The State of Teacher Policies in Central America and the Dominican Republic
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PREAL Policy Brief September 2015
The State of Teacher Policies in
Central America and the
Dominican Republic
By Federico Sucre and Ariel Fiszbein
I. Introduction A) Preparing the Field for PREAL Policy Briefs provide
Effective Teaching: This category non-technical summaries of
There is growing concern in explores whether the country has key topics in the field of
Central America and the the fundamental preparatory education policy.
Dominican Republic regarding the elements to achieve quality
quality of education. Despite the instruction, such as clear This policy brief presents the
importance of teachers for expectations, adequate class time, main findings of four
learning, the recruitment, and solid teacher training. national studies on the state
selection, training, retention, and of teacher policies in El
support of teachers in most of the B) Attracting, Hiring, and Salvador, Honduras,
countries in the region are still Retaining Talented Teachers: This Guatemala and the
inadequate. category explores whether the Dominican Republic. The
existing education systems are studies, conducted by
This policy brief summarizes the able to select and retain the best research teams in each
main findings and candidates for teaching, and country, analyze teacher
recommendations of a regional whether it supports teachers to policies in nine dimensions.
report on the state of teacher improve their own practices. This brief explores regional
policies in Central America and tendencies and common
the Dominican Republic. The C) Managing for Good challenges regarding the
regional report is based on Performance: This category teaching profession, and
national studies prepared by explores whether teachers are suggests possible lines of
research teams in El Salvador evaluated on a regular basis, action to guide better
(FUSADES), Guatemala (CIEN), whether they are recognized for policies.
Honduras (FEREMA), and the good teaching performance and
Dominican Republic (EDUCA). face consequences for This summary was made
These studies, which seek to consistently weak behavior, and possible by support of the
foster informed debates among whether schools are assigned Inter-American
stakeholders, systematically resources (both human and Development Bank’s
describe the state and reach of physical) to provide high-quality Institutional Capacity
teacher policies in the education instruction to the most vulnerable Strengthening Thematic
systems of their countries. children and youth. Fund (ICSF), established with
contributions from the
This policy brief presents the most government of the People’s
II. What Did the Regional relevant findings detected at a Republic of China. However,
Report Do? regional level, supported by the contents are the sole
examples from each country. It responsibility of the authors
In all four countries, the organizations also summarizes the main and the Inter-American
analyzed the state of teacher policies recommendations that came out Dialogue.
in nine common dimensions, grouped of the national studies, and
indicates areas in which teacher
into three categories:
policies can improve.
PREAL Policy Brief September 2015
III. What Did the Study Find?
The following analysis presents a synthesis of the four country report cards, and our own evaluation of teacher policy
tendencies in the region:
TEACHER POLICY INDICATORS
Preparing the Way for Effective Teaching ES GU HO DR Region
Clear expectations for students and teachers
The four countries have mechanisms that establish which skills students must develop at every
level and in every discipline. They also have teacher standards, but implementation continues
to be a challenge.
Maximizing the opportunities for classroom learning
Some initiatives seeking to address the issue of absenteeism have produced improvements in
the last years, but in a general sense, we do not see any systematic efforts to maximize the use
of time for learning.
X X X X
Training high-quality teachers
Some reforms seeking to improve teacher quality have emerged (accreditation systems and
accountable agencies). But there still is too little regulation and weak quality control by the
authorities.
X
Attracting, Hiring, and Retaining Talented Teachers
Selecting the best Candidates to be teachers
There has been some progress in defining teacher selection processes, but these are not suffi-
ciently rigorous, and their implementation is still weak. The teaching profession is perceived as
one of low prestige.
X X
A structure that attracts and retains the most talented
X X
Average teacher salaries are generally competitive in the local labor market, and are generally
paid on time. However, these are not associated to good or bad performance or to students’
learning.
X X
Supporting teachers to improve teaching practices
Countries do not provide opportunities for collaboration among teachers. School directors are
not selected based on academic or pedagogic leadership, and they rarely receive any training.
The use of data on student performance to improve pedagogical practices is insufficient.
X X X
Managing for Good Performance
Regular and high-quality teacher assessments
The systems designed to evaluate teachers are weak and suffer from poor credibility. These
evaluations are not independent, and they do not take student learning into account. X X X X
Recognizing good performance and tackling poor performance
School administration systems do not recognize good performance, nor do they establish
mechanisms to address weak performance. Countries do not fire ineffective teachers. X X X X
Providing high-quality education to the neediest
High-quality education is not guaranteed for the most vulnerable populations. Some countries
have instituted incentives for teachers to work in underprivileged regions, but these are gener-
ally weak and poorly structured.
? X X X
√: The issue has been addressed successfully – X: Adequate conditions are not yet in place
?: There is not enough information/evidence – √ dotted: There has been progress in the right direction, but not enough
Page 2 The State of Teacher PoliciesPREAL Policy Brief September 2015
1. PREPARING THE WAY FOR The four countries studied also face directors, or the number of school
EFFECTIVE TECHING serious challenges with regard to the days completed, even in cases where
enforcement of their teaching there are control mechanisms on
A. Clear Expectations for Students
paper.
and Teachers: incomplete standards. These challenges include: a
improvements lack of awareness of the standards Since official mechanisms for the
and their importance (El Salvador, monitoring of teacher attendance and
All four countries have mechanisms
Dominican Republic); the existence of the completion of school days do not
that determine the skills that students exist, civil society organizations have
inadequate mechanisms to monitor
must develop, although there are begun to develop alternative
the extent to which the defined
variations between countries strategies. For instance, the
teacher competencies are compatible organizations “Transformemos
regarding coverage at different
with the practices in the classrooms Honduras” in Honduras and
education levels and disciplines. El
(Guatemala); and the lack of teacher “Empresarios por la Educación” in
Salvador and the Dominican Republic Guatemala have started to implement
support material to aid teaching and
are the most advanced in this respect. techniques and digital platforms to
learning in the classrooms (El
Guatemala and Honduras, meanwhile, report effective school days as part of
Salvador). an initiative of citizen involvement
have areas that lack clear definition at
that collects updated information that
the secondary level. In Honduras, for
B. Maximizing the Opportunities for authorities can use to take action.
instance, the curriculum includes Classroom Learning: a pending task
education standards in Mathematics, However, despite these efforts to
Spanish, Natural Sciences, and Social The four countries face important reduce absenteeism and increase the
Sciences for students in first through challenges concerning teacher number of school days, countries have
ninth grade, but standards at the absenteeism and the efficient use of still not been able to maximize
class time. While there have been learning opportunities in the
secondary education level are still
some initiatives that have sought to classroom. While there is no
pending. tackle the issue of absenteeism systematic monitoring of the use of
(which, particularly in Guatemala and time in the classrooms, studies show
Teacher standards also differ in terms Honduras, have made improvements that on average, a day of instruction is
of definition and enforcement. The in recent years), at a general level lost per week, while the target set by
there are no perceivable systematic international standards is 85% of
Dominican Republic is the country
efforts to maximize the use of class instruction time.
with the most developed set of time for learning.
standards on aspects such as what C. Training High-Quality Teachers: an
good teaching is, and what is expected Traditionally, students in the region emerging transition
of teachers at different grade levels, have had fewer school days that what
is required by law. In Guatemala, for All countries recognize their own
subject areas, and/or fields of
instance, in 2010 and 2011, the deficiencies in their teacher training
knowledge. Honduras, on the other average number of completed school systems, and they are making efforts
hand, seems to have the least days was between 90 and 120 days, to improve. They have begun to make
developed system. Beyond what the out of the required 180 days. Even reforms to improve the quality of
national curriculum specifies, the though the situation improved teaching, such as: the supply of
considerably in 2013 and 2014, it is training at the tertiary level (fully in
system does not specifically define
estimated that in some education place in El Salvador and the Dominican
what teachers must know and know Republic, and in progress in
centers, at least 30 days of the school
how to teach content effectively. year are not met. All four countries Guatemala and Honduras), the
lack a system to monitor and control establishment of accreditation
the attendance of teachers and school systems (in El Salvador and
The State of Teacher Policies Page 3PREAL Policy Brief September 2015
Guatemala), and the creation of teaching their own students once they academic and pedagogical
responsible agencies in all four graduate. Furthermore, some competencies as a prerequisite to
countries. countries do not require classroom becoming a certified teacher (El
practice before obtaining the teaching Salvador, Honduras).
Nevertheless, regulation and quality certification (Dominican Republic),
control of teacher training institutions and some that do require it have The Dominican Republic, for instance,
by national authorities is still varying numbers of hours depending has begun competitive job application
inadequate. on the training institution (Honduras). processes to fill vacancies in the public
sector. This process, which reached a
For instance, in El Salvador (one of 2. ATTRACTING, HIRING, AND high of 16,354 applicants in 2013 (see
two countries that has an RETAINING TALENTED TEACHERS Graph 1), is divided into three stages:
accreditation system), only six out of a) a logical reasoning exam, (b) an
seventeen higher education A. Selecting the Best Candidates to Be exam on pedagogical knowledge and
institutions that offer initial teacher Teachers: promising signs of change planning skills in specific areas of
training have been accredited. The interest, and (c) an interview or final
Dominican Republic, which has twenty There has recently been some oral exam. Due to this increased rigor,
-five institutions offering teacher progress in the creation of teacher in 2013 only a third of applicants were
training programs, also does not have selection processes that are more promoted to the second stage of the
a structured system of accreditation selective and that help bring the best process.
and certification. teachers to the classrooms. All four
countries have designed, either Nevertheless, there are limitations in
The regulatory weakness and the lack competitive job application processes the implementation of the selection
of planning of the teacher training to fill teaching vacancies in the public processes to fill teaching vacancies. In
systems are reflected on the sector (Guatemala, Dominican some countries (El Salvador,
imbalances of the teacher workforce. Republic), or standardized exams that Guatemala), priority is given to
For instance, for over a decade, evaluate an applicant’s mastery of candidates with the most seniority in
normal schools in Honduras have
annually produced primary school Graph 1: Total applicants, promoted, and declined in the job application
teachers in numbers that surpass by process of the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic, 2013.
two or three times the number of job
openings that become available each
year. In 2014, in seven of the country’s
eighteen regional departments,
12,199 teachers applied for work, but
only 641 spots were offered in pre-
school, primary school, and secondary
school, which means that for every
twenty graduates, there was only one
job opening available.
Another factor that negatively impacts
the quality of teacher training is the
mismatch between the training
offered and the content of the
curriculum. In the Dominican Republic
and Honduras, for example, there is a
weak association between what the
national curriculum says, what
aspiring teachers in early training Source: Inter-American Dialogue y EDUCA (2015).
programs learn, and what they end up El estado de las políticas públicas docentes: República Dominicana. Grafico 3, p. 19.
Page 4 The State of Teacher PoliciesPREAL Policy Brief September 2015
the system, while in others out or penalizing those who under- administrative duties above his or her
(Honduras) political manipulation performed. Efforts to reward good pedagogical leadership. However, the
seems to have a significant influence work performance have failed, at least law does not even require director
in the assignment of jobs. For partially, due to protests from positions to be filled by staff or faculty
instance, in a survey of students in teachers’ unions (Honduras, El with formal training in educational
their last year of studies at the Salvador). Currently, wage increases administration. Moreover, the
Farabundo Martí National Pedagogical in all four countries are given on the evaluation of directors is virtually
University (UPNFM) in Honduras, only basis of seniority, by obtaining inexistent in all four countries.
5% of students said that their diplomas or degrees, or by holding
academic performance influenced management positions. The use of data on student
their job prospects, while over 90% of performance to improve pedagogical
them said that affiliation with the In addition to the issue of wages, the practices is still insufficient. In El
political party in power was the most four countries lack clearly defined Salvador and the Dominican Republic,
influential factor in finding a job as a paths for teachers’ professional statistical reports are produced but
teacher. Moreover, the hiring development, let alone opportunities are not used to strengthen the
processes in these countries do not for professional advancements and educational processes. In Honduras
include interviews or evaluations of promotions. Teachers progress and Guatemala, results from
pedagogical skills in the classroom. professionally by moving to standardized student examinations
administrative and managerial are available online. These provide
B. A Structure that Attracts and positions (thus moving away from the information on learning achievement
Retains the Most Talented: salaries classroom). The Dominican Republic is by school, grade, section, and even by
are not everything making strides in the implementation student, contributing to decision-
of a new teaching career certification making in the school and in the
Today, average teacher salaries tend system based on horizontal growth, classroom.
to be competitive in the local labor professionalization, and meritocracy.
market—though not necessarily when 3. MANAGING FOR GOOD
compared internationally—and are C. Supporting Teachers to Improve PERFORMANCE
generally paid on time. In the their Practices: insufficient efforts
Dominican Republic, the current A. Regular and High-Quality Teacher
salary of a part-time teacher (four The four countries offer teachers very Assessments: inconsistent systems
hours) is 32% higher than the average limited opportunities to work with
salary of workers in the economy who more experienced colleagues Teacher evaluation systems in all four
work full-time (eight hours), while the (through tutoring sessions) or with countries have low credibility, do not
salary of a secondary school teacher colleagues at their same level of take student learning into account,
who works full-time (eight hours) is experience (sharing practices). In the and are generally neither regular nor
53% higher than the average salary of Dominican Republic, coaching for systematic. For instance, Guatemala’s
a university graduate who also works teachers only takes place during the Teachers Statute (“Estatuto Docente”)
full-time. The flexibility of work hours, first year as faculty members, and requires an annual evaluation of
job stability, and additional benefits opportunities for group work are only teachers, but this is not a systematic
associated with the teaching available to teachers who work full- evaluation with tools that allow to
profession are also attractive aspects time. effectively personalize the support
of teaching. given to teachers based on their
The academic and pedagogical results. Honduras recently began a
However, wage increases are not leadership of school directors is very teacher evaluation process that
linked to teachers’ performance or to limited. Directors, whom are seldom includes three aspects: (a) reviewing
student learning. In Guatemala, for selected through competitive, teaching performance, (b) observing
instance, wage increases of 8-12% structured systems, very rarely get in-class teaching using the Stallings
between 2013 and 2015 were applied trained to carry out their duties. In El observation system in a national
equally to all teachers in the system, Salvador, for instance, the legal sample, and (c) administering an
without rewarding those who stood framework sets the director’s examination of knowledge. If scaled
The State of Teacher Policies Page 5PREAL Policy Brief September 2015
adequately, this could turn into an B. Recognizing Good Performance positions, reach sufficient seniority, or
effective model. and Tackling Poor Performance: lack double their workload (work two
of meritocracy school periods in a day).
An essential aspect of teacher
evaluation systems is the transparency None of the countries has The Dominican Republic is establishing
and credibility of the entities mechanisms to deal with poor a system of teacher certification and
responsible for designing, applying, performance. With a few seriouspromotion that intends to improve
and analyzing the instruments. In the exceptions, such as prolonged the competencies of educators,
four countries studied, existing absences or abuse of minors, professionalize their work in the
evaluations are not independent. Only administration systems rarely fire
classroom, and dignify their work
the Dominican Republic (in 2008) ineffective teachers. In some cases,
conditions. The proposal is to evaluate
conducted a bidding process and there are training mechanisms for
the following criteria: performance
delegated the teacher evaluation deficient teachers, but these are rarely
competencies, disciplinary and
process to an external company in implemented. In the Dominican pedagogical knowledge, professional
order to guarantee transparency. It is Republic, for instance, even though
development, professional
expected that in 2015 there will be the current legislation states that
responsibilities in the school, and
another evaluation of teacher teachers showing poor performance
experience. Teachers and school
performance and certification. must undergo a year of trainingdirectors will be able to request
followed by a re-evaluation andcertification evaluations voluntarily,
Studies show that there are possible dismissal if they not pass,
and will be able to advance their
weaknesses in the use of results from these regulations have not beencareers horizontally. Moreover, the
teacher evaluations to make concrete effectively implemented. different categories that the system
improvements. In Honduras, for assigns imply different wage levels,
instance, despite the progress made in Likewise, good performance is not comparable to those offered to other
recent years, data from evaluations recognized. Wage increases and other professions that are highly valued by
has still not been used to correct and forms of acknowledgement are not society.
improve teaching. In some countries, linked to indicators of performance.
reports on the evaluations have been As a general rule, teachers in the C. Providing Quality Education to the
produced (e.g. Dominican Republic), region, regardless of their Neediest: few compensatory efforts
but these are not being utilized to give performance, can only increase their
teachers feedback in an effective way. wages if they earn new academic None of the four countries has policies
degrees, assume management that prioritize attention given to
students from more vulnerable
populations. Data on schools and
Graph 2: Teachers were able to make my children learn their subjects (Survey). teachers in these areas is scarce. The
Santo Domingo & Santiago, Dominican Republic. 2014. information that is available
oftentimes comes from parents,
whom in the case of the Dominican
Republic express dissatisfaction with
the quality of their children’s teachers
(see Graph 2).
Some countries (e.g. El Salvador,
Honduras) have monetary incentives
for teachers to work in vulnerable
areas, but these incentives are
generally weak and poorly structured.
In Honduras, for instance, regulations
have incentivized work in rural areas
Source: El estado de las políticas públicas docentes: República Dominicana. Gráfico 8, p. 28.
by providing advantages in the way
Page 6 The State of Teacher PoliciesPREAL Policy Brief September 2015
work years are counted (working levels and subjects, and guarantee with determination in cases of
three years in these areas is that the curricula and early abuse or corruption.
equivalent to working 5 years in urban teacher training programs are
areas). But despite the incentives, designed based on these ix. Define special policies for the
these regions usually only receive standards. training and stimulation of
teachers who have recently entered teachers who work with
the system and are less experienced, ii. Increase effective class time by vulnerable populations and with
and whom sometimes have not yet fulfilling the number of days and indigenous peoples, including
graduated. hours that are assigned to instruction in their native
pedagogical activities, and by language.
Most commonly, teachers do not training teachers to use class time
efficiently. Experience shows that many good
receive the support they need to serve public policies fail at the stage of
youth who are poor, rural, indigenous, iii. Make initial teacher training implementation. Therefore, it is
and/or at risk of violence. Rural more demanding, better aligned crucial that, moving forward, we
schools oftentimes have multi-grade with teacher and student strongly emphasize the details of
classrooms, but teacher training standards, and also more implementation of all new public
systems and teacher support practical, so that graduates finish policies and take corrective measures
materials are designed for educators their studies having had when necessary, before these policies
who teach only one grade. experience in the classroom. lose legitimacy due to their lack of
Some countries have advanced impact or concrete results.
initiatives to support bilingual iv. Make entry into the teaching
education (e.g. Honduras, Guatemala). profession more competitive and By highlighting the areas where there
In Guatemala, for instance, there have selective, so that only the best was progress, as well as those where
been attempts to train bilingual candidates enter the classroom. there was none, this report aims to
educators. However, it is unclear v. Offer more opportunities for draw attention to teacher policies in
whether this has truly translated into professional advancement Central America and the Dominican
a higher number of qualified bilingual without the need to abandon the Republic, and seeks to stimulate
teachers in schools with a high classroom, and ensure that there debate, build consensus around
percentage of indigenous students, or are competitive salaries in a common objectives and activities, and
if these efforts are producing higher framework of growing set the basis for change.
student learning. professionalization.
IV. Lines of Action for Better vi. Provide teachers with strong
Teacher Policies support and coaching, especially
in their early years of teaching,
Beyond the priorities for reform in and prepare school directors to
every one of the countries studied fulfill their role.
(available in the regional report), we vii. Administer independent, rigorous
believe that the state of teacher teacher evaluations based on
policies in the region shows many objective and transparent criteria
common challenges, which might also that take into account student
apply to countries not covered in this performance, and supported by a
project. The following considerations well-defined system that helps
seek to reflect on these common identify problematic areas and
challenges and offer a unified find solutions to ensure high-
perspective on how to address them. quality teaching.
i. Complete the definition of viii. Design rewards that recognize
educational standards for the effort, dedication, and good
students and teachers in all grade performance of teachers, and act
The State of Teacher Policies Page 7Inter-American Dialogue
1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-822-9002 / Fax: 202-822-9553
Email: education@thedialogue.org
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