Laura Sandefer is an author and the co-founder of Acton Academy, a school whose learner-driven model is spreading across the globe and combines best practices from the past while embracing the latest technology and research in neuroscience and cognition. She is also a special guest in our blog series about the development of #skills21 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
What does it mean to be Socratic?
The transformation of education is as necessary for the educational world as the vaccine to overcome the health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thinking about education systems beyond this crisis will allow the setting of new spaces for innovation and the mobilization of countries and educational communities to promote a transformation towards more effective and efficient educational systems.
Longitudinal studies of people conceived, in utero or in early childhood during previous pandemics and famines show that children can suffer lifelong negative consequences. Hundreds of millions of children are losing learning opportunities resulting in potentially large losses in their lifetime education, health, income, and productivity. Losses in long-term incomes from preprimary program closures due to COVID-19 can be unprecedented. Acute effects are plausible for such disruptions early in life when the brain is rapidly developing and is more sensitive to environmental changes.
Bridging the skills gap is necessary to increase productivity and equity. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this challenge has manifested in high rates of youth unemployment, informality, and inactivity. Traditional higher education has struggled to respond to this challenge, with rising costs limiting access and poor outcomes forcing students to question the value of a university degree. In this paper, we explore a model for collaboration between higher education providers and employers designed to overcome these challenges.
Today is the International Day of Older Persons. The world is home to more than 1 billion people over age 60, and two years ago the global number of people over age 65 surpassed that of children under age 5 for the first time in history. These numbers confirm a clear and irreversible trend: the world is aging, and Latin America is the region currently aging the quickest. This means we need to focus on the special needs and challenges this segment of the population faces.
The cost simulation tool for long-term care systems provides a way to quickly estimate how much it would cost governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to implement this type of system. It can also be used to compare different service packages and make projections.
The cost simulation tool for long-term care systems provides a way to estimate how much it would cost governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to implement this type of system. The simulation tool is meant to assist policymakers as they decide who will receive support from the system and what type of services they will receive.
The incorporation of information technology and communication to health system underpins its digital transformation. This transformation requires a governance that deals with rights, norms, responsibilities and risks in areas such as Internet and health; use of health data; and information systems. Governance of digital health directs quality improvement, efficiency and effectiveness of the health system.
This paper studies the degree to which innovation by Costa Rican manufacturing firms creates or displaces employment, how different innovation strategies affect employment, and how these effects vary by firm size and type of employment demand characteristics (skills and gender). In particular the research focuses on the differential effects of product and process innovations on employment growth. Particular attention is paid to identifying innovation impacts on employment generation by SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).
This presentation provides the comparative results of a project carried out by the Inter-American Development Bank to understand the links between innovation and employment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Special attention is paid to the importance of sectoral and size difference in both quantity and quality composition of employment. This project is based on national country studies performed by different research teams and includes research from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay.