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The World Bank's focus on foundational skills requires that issues of language and Language of Instruction be brought to the forefront of education policy discussions. Poor Language of Instruction policies harm learning, access, equity, cost-effectiveness, and inclusion. Yet nearly 37% of students in low- and middle-income countries are taught in a language they do not understand. Massive learning improvements are feasible by teaching in a small number of additional languages. The World Bank's first Policy Approach Paper on Language of Instruction offers an indication of the work that will be undertaken to support countries in introducing reforms that will result in more resilient, equitable, and effective systems by promoting teaching in the languages that students and teachers speak and understand best. [The report was edited by John Steinhardt.]

This paper evaluates the academic impact of a growth-mindset intervention on students starting the secondary level in public schools in urban Peru. ¡Expande tu Mente! is a 90-minute school session aimed at instilling the notion that a person's own intelligence is malleable. Students in schools randomly assigned to treatment showed a small improvement in math test scores and educational expectations, with a large and sustained impact in test scores among students outside the capital city. At a cost of $0.20 per pupil, ¡Expande tu Mente! was highly cost-effective. The results show the potential that brief growth-mindset interventions have for developing countries. [This paper is a product of the Poverty and Equity Global Practice.]

Public spending on education has increased significantly in Latin America over the last several decades. Yet, the question remains as to whether greater spending translates into a more equitable distribution of resources. We address this issue by measuring inequality in per-pupil spending between regions of varying socioeconomic status (SES) within five different countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The results show that while Brazil's funding gap has narrowed over time, this federal nation has the widest socioeconomic spending divide, due to large inequalities in local revenues between high and low SES regions. School funding in Colombia has become more regressive over time, though its gap is half the size of Brazil's. Meanwhile, the distribution of school funding in Peru has changed, shifting from regressive (benefiting the richest regions) to progressive (benefiting the poorest regions). Education spending in Chile and in Ecuador have instead been consistently progressive. However, while the progressiveness of funding in Ecuador is driven by transfers targeting disadvantaged rural areas, the funding formulas in Chile address socioeconomic inequalities beyond the rural-urban gap.

In the past decade, hundreds of impact evaluation studies have measured the learning outcomes of education interventions in developing countries. The impact magnitudes are often reported in terms of "standard deviations," making them difficult to communicate to policy makers beyond education specialists. This paper proposes two approaches to demonstrate the effectiveness of learning interventions, one in "equivalent years of schooling" and another in the net present value of potential increased lifetime earnings. The results show that in a sample of low- and middle-income countries, one standard deviation gain in literacy skill is associated with between 4.7 and 6.8 additional years of schooling, depending on the estimation method. In other words, over the course of a business-as-usual school year, students learn between 0.15 and 0.21 standard deviation of literacy ability. Using that metric to translate the impact of interventions, a median structured pedagogy intervention increases learning by the equivalent of between 0.6 and 0.9 year of business-as-usual schooling. The results further show that even modest gains in standard deviations of learning--if sustained over time--may have sizeable impacts on individual earnings and poverty reduction, and that conversion into a non-education metric should help policy makers and non-specialists better understand the potential benefits of increased learning. [This paper is a product of the Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region and the World Development Report 2018 Team.]

As a result of its direct link to the labour market, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) plays an important role in equipping the modern workforce with in-demand skills. This discussion paper aims to inspire the introduction of entrepreneurial learning in TVET towards a fully mainstreamed approach, whereby entrepreneurial learning is integrated into the role, function and delivery of TVET systems for the benefit of all learners. The paper provides insight into the different approaches to mainstreaming entrepreneurial learning and illustrates the contribution of the key pillars that make up the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem. This is supported by a series of practical examples from TVET systems around the world, illustrating how entrepreneurial learning is being transformed into reality by governments, TVET systems, communities, networks, institutions, teachers, trainers and TVET learners. This paper explores five elements of the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem: (1) Developing policy for entrepreneurial learning; (2) Curricula and pedagogies; (3) Supporting teachers and trainers; (4) Learning modes other than formal curricula; and (5) Career paths and start-ups.

In a multicultural country like Peru, specific and disaggregated data on ethnic and racial minorities are a key resource to inform public policies about neglected populations. For decades, data on Afro-Peruvians has been both limited and inaccurate. Although there are 106 Afro-Peruvian communities, the most recent national census in October 2017 revealed that the Afro-Peruvian population consists of only 828,841 inhabitants, or 3.57 percent of the country's total. For decades, indigenous populations were considered the poorest and most vulnerable minority ethnic group in Peru. That is not always the case. Afro-Peruvian girls are either equally or more disadvantaged than their indigenous counterparts. Peru could benefit from its demographics, because 34.6 percent of its population is aged 0 to 19. However, competitiveness would require a dramatic improvement in the quality of the country's public education. Despite Peru's commitments to the Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 5, the poorest Afro-Peruvian women still have fewer years of schooling than men, which makes them less competitive in the labor market and forces them to take unskilled jobs with lower salaries and few or no benefits. This policy paper relies on a desk review and fieldwork conducted in May 2018 in the community of Yapatera, in the Piura region along the northern coast. Yapatera is a poor community with a high concentration of the Afro-descendant population, located 846 kilometers from the capital city of Lima. The fieldwork included individual interviews and small group conversations. Interview subjects were administrators, teachers, and students (girls and boys in the 4th and 5th grades) at the local public secondary school, as well as community leaders, staff at the Health Center, the Women's Emergency Center, and the police station.

This paper examines common instructional strategies in early grade mathematics interventions through a review of studies in classrooms in low- and middle-income countries. Twenty-four studies met the criteria for inclusion, and analyses reveal four sets of instructional strategies for which there is evidence from multiple contexts. Of the 24 studies, 16 involved the use of multiple representations, 10 involved the use of developmental progressions, 6 included supporting student use of explanation and justification, and 5 included integration of informal mathematics. Based on the review, we provide conclusions and recommendations for future research and policy.

Short-cycle higher education programs (SCPs) can play a central role in skill development and higher education expansion, yet their quality varies greatly within and among countries. In this paper we explore the relationship between programs' practices and inputs (quality determinants) and student academic and labor market outcomes. We design and conduct a novel survey to collect program-level information on quality determinants and average outcomes for Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Peru. Categories of quality determinants include training and curriculum, infrastructure, faculty, link with productive sector, costs and funding, and other practices on student admission and institutional governance. We also collect administrative, student-level data on higher education and formal employment for SCP students in Brazil and Ecuador and match it to survey data. Using machine learning methods, we select the quality determinants that predict outcomes at the program and student levels. Estimates indicate that some quality determinants may favor academic and labor market outcomes while others may hinder them. Two practices predict improvements in all labor market outcomes in Brazil and Ecuador--teaching numerical competencies and providing job market information--and one practice--teaching numerical competencies--additionally predicts improvements in labor market outcomes for all survey countries. Since quality determinants account for 20-40 percent of the explained variation in student-level outcomes, estimates indicate a role for quality determinants to shrink the quality gap among programs. These findings have implications for the design and replication of high-quality SCPs, their regulation, and the development of information systems.

The worldwide school closures in early 2020 led to losses in learning that will not easily be made up for even if schools quickly return to their prior performance levels. These losses will have lasting economic impacts both on the affected students and on each nation unless they are effectively remediated. While the precise learning losses are not yet known, existing research suggests that the students in grades 1-12 affected by the closures might expect some 3 percent lower income over their entire lifetimes. For nations, the lower long-term growth related to such losses might yield an average of 1.5 percent lower annual GDP for the remainder of the century. These economic losses would grow if schools are unable to re-start quickly. The economic losses will be more deeply felt by disadvantaged students. All indications are that students whose families are less able to support out-of-school learning will face larger learning losses than their more advantaged peers, which in turn will translate into deeper losses of lifetime earnings. The present value of the economic losses to nations reach huge proportions. Just returning schools to where they were in 2019 will not avoid such losses. Only making them better can. While a variety of approaches might be attempted, existing research indicates that close attention to the modified re-opening of schools offers strategies that could ameliorate the losses. Specifically, with the expected increase in video-based instruction, matching the skills of the teaching force to the new range of tasks and activities could quickly move schools to heightened performance. Additionally, because the prior disruptions are likely to increase the variations in learning levels within individual classrooms, pivoting to more individualised instruction could leave all students better off as schools resume. As schools move to re-establish their programmes even as the pandemic continues, it is natural to focus considerable attention on the mechanics and logistics of safe re-opening. But the long-term economic impacts also require serious attention, because the losses already suffered demand more than the best of currently considered re-opening approaches.

Part of the "Studies in Early Transitions" series, this Working Paper draws on interviews and observations carried out as part of "Young Lives", a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam based at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development. This paper focuses on the challenges of translating into practice the potential of quality early childhood care and education to transform young lives. These include building a positive equity agenda, setting clear policy objectives, raising quality standards, building the skills and motivation of teachers, and recognising where equity goals can be incompatible with a market-led private system. The paper asks which children do and do not have access to an early childhood programme, and explores children's and parents' views about the quality of what is on offer. A brief summary of data collection methods is appended. (Contains 2 boxes, 21 figures and 9 footnotes.)

This paper reports that the basic opportunity to learn does not exist in many countries, and that a concerted management focus to assure that schools provide basic elements of an opportunity to learn (OTL) could potentially yield big improvements in learning. The paper assesses: (1) what basic factors create the opportunity to learn; and (2) to what extent is the lack of these basic elements a problem in developing countries? Elements of a foundational opportunity to learn are identified as: (1) The school is open and located near the student; (2) Minimum instructional time of 850-1000 hours annually; (3) Teacher absenteeism and tardiness; (4) Student absenteeism and tardiness; (5) Appropriate class size and student-teacher ratios; (6) Learning materials are available to every student and regularly used; (7) Time-on-Task; and (8) Learning to read. General strategies suggested for addressing OTL include incorporating OTL issues and awareness in activities and assistance programs such as teacher and principal training; incorporating OTL measures in management and information systems at the school level; and raising awareness by tracking an OTL Index). (Contains 6 figures and 5 tables.) [This paper was written for EQUIP2: Educational Policy, Systems Development, and Management, one of three USAID-funded Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreements under the umbrella heading Educational Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP).]

The countries of Central America have made great educational strides in recent years. More children are now attending school and more finish primary school; however, there is still a long way to go. We still need to ensure that the children who go to school learn effectively and can use their education to develop useful life and work skills. This document sets out to recognize and commend the many ways in which teachers innovate inside and outside the classroom, as well as to identify the ways in which institutions, programs and projects can more effectively foster innovation. While this paper focuses on experiences in Central America, the findings have worldwide applicability and it is the authors' hope that the information will be shared across regions, countries, and communities to support and improve teacher innovation. The case studies used in this publication are based on Academy for Educational Development (AED) projects in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and the Dominican Republic. In particular, the authors have relied on the help of many colleagues and leaders in these countries who are committed to improving educational quality, who have referred them to examples of teacher innovation and in many cases have written down the stories. This paper is divided into four sections. The first section explores the importance of teachers as the linchpin to effective learning in the classroom, the significance of innovation in that role and some of the assumptions that get in the way of seeing the teacher as an innovator. The second section illustrates, by using examples from teaching practice in the different countries, the wealth of innovative practices that teachers have discovered. The third section proposes a model for nurturing innovation based on teacher empowerment, teacher formation and institutional development. Examples of interventions that have been effective in strengthening teacher innovation are used to illustrate this model. Finally, the authors present a working framework of principles and components for a strategy to foster teacher innovation, taking into account the capacities and responsibilities of different actors in the education sector. Appended are: (1) Description of Projects and Initiatives; (2) Additional Resources; and (3) Bibliography. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This paper was written with Diane La Voy.]

This working paper is part of a series on early transitions from "Young Lives," a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. It explores the diverse experiences of 28 children from four contrasting communities in Peru as they start school. These detailed case studies highlight common problems: exclusion of certain parts of the population from pre-school services, lack of coordination between pre-schools and primary schools, issues with physical punishment and cultural diversity. It proposes four ways in which children's early educational transitions can be enhanced, looking at such factors as educational structures, curriculum planning and teacher training. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 23 footnotes.)

Children face many important changes in the first eight years of life, including different learning centres, social groups, roles and expectations. Their ability to adapt to such a dynamic and evolving environment directly affects their sense of identity and status within their community over the short and long term. In particular, the key turning points in children's lives--such as "graduating" from kindergarten to primary school or going through a culturally specific rite of passage--provide challenges and opportunities for learning and growth on multiple levels. This paper provides a review of the major perspectives in research on early childhood transitions and reveals the predominant areas of focus in both academic and professional studies, as well as important neglected viewpoints and study populations. Beginning with a broad and inclusive definition of the topic, the authors provide an overview of early childhood transitions research, highlighting the underlying assumptions that informed the studies. They assess concepts in the developmental theory that preceded transitions research as well as in the logic that determines how transitions are structured. More recent approaches are examined, including systems theories and the role of children as active participants in transitions. Several examples in this review show how multidisciplinary collaboration and culturally sensitive interventions can result in better participation of both parents and children in crucial early childhood transitions. Citing the need to harmonise early childhood education and care programmes with local education practices, the authors stress the value of greater transparency in the creation of policy and programming for children, in order to identify potentially limiting assumptions. Broadening and diversifying perspectives on transitions can lead to more integrated and culturally relevant rights-based early childhood programmes worldwide. A glossary and a bibliography are included. (Contains 7 footnotes.)

This paper studies how increasing teacher compensation at hard-to-staff schools can reduce inequality in access to qualified teachers. Leveraging an unconditional change in the teacher compensation structure in Peru, we first show causal evidence that increasing salaries at less desirable locations attracts better quality applicants and improves student test scores. We then estimate a model of teacher preferences over local amenities, school characteristics, and wages using geocoded job postings and rich application data from the nationwide centralized teacher assignment system. Our estimated model suggests that the current policy is helpful but both inefficient and not large enough to effectively undo the inequality of initial conditions that hard-to-staff schools and their communities face. Counterfactual analyses that incorporate equilibrium sorting effects characterize alternative wage schedules and quantify the cost of reducing structural inequality in the allocation of teacher talent across schools. Overall our results show that a policy that sets compensation at each job posting using the information generated by the matching platform is more efficient and can help reduce structural inequality in access to learning opportunities. In comparison, a rigid system that ignores teacher preferences will indirectly reinforce such inequalities. [This report was funded by the AFD, the H2020-MSCA-RISE project GEMCLIME-2020 GA, the ANR, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the Barcelona GSE Seed Grant.]

A study investigated the impact of training on women's micro-enterprise development in four programs in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Sudan. Research design was a series of case studies of projects and programs providing training in technical or business skills. Impact of training was measured against these four indicators: income, access to and control of resources, status, and quality of life. The study examined the training process to find out in what specific ways training helped women to improve and expand their micro-enterprises. The sample in each country consisted of two groups: women about to undergo training (focus of the study) and women who had already received training; 74 women participated. The study showed poor women needed training to develop skills and self-confidence to allow them to operate and survive in the informal sector; access to credit is important but not sufficient for the poorest women; the impact of training and increased income varied in strength but could be negative as well as positive; well-designed and well-delivered training could lead to increased income that could lead to improved self-esteem and status in the household and community; effectively delivered training developed enhanced survival strategies in women; training provided to groups in a participatory model was an empowering and liberating experience for women; and training in generic business skills was more effective than training in technical skills. (Appendixes include 61 references.) (YLB)

This report examines ways of improving women's productivity and education and the consequences for development in Peru. The research finds that women account for about 39 percent of family income in Peru. They carry the main responsibility for child care and heavily influence family decisions on children's education and family size. Improving opportunities for women thus can be a means to foster economic and social development as well as an end in itself. The main way to expand women's opportunities is through human capital investments, notably education beyond the primary level. This will increase women's earning capacity, broaden their labor force participation, and thereby promote economic growth, family welfare, and slower population growth. This report is comprised of seven articles: (1) "The Extent and Impact of Women's Contribution in Peru: A Descriptive Analysis" (M. Schafgans); (2) "Labor Market Participation, Returns to Education, and Male-Female Wage Differences in Peru" (S. Khandker); (3) "Modeling Economic Behavior in the Informal Urban Retail Sector in Peru" (J. Barry Smith; M. Stelcner); (4) "Household Production, Time Allocation, and Welfare in Peru" (J. Dagsvik; R. Aaberge); "Fertility Determinants in Peru: A Quantity-Quality Analysis" (M. Schafgans); (6) "Gains in the Education of Peruvian Women, 1940 to 1980" (E. King; R. Bellew); and (7) "Does the Structure of Production Affect Demand for Schooling in Peru?" (I. Gill). Numerous tables of data, figures, and diagrams appear throughout the report. A lengthy bibliography is included. (Author/DB)

Data from the 1985 Living Standards Survey in Peru were studied in this analysis of non-farm family businesses from the informal sector in order to categorize 2,735 family enterprises and to explain the earnings per hour of family labor. Most of the existing research on the self-employed uses the individual as the unit of analysis; however, this study uses the enterprise as the unit of analysis and asks whether schooling makes a difference in family income. Generally these businesses are loosely organized, pay no taxes, and employ a large segment of the Peruvian working sector. Regression analyses show significant effects of schooling on earnings. Returns differed markedly among four sub-sectors and by gender and by location (Lima, other cities, rural). The results were consistent with education being valueless in traditional activities but having a positive effect in jobs requiring literacy, numeracy, and adjustment to change. Post secondary education had a fairly high and significant pay off in urban areas for both women and men. A 20-item bibliography and 11 tables of statistical data are included. (NL)

This study examined how education and postschool vocational training affect the type and extent of labor market participation of women in Peru. It also estimated monetary returns to different levels of schooling, to formal general and technical schooling, and to training. The sample, which comprised more than 5,600 women in urban and rural Peru, was drawn from the Peruvian Living Standard Survey. More than 70 percent of these women were in the labor force at the time of the survey, about 35 percent working in paid jobs. The overall level of female labor force participation in Peru is 72 percent, and this percentage is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. The majority (60 percent) of paid female workers are self-employed, but these jobs tend to be very low paying. Women holding jobs in the public sector are the best paid. In general, the study found that education and training enhance the contribution of women in the labor market. Although education does not increase the participation of Peruvian women in the labor force (and may in fact decrease it), it alters the occupational distribution of female workers by increasing the proportion of women in paid employment. Among paid employees, education is positively related to hourly earnings; the relationship is nonlinear, with primary education showing higher returns than secondary education. The return to postsecondary education appears low and negative, except for the small fraction of women who have earned a diploma. The poor performance of the Peruvian economy since the early 1970s has influenced this result. (26 references.) (Author/KC)

This paper examines the financing of tertiary education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, comparing the affordability and accessibility of tertiary education with that in high-income countries. To measure affordability, the authors estimate education costs, living costs, grants, and loans. Further, they compute the participation rate, attainment rate, and socio-economic equity index in education and the gender equity index as indicators of accessibility. This is the first study attempting to estimate affordability of tertiary education in Latin America within a global context. The analysis combines information from household surveys, expenditure surveys, and administrative and institutional databases. The findings show that families in Latin America have to pay 60 percent of per-capita income for tertiary education per student per year compared with 19 percent in high-income countries. Living costs are significant, at 29 percent of gross domestic product per capita in Latin America (19 percent in high-income countries). Student assistance through grants and loans plays a marginal role in improving affordability. Moreover, the paper confirms previous findings of low access to tertiary education in the region. One policy implication of the findings is that Latin American governments could take steps to make tertiary education more affordable through student assistance. (Contains 25 tables, 16 figures, and 25 notes.) [This paper is a product of the the World Bank's Education Sector Unit in the Human Development Sector at the Latin America and Caribbean Region.]

Using panel data from Peru, this paper investigates the determinants of the allocation of boys' and girls' time to schooling, housework, and income-generating activities. Specifically, it explores whether sickness, employment of adult women, infrastructure, and female headship have different impacts on the time use of boys and girls. Girls mostly engage in housework, and boys mostly work outside the home. As a work activity, housework responds to economic incentives and constraints. The findings suggest that changes in household welfare affect the schooling and work of girls more than boys. Even though educational attainment rates of boys and girls are the same, girls' education responds more to changes in household welfare than does that of boys. Similarly, girls are more likely to adjust their home time in response to changes in adult female employment and to sickness of household members than boys. Differences in these patterns between rural and urban households and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous households are also discussed. The traditional approach to the determinants of child labor and education, which excludes housework, may understate children's time use, particularly that of girls. It may, therefore, also overlook an important gender dimension of educational policy. Appendices present determinants of child and adult sickness, five figures, and five tables. (Contains 24 references.) (Author/TD)

Since its creation in 1991, the Peruvian Social Fund (FONCODES) has spent about $570 million funding micro-projects throughout the country. Many of these projects have involved the construction and renovation of school facilities, mainly primary schools in rural areas. FONCODES projects are driven by community demand and targeted using an index of "unmet basic needs." This paper analyzes the targeting and impact of FONCODES investments in the education sector between 1992 and 1998 focusing on the extent to which FONCODES has been successful in transferring resources to poor areas and households, and the impact of investments in school facilities on various educational measures. Data from FONCODES documents, the Peruvian census, and three national surveys were analyzed using a number of descriptive and econometric techniques. Findings show that FONCODES has reached poor districts and, to the extent that they live in these districts, poor households; and that households in districts receiving greater FONCODES education expenditures had bigger gains in school attendance for young children. There was no evidence that FONCODES affected the probability of students being at the right grade level, and only weak evidence that it decreased the average time it takes children to get to school. Lack of disaggregated data precluded analysis of impact on academic achievement and other measures of school quality. (Contains 44 references and 18 figures and data tables.) (SV)

Schools in developing nations tend to be concentrated in urban areas, making it necessary for children living in rural areas to travel long distances to attend school. Government resources are limited and many countries have limited education expenditures due to faltering economic growth. Since government is the principal provider of education and the demand far exceeds the supply, some economists are now advocating increasing school fees to fund education improvements. Using a theoretical model of the demand for schooling and the principle of compensating variations, this study calculated parental willingness to pay for new secondary schools in rural areas of Peru. The results showed that even those in the poorest quarter of the Peruvian income distribution sector were willing to pay fees high enough to cover operating costs of opening new secondary schools in rural villages. An extensive list of statistical tables and a 25-item bibliography are included in the report. (NL)

This paper presents results from a randomized control trial in which approximately 1,000 OLPC XO laptops were provided for home use to children attending primary schools in Lima, Peru. The intervention increased access and use of home computers, with some substitution away from computer use outside the home. Beneficiaries were more likely to complete domestic chores but less likely to read books. Treatment children scored almost one standard deviation higher in a test of XO proficiency, though there were no effects on objective and self-reported skills for using a Windows-based PC and Internet. There were positive impacts on the Raven's Progressive Matrices test among children who did not have a home computer before the intervention, but no significant effects for the sample as a whole. Finally, there was little evidence for spillovers within schools, although close friends and classmates of laptop recipients did exhibit higher proficiency with the XO computer.

From the mid-1950s to the 1960s, the government of Peru undertook a major expansion of public education, increasing the number of schools, requiring primary schools that offered an incomplete cycle to add grades, and increasing school inputs (principally teachers and textbooks). The effects of Peru's educational policies, and the effect of family background and community characteristics on the schooling level of a sample of adults was examined. Data on males and females were analyzed separately by birth cohort, using a sample of 5,644 females and 5,421 males aged 20 to 59. The study found: (1) the government's policy to expand the schools played a major role in raising education levels and narrowing the gap between rural and urban residents, and males and females; (2) the impact of parents' years of schooling and occupations on the educational levels of their children lessened over time as the supply of schools expanded throughout the country; (3) the relative effect of parents' education differs for sons' and daughters' schooling; (4) primary schools expanded rapidly even in rural areas; (5) urban residence at the age of 13 remained an important determinant of educational attainment because of the great disparity between urban and rural areas in availability of secondary schools; (6) and finally the availability of material school inputs, such as textbooks and desks at the primary level, had a large positive effect on final school levels. Contains 39 references. (Author/JJ)