit: Un estudio aborda la relación profesor-alumno desde la perspectiva de estudiantes UC / Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Regional Strategic Project on Teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean

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We are pleased to share with our readers some recent publications of the Proyecto Estratégico Regional sobre Docentes (Regional Strategic Project on Teachers), led by UNESCO/OREALC and the Center for Studies in Education Policy and Practice (CEPPE), from the Catholic University of Chile, PUC. Read more

Dec 9

Should Teaching “Soft” Skills Be a Priority?

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By Alejandro Ganimian

The following article by Alejandro Ganimian was originally written for WISE ed.review, a website that offers a daily selection of cutting-edge news, fresh insights, and innovative trends in education. WISE has given The Inter-American Dialogue permission to reproduce the text on the PREAL blog. To read the original article, click here.

An interview with Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (Random House)

Dec 2

Directores en Chile (F. Sucre) - 12-2-14

PREAL Publications: What do We Know about School Principals?

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By José Weinstein and Gonzalo Muñoz

(Summarized by Federico Sucre)

The most recent PREAL Policy Brief summarizes the six assertions that José Weinstein and Gonzalo Muñoz proposed in the introduction of the book What do We Know about School Principals in Chile? (available in Spanish here). The book collects article contributions from 21 authors that synthesize the results of recently developed research on school principals in Chile. Read more

Nov 25

Building Human Resources for Productivity in Latin America

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By Ariel Fiszbein

The following article was prepared for the Inter-American Dialogue’s Sol M. Linowitz Forum. The main argument is that innovation in human resources training systems – professional-technical training programs and higher education in general – is critical to improving productivity. Latin America must eliminate institutional rigidities and expand spaces for experimentation in models of educational service delivery. Although it is not easy to find a solution, the real failure is not trying, not innovating. Read more

Nov 18

Learning to Work Together: Collaboration Around Ecuador’s Ten-Year Education Plan

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By Orazio Bellettini and Adriana Arellano*

One of the main obstacles to Ecuador´s development and progress is its geographic, social, political and economic fragmentation. High levels of fragmentation have reduced the possibility of implementing reforms that are key for Ecuador´s development. There is, however, an exception. The Ten-year Education Plan (PDE by its acronym in Spanish) which included eight education policies with long-term goals, was approved in a referendum in 2006 and has been implemented in collaboration with international donors, universities and civil society organizations, among other organizations.

Nov 11

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Commission for Quality Education for All

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By Ariel Fiszbein

I want to share with all of the readers of our blog a new initiative that excites us in a profound way: the launch of the Commission for Quality Education for All.

Nov 5

Photo credit: #42 – Fundación Escuela Nueva / (c) Fundacion Escuela Nueva Volvamos a la Gente / via The Global Journal on 11/5/14 (with modifications)

Escuela Activa Urbana Promotes Non-cognitive Learning

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By Jeff Puryear, Felipe Barrera-Osorio, and Maria Cortelezzi

Nobel Prize winner James Heckman has noted that non-cognitive skills (i.e., social and emotional skills) are crucial in determining the success of young people, and that public education tends to ignore this fact.

The Urban Active School (Escuela Activa Urbana, EAU) in Manizales, Colombia targets non-cognitive skills. Read more

Oct 28

Technology and Innovation to Improve Learning in LAC

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By Federico Sucre and Sarah Swig

Last Wednesday, we attended the conference “Schools Ready For Change: Technology to Improve Learning in LAC” at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The event brought together key policy makers, experts in technology and education, business professionals, and social entrepreneurs to discuss innovative ways to improve student learning through the use of technology. The speakers discussed their own research and programs, shared best practices, and highlighted major challenges and barriers to expanding technological improvements in the region. IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno set the stage early on, stating that technology is necessary but not enough to transform learning in Latin America. Read more