Education and Learning
In the past several years, there have been improvements in Peruvian education. For example, enrollment rates have increased, and there is an observable trend toward improvement in standardized test scores. However, there is still much to be done in terms of the quality, equality, and relevance of education in Peru.
Therefore, all GRADE studies focus on identifying the existing challenges for the Peruvian educational system in achieving its intended impact on society. In these studies, GRADE researchers place significant emphasis on educational inequality. As such, our researchers have conducted studies on the effects of poverty, living in rural areas, race and ethnicity (with a focus on indigenous peoples and the Afro-Peruvian community), and disability on educational opportunities and success. GRADE researchers have likewise incorporated a gender component into many studies.
Informed by these studies as well as others, GRADE researchers have been directly involved in policy debates in numerous sectors of government, including those of the Ministry of Education and other institutions working on topics in education.
Senior Researchers
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Lorena Alcázar Valdivia
PhD en Economics - Washington University
Lorena has a BA in Economics from the Pacific University in Peru, a Master’s Degree in Political and International Economy from the Kiel Institute of World Economics, and a PhD in Economics from Washington University. She is currently a Senior Researcher at the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE). Previously, she served as Vice-President […]
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María Balarin Bonazzi
PhD en Educational Policy - University of Bath
María Balarin is a Senior Researcher at the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) in Peru. Her research explores the political economy of education reform and educational justice in the Global South, with a particular focus on gender dynamics and socioeconomic exclusion. She has examined how state weakness shapes education reforms, the processes of […]
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Martín Benavides Abanto (on leave)
PhD en Sociology - Pennsylvania State University
Martín Benavides has a PhD in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University where he also attained a Master’s Degree in Education Policy. He has a degree in Sociology and a BA in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and has been a visiting student on issues of social mobility and inequality at Nuffield College […]
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Santiago Cueto Caballero
PhD en Educational Psychology - Indiana University
Santiago Cueto holds a degree in Educational Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a PhD in the same field from Indiana University in the United States. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of California at Davis and the University of Oxford. He is currently a Senior Researcher at GRADE, […]
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Gabriela Guerrero Barnechea
PhD en Educational Sciences - KU Leuven
Gabriela Guerrero has a PhD in Educational Sciences from the KU Leuven in Belgium and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies with a major in Public Policy from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She is currently a […]
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Juan León Jara-Almonte
PhD en - Pennsylvania State University
Juan has a PhD in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative & International Education from Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with mention in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Currently, he is a Senior Researcher at GRADE. His research interests are inequality in education, intercultural bilingual education, early […]
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Patricia McLauchlan de Arregui
M.A. en Sociology - Johns Hopkins University
Patricia McLauchlan de Arregui graduated in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She obtained her MA and concluded her doctoral studies in Sociology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has worked for GRADE as a Senior Researcher since 1985 and was Executive Director of the institution between 1988 and 1998. Her […]
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Vanessa Rojas Arangoitia
PhD en - Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Vanessa holds a PhD in Sociology from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. She has a degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Her work has focused on the anthropology of education and childhood, addressing issues of educational transitions, child welfare, educational quality and power relations. During 2012, she […]
Associated Researchers
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Carmela Chávez Irigoyen
PhD en - Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Carmela Chávez Irigoyen holds a PhD in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, where she also obtained a Degree in Sociology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences. She has a Master’s Degree in Advanced Studies in Human Rights and a Master’s Degree in Fundamental Rights from the Carlos III University in Madrid. […]
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Néstor Valdivia Vargas
PhD candidate en Sociology - El Colegio de México
Néstor Valdivia is studying for a PhD in Sociology at El Colegio de México and holds a degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He is currently an Associate Researcher at GRADE in the fields of poverty and equality, education, the labor market and human development. He has worked on development and […]
Adjunct Researchers
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Antonio Campos Flores
PhD candidate en - University of San Andrés, Argentina
Antonio is a PhD Candidate in Economics from the University of San Andrés in Argentina. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of San Andrés and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. He has been a coordinator of educational policy evaluations at the Ministry of […]
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Liliana Miranda Molina
Master en - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Liliana has a master’s degree in Education Research from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). She worked at the Ministry of Education (MINEDU), first as Head of MINEDU’s Quality Measurement Unit and then as Vice-Minister of Pedagogical Management. Currently, Liliana is an Adjunct […]
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María Fernanda Rodríguez García
PhD Candidate en - Cambridge University
María Fernanda is an Adjunct Researcher at GRADE. She holds a Master’s degree in Education, Globalization & International Development from Cambridge University in United Kingdom and a degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She is currently a PhD candidate in Education at Cambridge University. Her areas of interest are the critical […]
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Paola Sarmiento Huerta
Master in Arts en - University of British Columbia
Paola holds a MA on Educational Policy from University of British Columbia (UBC) and has a degree in Educational Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She has been part of educational reform processes in Peru such as the Public Teaching Career and the University Reform. In addition, she has been a member of the […]
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Claudia Sugimaru Arakaki
Máster en Educational Sciences - KU Leuven
Claudia holds a Master’s degree in Educational Sciences from KU Leuven in Belgium and a degree in Psychology with a major in Education from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Currently, she is an Adjunct Researcher at GRADE.
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Jessica Tapia Soriano
Master en - Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO)
Jessica holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences with an orientation on Education from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Argentina. Currently she is an Adjunct Researcher at GRADE and the Pedagogical Coordinator of the Growing with Multigrade Rural Schools in Peru (CREER) Project.
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Verónica Villarán Bedoya
Master en - Social Sciences with an orientation on Education
Verónica holds a Degree in Social Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a Master’s degree in Social Sciences with an orientation on Education from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Argentina. Between 2011 and 2014 she worked at the Ministry of Education, first as Director of Educational Research and Documentation and […]
Research Assistants
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Aranza Ballesteros
Degree en -
Aranza holds a degree in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and will support as a research assistant to the project team: ‘AdaptED – Observatory for Educational Resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean’, led by Santiago Cueto, principal investigator.
Project Support Staff
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Mónica Lizama Egoavil
Degree en - National Agrarian University
Mónica studied Statistical and Computer Science Engineer at the National University Agrarian La Molina. Currently she is the Data Manager for Young Lives in Peru. Before joining Young Lives, Mónica worked as a statistics assistant at the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics (INEI) and the International Nutrition Institute (IIN).
External Affiliated Researchers
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David Baker
PhD en - Johns Hopkins University
David P. Baker is Professor of Education and Sociology at the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the impact of education on individuals and societies, international comparisons of school organization, academic outcomes, and educational policy. His most recent book is The Schooled Society: The Educational Transformation of Global Culture. Palo Alto CA: Stanford University […]
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Jere R. Behrman
Ph.D. en - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professor Behrman is a leading international researcher in empirical microeconomics, with emphasis on developing economies. He is also a Research Associate at Penn’s Population Studies Center. His research interests include empirical microeconomics, labor economics, human resources (early childhood development, education, health, nutrition), project evaluation, economic demography, incentive systems and household behaviors. The unifying dimension of […]
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Marjorie Chinen
PhD en - University of California
Marjorie is a Ph.D. in Education with emphasis on Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Research Methodology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has over 15 years of experience in project management, technical assistance, research and fieldwork in international development. She has led multiple projects in different areas of education, and designed and […]
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Marta Favara
PhD en - University of Essex
Marta is a Senior Researcher at the Oxford Department of International Development at the University of Oxford where she is leading the quantitative research agenda of Young Lives since 2015. She is also a Research Fellow at the Oxford Martin School Programme on African Governance and an IZA Research Affiliate. Before joining Young Lives, she […]
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Sonia Laszlo
PhD en - University of Toronto
Sonia Laszlo is Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of International Development. Her main research areas cover many aspects of applied microeconomic analysis in economic development: rural development, access to markets, and the relationship between income, health and education in economic development. In addition to using traditional analytic tools […]
Visiting Researchers
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Claudia Galindo
PhD en - Pennsylvania State University
Claudia holds a Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative & International Education from Pennsylvania State University, and a post-doctoral degree in Social Organization of Schools from Johns Hopkins University. She is an Associated Professor at University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she teaches in the fields of educational inequalities, inmigration and research methodologies.
Publications
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Paradojas de la mejora educativa en los niveles subnacionales de gobierno: los casos de San Martín y Ayacucho
La mejora sistémica de la educación2021 Maria Balarin
En Perú, María Balarin analiza dos casos muy disímiles. Por un lado, San Martín fue el único caso seleccionado en el que no hubo mejoras por encima del país, pero fue elegido ante la falta de casos de mejora porque los expertos consultados destacaron su planificación, articulación y calidad de gestión en un contexto muy […]
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Treinta años de escuela en abstracto
El Perú desde la escuela2021 Santiago Cueto
A partir de los hallazgos reportados en el libro y otros estudios, Santiago Cueto argumenta que la meta principal de la educación peruana ha estado desconectada de los retos que la sociedad atravesaba entonces y atraviesa ahora.
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La educación de niños y niñas con discapacidad en el Perú durante la pandemia
2021 Gabriela Ramos, Santiago Cueto, Claudia Felipe
This policy brief is based on a study that analyzes how the health emergency of COVID-19 has changed the way in which inclusive public educational services are offered and the possibility of students with disabilities at the primary level in the modalities of EBE and EBR in Peru to exercise the right to education.
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JournalRevista Educación Superior y Sociedad
Brechas de género en la gobernanza universitaria y la carrera docente en el Perú
2021 Carmela Chávez, Esteban Penelas Ronso Merino
This article explores gender gaps in university governance, analyzing evidence on the distribution of positions by sex, both in senior management and academic leadership in Peruvian universities, as well as in the teaching staff. It is shown that there is little participation of women in university governing bodies, information that is analyzed according to the […]
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JournalInternational Journal of Educational Development
The relationship between access to pre-school education and the development of social-emotional competencies: Longitudinal evidence from Peru
2021 Briyit Arapa, Eduardo Sánchez, Alejandra Hurtado-Mazeyra, Alan Sanchez
Authors evidence of the role pre-school has in the development of social-emotional competencies. We used data from the Young Lives longitudinal study in Peru to test the relationship between attendance to pre-school education with agency and pride at ages 8, 12, and 15, and self-efficacy and self-esteem at ages 12 and 15. They found that […]
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Transformación institucional y movilidad en la universidad peruana: el caso de las universidades gerenciales en sectores emergentes
2015
In the last 20 years, the greatest change in higher education institutions in Peru has been the emergence of the private university as a protagonist in the sector. Within the latter, the majority are low-cost business universities, for-profit universities whose promoters are the so-called new entrepreneurs of education (sometimes owners of other pre-schools, schools, technical […]
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The Reliability and Validity of Achievement Tests in the Second Young Lives School Survey in Ethiopia
2015Juan Leon, ,
This technical note gives details of the reliability and validity of the assessments used in the second school survey carried out by Young Lives in Ethiopia for the purpose of the construction of test scores on a common scale within each language for maths and reading comprehension. This document give details of the three-parameter model […]
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Nivel socioeconómico, tipo de escuela y resultados educativos en el Perú: el caso de PISA 2012
2015
El objetivo del trabajo es analizar el logro educativo de los estudiantes en las habilidades evaluadas mediante las evaluaciones PISA 2012, con énfasis en el nivel socioeconómico, la titularidad de la escuela (público o privado) y el sexo del estudiante, empleando un modelo multinivel jerarquizado que tiene en cuenta los efectos fijos y aleatorios a […]
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Identificación de predictores del desempeño en la comprensión de textos orales y escritos
2015
The aim of the study was to identify predictors of reading comprehension in order to promote early interventions. We examined data from Young Lives study, using structural equation modeling, for assessing relationships between child and environmental features, and language development. Main findings were that (1) mothers’ features – which we relate to means to employ […]
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The default privatization of peruvian education and the rise of low-fee private schools: better or worse opportunities for the poor?
2015Maria Balarin,
The study on which this paper is based set out to explore what was happening in the lowfee private schooling sector in Perú—a growing and un-explored area of public education in the country and in many parts of the developing world—and, more specifi cally, at how parents from poor backgrounds make decisions and navigate the […]
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JournalBritish Journal of Sociology of Education
Understanding education: a sociological perspective
2011Maria Balarin,
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JournalGlobalization, Societies and Education
Global citizenship and marginalization: contributions towards a political economy of global citizenship
2011Maria Balarin,
This paper provides a critical discussion of the literature on global citizenship education using a theorical approach that sterms form political economy theories of globalisation.
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JournalPopulation and Development Review
The Education Effect on Population Health: A Reassessment
2011Juan Leon, David Baker, ,
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JournalEarly Child Development and Care
The influence of maternal employment on children’s learning growth and the role of parental involvement
2011Juan Leon, , ,
Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, this study employed a latent growth curve model to examine how parental involvement explains the association between maternal employment status and children's math and reading achievement growth from kindergarten through the third grade.
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Educating Latin American economists
2011,
Graduate economic programmes in Latin America have evolved along the lines of two different traditions: one closely linked to the current economic mainstream (being in that sense ‘global’) and the other more local and heterodox. The paper provides an overview of perceptions, interests, concerns and opinions of global Latin American graduate economic programmes, comparing them […]
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Oportunidades de aprendizaje y rendimiento en comunicación integral de estudiantes en tercer y cuarto grado de primaria en Lima y Ayacucho
Los desafíos de la escolaridad en el Perú: estudios sobre los procesos pedagógicos, los saberes previos y el rol de las familias2006Santiago Cueto, Juan Leon, , ,
Se describirán las oportunidades de aprendizaje en comunicación integral de los estudiantes de tercer y cuarto grados de primaria en 20 escuelas de Lima y Ayacucho, buscando explicar su aprendizaje durante el año.
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Educación y estructura social en el Perú: un estudio acerca del acceso a la educación superior y la movilidad intergeneracional en una muestra de trabajadores urbanos
¿Es posible mejorar la educación peruana?: evidencias y posibilidades2004Martín Benavides,
Se presenta un riguroso análisis empírico de la asociación entre movilidad social y educación en el Perú. Entre las múltiples expectativas sociales respecto de la educación en el Perú (y otros países) está la de movilidad social.
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Oportunidades de aprendizaje y rendimiento en matemática de los estudiantes de tercero y cuarto grados de primaria en Lima y Ayacucho
Educación, procesos pedagógicos y equidad: cuatro Mimeos de investigación -
Labor market reforms and their impacts over formal labor demand and job market turnover: the case of Peru
Law and employment: lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean2000Maximo Torero,
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Equidad y educación en América Latina: Nuevas rutas para la investigación
Etnicidad, Raza, Género y Educación en América Latina2004Santiago Cueto, ,
La forma en que el origen étnico de los niños, su raza y su género inciden en sus oportunidades educativas, las consecuencias que tiene su desigual acceso a las mismas y las razones de su bajo rendimiento escolar.
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Education and Learning en la categoría Policy brief
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Indicadores de ciencia y tecnología en América Latina: 1970-1990
1991Patricia McLauchlan de Arregui, Maximo Torero,
Abreviario estadístico de 11 países de América Latina. Incluye indicadores de desarrollo económico y social para evaluar su situación, progreso e impacto de sus actividades científicas y tecnológicas.
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Imaginemos un Perú mejor
1989
Artículos periodísticos escritos por el autor entre 1985 y 1988 para promover la diseminación de un enfoque de largo plazo en el pensamiento de quienes diseñan o ejecutan políticas de desarrollo.
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Excelencia científica en la periferia: actividades científicas e investigación biomédica en el Perú 1890-1950
1989
La actividad científica en el Perú entre 1890 y 1950. Según Cueto, el trabajo científico en nuestro país tiene sus propias reglas no como síntomas de atraso o modernidad sino como parte de su propia cultura.
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Conocimiento y desarrollo: ensayos sobre ciencia y tecnología
1988
Este libro reúne ocho ensayos sobre el tema de la ciencia y tecnología en el desarrollo, escritos durante la década de los ochenta referidos a América Latina en conjunto, y ensayos sobre el Perú.
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Perú 2010: el futuro ya no es como antes
1988Patricia McLauchlan de Arregui,
Tres escenarios alternativos para el futuro del Perú para contribuir al debate nacional sobre este tema y construidos en base a las expectativas respecto a un país ideal de grupo de jóvenes líderes peruanos.
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Education and Learning en la categoría Mimeo
Projects
- Evaluación de Impacto del Programa AprenDes – 2007June 2007
- Fortalecimiento de la gestión educativa local, en el marco de la municipalización de la educaciónJune 2007
- Diagnóstico y elaboración de indicadores educativos en La GranjaMay 2007
- Elaboración de un diagnóstico y diseño de sistemas administrativos de control de asistencia docente en el aulaMay 2007
- Administration of the Education and Research FundSeptember 2006
- Evaluación de Impacto del Programa AprenDes – 2006August 2006
- El currículo nacional: análisis de los cambios y continuidades en la política curricular peruana de secundaria 2000-2005August 2006
- De 5to. de primaria al fin de la secundaria en 6 años: un estudio longitudinal en PunoAugust 2006
- Wawa WasiAugust 2006
- Género y EducaciónAugust 2006
News
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Why educate in Peru today?, by Santiago Cueto
August 26, 2019 Education and learning
Why educate in Peru today? Our executive director Santiago Cueto writes about how education should help us overcome the main challenges facing the country: little respect for institutions, violence, corruption, inclusion and low productivity. The article has been published by Fundación Telefónica Perú
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Southern Voice: Precariousness still affects education and employment in Peru and Bolivia
August 20, 2019 Education and learning, Employment, productivity and innovation
On the sidelines of the 2019 annual congress of the Peruvian Association of Economics (APE), Southern Voice hosted a panel on the precariousness of education and employment in Peru and Bolivia. Our senior researcher Lorena Alcázar, Werner Hernani, researcher at Fundación ARU and economist Hugo Ñopo discussed their findings. In this article we share key takeaways from the discussion. Precariousness […]
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A new column by Ofer Malamud, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, Santiago Cueto, Executive Director at GRADE, Julián Cristia, Lead Economist at the Inter-American Development Bank, and Diether W. Beuermann, Senior Economist at the Inter-American Development Bank, summarizes the experimental evidence of the impact of home internet access in child outcomes in Peru, reported in […]
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María Balarin: “La respuesta que la ley plantea es promover una mayor transparencia de parte de los proveedores de servicios educativos privados hacia los padres de familia”. Pensiones de colegios particulares en debate
March 14, 2019 Education and learning
Sorry, this entry is only available in Español.
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Start of classes. Santiago Cueto: ‘We must look for the balanced development of the people’
March 5, 2019 Education and learning
‘We must look for the balanced development of the people. If some children receive a lot of pressure from their families and they are very good in the academic field, but they fail to develop social and emotional skills, one could not call that a successful education’. Listen to the interview with our executive director, […]
Events
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Santiago Cueto will be a speaker at CONADIS 1st National Research Meeting on Disability
04/12/2020 5:40 pm Facebook CONADIS Education and learning, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
Santiago Cueto will be one of the speakers at the 1st National Research Meeting on Disability, organized by the National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (CONADIS). Our executive director and senior researcher will present “Coverage, opportunities, factors associated with access and perceptions about special education and educational inclusion in Peru”. LIVE BROADCAST Join the […]
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3rd CREER virtual dialogue: Strategies to apply the multigrade methodology in mathematics
25/11/2020 7:00 pm Facebook CREER Education and learning
Este miércoles 25, the Project Growing with the Multigrade Rural Schools of Peru (CREER) will organize its third virtual dialogue “How many pictures fit ?: Strategies to apply the multigrade methodology in mathematics”. SPEAKERS Elsie Rockwell (Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, México). Tatiana Mendoza (Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, México). Chair: Patricia Arregui […]
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Santiago Cueto discussed the purpose of inclusion and equity of the PEN to 2036 in a Municipality of Lima event
20/11/2020 6:00 pm Facebook Lima Educación Education and learning
Our Executive Director Santiago Cueto discussed the purpose of inclusion and equity of the National Educational Project PEN to 2036 in a virtual discussion held by the Municipality of Lima’s Office of Education and Sports.
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Presentation of the book “The Keys of Education”, with studies in 6 Latin America countries, including Peru conducted by María Balarin
10/11/2020 3:00 pm (hora Perú) Evento virtual Education and learning
What are the “keys” to improving education on a large scale in Latin America and who made it happen? Participate in the international presentation of the book Las Llaves de la Educación, in which 17 researchers analyzed 12 subnational cases in 6 countries of the region, including Peru, led by our senior researcher María Balarin. The […]
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Hugo Ñopo will be a panelist for the CARE Peru discussion, “The future of girls in Peru”
30/10/2020 5:30 pm Evento virtual Education and learning
Our senior researcher Hugo Ñopo will be one of the panelists of the CARE Peru dialogue, “The future of girls in Peru.” PANELISTS Marilú Martens, general director of CARE Peru Salvador del Solar, former president of the Council of Ministers Hugo Ñopo, senior researcher at GRADE Inés Temple, president of LHH-DBM Peru and member of the Board […]
- Education and Learning
- Employment, Productivity and Innovation
- Rural Development and Agriculture
- Ethnicity, Gender and Citizenship
- Methodologies for Research and Evaluation of Policy and Programmes
- Poverty and Equity
- Natural Resources, Extractive Industries and Social Conflict
- State Reform and Public Institutions
- Health and Nutrition
- Urbanization and Sustainable Cities






