Does Local School Control Raise Student Outcomes?: Theory and Evidence on the Roles of School Autonomy and Community Participation

School autonomy and parental participation have been frequently proposed as ways of making schools more productive. Less clear is how governments can foster decentralized decision-making by local schools. This paper shows that across eight Latin-American countries, most of the variation in local control over school decisions exists within and not between countries. That implies that the exercise of local authority to manage schools is largely a local choice only modestly influenced by constitutional stipulations regarding jurisdiction over school personnel, curriculum and facilities. As a consequence, estimated impacts of local school autonomy, parental participation or school supplies on student performance must account for the endogeneity of local efforts to manage schools. Empirical tests confirm that local managerial effort by the principal and the parents and the adequacy of school supplies are strongly influenced by parental human capital and the size and remoteness of the community, and that these effects are only partially moderated by central policies regarding the locus of control over the schools. Correcting for endogeneity, parental participation and adequacy school supplies have strong positive effects on 4th grade test performance, but school autonomy has no discernable impact on school outcomes.school; autonomy; performance; parental participation; management; local; central

Does Local School Control Raise Student Outcomes?: Evidence on the Roles of School Autonomy and Parental Participation

School autonomy and parental participation have been frequently proposed as ways of making schools more productive. Less clear is how governments can foster decentralized decision-making by local schools. This paper shows that across eight Latin-American countries, most of the variation in local control over school decisions exists within and not between countries. That implies that the exercise of local authority to manage schools is largely a local choice only modestly influenced by constitutional stipulations regarding jurisdiction over school personnel, curriculum and facilities. As a consequence, estimated impacts of local school autonomy, parental participation or school supplies on student performance must account for the endogeneity of local efforts to manage schools. Empirical tests confirm that local managerial effort by the principal and the parents and the adequacy of school supplies are strongly influenced by parental human capital and the size and remoteness of the community, and that these effects are only partially moderated by central policies regarding the locus of control over the schools. Correcting for endogeneity, parental participation and adequacy school supplies have strong positive effects on 4th grade test performance, but school autonomy has no discernable impact on school outcomes.autonomy; achievement; education; parental participaton; school inputs; test scores; Latin America

Programa Regional de Indicadores de Desarrollo Infantil (PRIDI): Marco Conceptual

El presente documento entrega el marco conceptual y la fundamentación del Proyecto Regional de Indicadores de Desarrollo Infantil (PRIDI), una iniciativa del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), cuyo objetivo es generar un programa regional de compilación y uso de datos e indicadores comparables de resultados sobre Desarrollo Infantil (DI). Inspirado por las experiencias del Banco en apoyar pruebas estandarizadas como son el LLECE y el SERCE, esperamos que el carácter regional de los resultados sirva para fomentar el diálogo regional de política y para el intercambio de ideas y experiencias.Educación y calidad de los maestros, Educación en la primera infancia, Educación

Programa Regional de Indicadores de Desarrollo Infantil (PRIDI) : marco conceptual

Entrega el marco conceptual y la fundamentación del Proyecto Regional de Indicadores de Desarrollo Infantil (PRIDI), una iniciativa del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), cuyo objetivo es generar un programa regional de compilación y uso de datos e indicadores comparables de resultados sobre Desarrollo Infantil (DI). Inspirado por las experiencias del Banco en apoyar pruebas estandarizadas como son el LLECE y el SERCE, esperamos que el carácter regional de los resultados sirva para fomentar el diálogo regional de política y para el intercambio de ideas y experiencias

The Trans-Generational Impact of Education: A Quantitative View of 10 Countries

This note speaks to the progress made in expanding access of education as well as to the challenges that remain. Drawing on household survey data from ten countries, it presents quantitative information to show that, compared with the recent past, access to education has become more universal and coverage, particularly at the secondary level, has been extended to previously excluded populations

Measuring Education Quality in Brazil

Education quality can be measured in various ways, including the analysis of learning and other outcomes in children and through the analysis of underlying services. In Brazil, a collaborative endeavor between the IDB, the Ministry of Education and the Carlos Chagas Foundation focuses on the latter. This brief details the processes and results to date

Teacher Training in Latin America: Innovations and Trends

On average, teachers' qualifications in Latin America fall short of what is needed to implement and sustain the education reforms under way in most countries. Large investments in teacher training, both pre-service and in-service have been made and will continue to be made by the governments of the region in recognition of this fact, often with the support of the IDB and other international organizations. This paper responds to the growing demand for new approaches to the design of teacher training components in education reforms. This demand reflects widespread disappointment with the effectiveness of traditional methods and the principles upon which they are organized. The paper builds on the existing literature on the subject around the world but draws its conclusions from eight case studies on innovations in teacher training in Latin America. The cases include both in-service and pre-service programs, in rural and urban environments and public as well as private initiatives, in different countries

The Trans-Generational Impact of Education: A Quantitative View of 10 Countries

This note speaks to the progress made in expanding access of education as well as to the challenges that remain. Drawing on household survey data from ten countries, it presents quantitative information to show that, compared with the recent past, access to education has become more universal and coverage, particularly at the secondary level, has been extended to previously excluded populations

Community Colleges: Is There a Lesson in Them for Latin America?

As secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean expands its reach and more attention is given to the post-secondary level, new demands are placed on educators and ministries. New methods of teaching will have to be found, new markets for graduates will have to be identified, and better targeting mechanisms for matching students with the market's real demand for labor will have to be defined and implemented. In short, the very definition of secondary and post-secondary education will have to be reexamined. It is in this regard that the community college model prevalent in the United States and Canada merits closer examination. Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have experience introducing short post-secondary courses and nonuniversity institutions, sometimes as a result of private initiative, sometimes as a matter of public policy. Europe and North American models have inspired these innovations. Yet, this paper contends that more needs to be done in this area, in all countries and it explores in depth the model of the community college as an interesting source of ideas and relevant responses to changes in the social and economic landscape of the region. It also explores the potential the community college model holds for Latin America. The author's hope is that countries and institutions will look at this model not as something that should be necessarily imitated, but for inspiration and as an opportunity to reflect on the relevance and effectiveness of the current supply of post-secondary education and training