SHAPING POLICIES FOR IMPROVED LEARNING OUTCOMES

  By Margarita Poggi, IIEP-Buenos Aires

 

IIEP-Buenos Aires supports member states by strengthening their capacity to develop educational plans to improve learning.

Over the past three decades, two shifts have dramatically improved education in Latin America. First, the years of compulsory schooling have increased, causing a massive influx of new students. Second, students from vulnerable sectors of society who had previously been excluded from the education system are now increasingly included. From a rights perspective, both of these advancements are very promising. However, major challenges lie ahead in order to fully exercise the right to education, as reaffirmed by Member States in the adoption of Education 2030. 

Improving learning outcomes is at the centre of this new agenda. Hence, educational policies should consider these different aspects simultaneously:

  • Challenges of curricular development: to be able to prioritize specific content and capacities to be taught in class, and make them socially relevant and meaningful for children and youth of the 21st century.
  • Efforts related to teacher career development: to contribute answers to specific learning conditions that challenge teacher practices in diverse school settings.
  • Teaching and learning in contexts with high technology use: to be able to respond to the needs of children and youth who are growing up in a digital culture.
  • Challenges of standardized evaluations: to be able to better link data to the improvement of learning.

Strengthening the capacities of states is key to the effectiveness of these policies. This must occur across different levels – including schools - and involve learning from different contexts, promote collective and articulated synergies, and find the most relevant and appropriate drivers to ensure commitment to this new agenda. As part of the strategic approach to implementation aimed at strengthening policies and institutions, the production of information is a fundamental axis. Towards this end, IIEP Buenos Aires produces relevant research on the latest trends and topics on the region's educational agenda, and disseminates it through publications, webinars and events. 

Planning and efforts to implement policies should contribute to providing meaning and direction around learning improvement objectives, as well as draw the attention of other social actors, as this agenda is not limited to only the education field. It requires the commitment and involvement of multiple actors, as well as concrete measures to promote teaching conditions that are suitable for learning. Therefore, the legitimacy and strength of states to lead this process is a key factor and is based on a state’s capabilities to guide actions and to produce the necessary changes. 

In this context and focusing on the demands from governments, IIEP-Buenos Aires provides technical assistance to states to strengthen institutional management, modernize evaluation and supervision systems and improve educational opportunities. The training of public officers responsible for educational management is also a key aspect of improving planning and policy implementation. A combination of conceptual contributions and technical tools provide a solid contribution to improve the professional performance of officers in the future. 

 

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