Synopsis
The seven million teachers of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are the critical actors in the region's efforts to improve education quality and raise student learning levels, which lag far behind those of OECD countries and East Asian countries such as China. This book documents the high economic stakes around teacher quality, benchmarks the current performance of LAC's teachers, and delineates the key issues. These include low standards for entry into teacher training, poor quality training programs that are detached from the realities of the classroom, unattractive career incentives, and weak support for teachers once they are on the job. New research conducted for this report in close to 15,000 classrooms in seven different LAC countries - the largest cross-country study of this kind to date - provides a first-ever insight into how the region's teachers perform inside the classroom. It documents that the average teacher in LAC loses the equivalent of one day of instructional time per week because of inadequate preparation, excessive time on administration (taking attendance, passing out papers) and a surprisingly high share of time physically absent from the classrooms where they should be teaching. Teachers also make limited use of available learning materials, espcially those using information and communications technology (ICT), and are unable to keep the majority of their students engaged. The book sets out the three priority lines of reform needed to produce great teachers in LAC: policies to recruit better teachers; programs to groom teachers and improve their skills once they are in service; and stronger incentives to motivate teachers to perform their best throughout their career. In every area, the book distills the latest evidence from inside and outside the region to provide practical guidance to policymakers in the design of effective programs and sustainable reforms. A final chapter analyzes the politics of recent major teacher reforms in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico, chronicling the prominent role of teachers' unions and the political and communications strategies that have underpinned successful reforms.
Review
This remarkable book could transform Latin America. The future of the region really does rest on the shoulders of current and future teachers, but this book does not just reiterate the vague slogans that are common in current political debate. It combines a sophisticated reading of currently available research with a treasure trove of new research and evaluation embedded in the Latin American context with clear and pointed recommendations. The plea of everybody concerned with the region's development should be 'pay attention to the messages of this book'. --Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
The research done by Bruns and Luque illustrates so clearly that when we talk about improving education around the world, we need to be talking about how to recruit, train, and support great teachers. They show us that universal access to education in which Latin American and Caribbean countries have made enormous strides is not enough to prepare children to thrive in the twenty-first century. But some countries in the region are making progress, and this book makes a contribution by marshaling the evidence and examples that can inspire others. --Wendy Kopp, founder, Teach for America, and CEO, Teach For All
This book makes a unique contribution to education policy in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. The evidence on the central factors of recruiting, grooming, and motivating teachers is persuasive, and the data from more than 15,000 classrooms in 7 countries drives home the critical importance of teachers' classroom practice in raising learning outcomes an insight at the heart of the Escuela Nueva. I recommend this book wholeheartedly to policy makers, researchers, and practitioners in the field. --Vicky Colbert, 2013 WISE Prize Laureate; founder and director, Fundación Escuela Nueva
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