The Political Trap for Honduran Teachers: Compensation Inequities in Rural Schools

Honduras' progress on educational outcomes has lagged behind other Latin American countries in recent years, including educational access for marginalized populations, high school dropout, and performance gaps across the K-12 spectrum (Adelman & Székely, 2017). Studies have suggested that lack of government investment in education (Ministerios de Hacienda y Finanzas, 2019) and pervasive corruption (Beiser, 2015; Ernst, 2019; Fontana, 2008) may contribute to the mismanagement of educational funds and poor outcomes. The present study focuses on less commonly researched challenges which may affect school quality by exploring educator's compensation experiences in community versus government managed schools. Surveys were collected from 63 teachers from six Programa Hondureño de Educación Comunitaria (PROHECO) schools and four non- PROHECO government schools. Our findings show greater frequency and length of salary delays for PROHECO teachers and consider how the statistical differences may relate to clientelist practices and impact teacher morale. We conclude with a call for further research on school quality focused on the impact of educator work, hiring, and compensation practices on educator quality and students' educational outcomes.