The population structures in Latin America and the Caribbean are changing and the challenges are not few. For example, 11 percent of the population over 60 years of age depends on other people for their daily care.
Exactly one year ago, I undertook with my family the return to my beloved Argentina, after almost 16 years of living between the United States and Canada. I left without children, I returned with 3. And, like all parents, what worried me the most before moving was their insertion in the new life. A crucial component of this insertion: the school environment.
By Victoria Cárdenas Simons*
Gender equality has gone from being a pending challenge around the world to an urgent task. Women are raising their voices across the globe to demand greater equality of opportunity. And the world is listening. In the workplace, this translates into ending sexual harassment and closing gender gaps in the areas of workforce participation, equal pay and leadership roles.
The defining educational achievement of countries in the region over the course of the last decade has been to improve access. The current challenge: improving quality equitably.
While attendance rates and funding for preprimary have increased education, both remain relatively low. Despite recent efforts like PRIDI, countries still lack data on the quality of programs aimed at developing children’s competencies before entering school.
Learning spaces in the schools Latin American children and youth attend are inadequate and distributed unequally, disadvantaging the poorest students and those who attend rural schools.
Girls attend and finish school at the same rate or higher than boys. Nevertheless, boys continue to outperform girls on standardized learning assessments and continue to benefit most from labor market dynamics.
By Julie T. Katzman*
I have always bicycled around the city and embarked on multiple eco-adventures. That was how I found that the train was no longer working, and a sleepy idea that wobbled in my head awakened in me. On January 2, 2017 I decided that I would start that trip I wanted so much to do. Without many preparations and without wanting to prove anything to anyone, I went south looking for my north.
By Victoria Cárdenas Simons*