The paper analyzes a new Honduran conditional cash transfer experiment (Bono 10,000) in which 150 poor villages (of 300) were treated. The transfers were much larger in size than an earlier experiment (Galiani & McEwan, 2013), but yielded smaller full-sample effects on school enrollment, child labor participation, and measures of health service use.
Dear readers,
As you may have noticed, our posts in the First Steps Blog are less frequent. It is because we’ve moved to a different website. From now on, we’ll be publishing our content in English and Spanish on the same site, right here https://blogs.iadb.org/desarrollo-infantil/
By Florencia López-Boo.
I don’t think there’s any better way to ensure that children are bored and disconnected from learning than by shutting them up in a classroom and bombarding them with rules and countless tests. My field observations at child care centers and preschools have led me to think that many times children are treated like lambs in a pen instead of being encouraged to freely observe, explore, think and develop.
by Nadin Medellin, Pablo Ibarrarán, Patricia Jara and Marco Stampini
Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí
by Joan Lombardi
From Kampala to Kingston; Delhi to Denver; and São Paulo to Santiago, giving children a strong start in life is critical to not only the growth and development of individuals, but also the growth and development of nations.
Climate change poses new hazards to schools and heightens preexisting ones. Every day we hear news of some community in the world being adversely affected by natural phenomena such as excess water (floods, landslides), extreme winds, or drought. Such events may leave communities without access to a reliable supply of drinking water, create conditions conducive to the spread of fires, force school closures, and affect the economy. Schools mirror their communities.
Thousands of children and young people who attend schools every day (on schedules ranging from 4 to 10 hours) consume large amounts of natural resources (water, trees made into paper, fossil fuels for energy, and others). These resources are used in the manufacturing of books, notepads, backpacks, pencils, paint, and so on. To a large extent, schools represent the way a society uses its natural resources. Using these materials in a more sustainable fashion will lower demand for natural resources. We can also learn innovative ways of using them in the learning process.
The World Health Organization says that all cities and towns should have a minimum of 9 square meters (m2) of green space per person. In Latin America there are 3.5 m2 per capita. What is it like in your town?