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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Masificación educativa y diversificación institucional. Discursos y diseños organizacionales en universidades privadas de bajo costo en el Perú
2021 Carmela Chávez
This research addresses the phenomenon of the low-cost private university (UPBC) in Peru, analyzing the institutional discourses of two case studies, as well as the educational narratives of its students. Two research questions are posed, the first of a descriptive nature that seeks to know how their educational actors are and from what paradigms they […]
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JournalInternational Journal of Epidemiology
Cohort profile update: The Young Lives study
2021 Marta Favara, Gina Crivello, Mary Penny, Catherine Porter, Ellanka Revathi, Alan Sanchez, Douglas Scott, Le Thuc Duc, Tassew Woldehanna, Andy McKay
• Young Lives is a longitudinal study tracking two cohorts of children in four low-and-middle-income countries [Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam]. • The survey started in 2002 and three rounds were completed by 2009. Two further rounds took place in 2013 (round 4) and 2016 (round 5). Most recently the round planned for 2020 was […]
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El derecho a estudiar: inclusión de niñas, niños y adolescentes migrantes venezolanos al sistema educativo peruano
2021 Lorena Alcazar, Maria Balarin
The objective of this study is to identify the factors that facilitate or limit the access, permanence and experience of Venezuelan children and adolescents in the Peruvian education system.
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The slow development process of educational policies in Peru
Examining educational policy in Latin America: comprehensive insights into contemporary reform2021 Maria Balarin
This book synthesizes and analyzes the complex map of educational reforms in Latin America in the first two decades of the 21st century. The book offers insights into the agendas, processes and political economy of educational reforms in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The chapters present systematic, critical and reflective accounts of an intense […]
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Aprendiendo matemática de manera divertida desde el hogar: factores asociados al uso de la plataforma online Conecta Ideas
2021 Claudia Sugimaru, Carla Glave
El objetivo de la investigación consiste en analizar los factores asociados al uso en el hogar de la plataforma online “Conecta Ideas” por parte de estudiantes de 4to de primaria de instituciones públicas de Lima Metropolitana en el año 2019. El estudio se basa en un Modelo de Aceptación de Tecnología (TAM), el cual predice […]
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Sistematización de experiencias internacionales en políticas de repetición de grado
2014
El presente documento presenta la sistematización de las políticas de repetición en Reino Unido, Canadá, Australia, Suecia, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, y Brasil. Dicha sistematización busca responder a las siguientes preguntas: a) ¿Cuáles son las estrategias o políticas que típicamente se implementan en relación a la repetición escolar? b) ¿Cuáles son las razones que justifican las […]
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Análisis de Género e Interculturalidad en las Rutas del Aprendizaje del Ministerio de Educación
2014
El presente estudio da cuenta de un análisis de género e interculturalidad realizado en las Rutas del Aprendizaje elaboradas por el Ministerio de Educación en el año 2013, las cuales buscan proporcionar orientaciones a docentes, a modo de apoyo a su trabajo pedagógico en el aula. Específicamente, el documento presenta los resultados del estudio de […]
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Broken Gears: The Value Added of Higher Education on Teachers’ Academic Achievement
2014,
A growing literature establishes that good teachers are essential for high quality educational systems. However, little is known about teachers’ skills formation during their college years. In this paper we use a novel panel data set combining two standardized tests for Colombian students: one that is taken at the end of senior year in high […]
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Measuring the Relative Pay of Latin American School Teachers at the turn of the 20th Century
2014,
How much are teachers paid in comparison to those in other professions in Latin America? How have these differences evolved at the turn of the 20th century? This paper documents the extent to which teachers are underpaid vis-à-vis workers in other professional and technical occupations in thirteen Latin-American countries circa 2007. It also analyses the […]
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Estado de la cuestión sobre experiencias y buenas prácticas internacionales en materia de Bienestar Docente
2014
La Dirección General de Desarrollo Docente (DIGEDD) del Ministerio de Educación tiene entre sus funciones el diseño de políticas de evaluación, trayectoria y bienestar docente en una perspectiva de desarrollo profesional permanente. Con la finalidad de contribuir al diseño de políticas públicas orientadas a la revalorización y bienestar de los docentes del sistema educativo público […]
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La Formación de los Economistas en America Latina
2009,
The paper presents a comparative view of the training of economists in Latin America, analyzing curricula, commonly utilized textbooks, professors’ time-commitments, teaching methods, and the use of technologies and computational tools. Also, following the approach of Colander (2005), the paper presents the results of a survey of Economics students, creating a socioeconomic profile of them […]
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JournalInternational Journal of Educational Development
Educational impact of a school breakfast program in rural Peru
2008, Santiago Cueto,
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JournalRevista Electrónica Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación
Oportunidades de aprendizaje y rendimiento escolar en Matemática y Lenguaje: resumen de tres estudios en Perú
2008Gabriela Guerrero, Juan Leon, Santiago Cueto,
This study synthesises three studies on the relationship between opportunities to learn (ODA for its acronym in Spanish) and school performance in public schools in Peru. Learning opportunities in these studies were operationally defined on the basis of curricular coverage, cognitive demand, student feedback and correct exercises. These were estimated from the exercises solved in […]
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JournalPrimary Review Research Survey
The governance, administration and control of primary education
2008Maria Balarin,
In this report a detailed description of the current state of educational governance, administration and control will be presented.
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JournalPolicy Futures in Education
The Right to Knowledge and the Right to Philosophy
2008Maria Balarin,
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Los retornos a la educación y a la experiencia en el Perú, 1985-1997
Pobreza y economía social: análisis de una encuesta (ENNIV-1997)1999,
En este artículo se documentan los cambios observados en la estructura de ingresos entre 1985 y 1997.
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Las barras bravas y la ausencia del gol: entre comandos y trincheras
¿Nacidos para ser salvajes?: iIdentidad y violencia juvenil en los 901998Martín Benavides, ,
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Los graduados de sociología de la Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca
Congreso Nacional de Sociología (3º: 1995 Nov. 28-Dic. 2: Cajamarca, Perú)1998Martín Benavides,
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Evaluation of a school breakfast program in Peru
Nutrition, health, and child development1998, Santiago Cueto,
The methods and main findings from two studies in Huaraz in one of the five departments targeted for assessing the educational and nutritional impact of the school breakfast program.
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Financiamiento de la educación en el Perú
Financiamiento de la educación en América Latina1998,
Durante los últimos 25 años el gasto educativo público real en el Perú se ha mantenido relativamente constante, aunque con fluctuaciones relacionadas con el ciclo económico.
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Education and Learning en la categoría Policy brief
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Education and Learning en la categoría Book
No se han encontrado publicaciones de Education and Learning en la categoría Mimeo
News
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Our Research Director, Santiago Cueto, is one of the 2017 Research Prize winners, awarded by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) to its regular and contracted professors who have high quality academic publications, as a result of a research and that generate new knowledge. The criteria for this recognition were established by consensus between the Academic Departments and […]
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Young Lives Peru releases a summary of is findings on the drivers and impacts of childhood poverty in Peru
June 18, 2018 Education and learning, Poverty and equality, Health and nutrition
The longitudinal study Young Lives Peru has published a summary of the findings of five rounds of surveys applied to children and their families —in the years 2002, 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016—. These findings provide a broad overview of some indicators of child poverty, and account for changes in the lives of children and youth during […]
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Hugo Ñopo gives his thoughts on the challenges of the public budget for the development of the education sector
June 11, 2018 Education and learning, State reform and public institutions
“Today we spend 3.7% of GDP on education. Moving from 3.7% to 6% is impossible in the medium term. So, first we have to sincere the goal.” Our senior researcher, Hugo Ñopo, gave his thoughts on the relevance of setting a feasible, verifiable and monitorable route for the population to promote the development of education […]
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Alan Sánchez’s research is selected in the 2018 INEI National Research Call
May 15, 2018 Education and learning, Health and nutrition
We congratulate our senior researcher, Alan Sánchez, whose research, “Relationship between adolescent pregnancy and adolescent maternity and educational and labor outcomes: an approach based on data from the ENDES”, was selected in the 2018 National Research Call of the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI). List of winners here.
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Book launch: Grupo Sofía presented “Inequality in academia: women in the Peruvian social sciences”
May 9, 2018 Education and learning, Ethnicity, gender and citizenship
Grupo Sofía held the launch of its book “Inequality in academia: women in the Peruvian social sciences”, edited by Lorena Alcázar and María Balarin. The book includes chapters of researchers Patricia Ames, Norma Correa, Erika Busse, Roxana Barrantes, Patricia Ruiz-Bravo, Yamilé Guibert, Andrea Román, Aurora Escudero, Karen Espinoza and María Fernanda Rodríguez. They present rigorous evidence, until […]
Events
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GRADE researchers join the presentation of the results of the SPSD pilot project “Valuing diversity in schools”
10/12/2019 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Auditorio de GRADE (Av. Almirante Grau 915, Barranco) Education and learning
The Peruvian Society for Down Syndrome presents the results of its pilot project, “Valuing diversity in school”. The project aimed to strengthen the capacities of the different actors of the educational community in relation to their policies, practices and inclusive culture. The active participation of managers, support staff, teachers, students and families of two public […]
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2030 Agenda: Promoting Global South research within international debates
26/11/2019 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Live stream Education and learning, Employment, productivity and innovation
On Tuesday, November 26, the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) and Southern Voice will discuss the challenges and opportunities to strengthen the participation of public policy experts and researchers from the Global South in international development debates. Southern Voice is a network of more than 50 think tanks from countries in Africa, Latin […]
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Santiago Cueto was a panelist at the 7th DRELM International Pedagogical Congress “In citizen schools, Lima learns”
15/11/2019 Auditorio de la IE Alfonso Ugarte Education and learning
“We need an education for Peru, which forms citizenship thinking about its big problems.” Santiago Cueto, Executive Director at GRADE, was a panelist at the VII International Pedagogical Congress “In citizen schools, Lima learns”, organized from November 14 to 16 by the Regional Bureau for Education of Metropolitan Lima (DRELM). Panel video:
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Evidence Week 2019| Gabriela Guerrero and Santiago Cueto joined MINEDU’s event on education and early childhood
11/11/2019 9:00 am - 11:00 am Auditorio de GRADE (Av. Almirante Grau 915, Barranco) Education and learning
Our Senior Researchers, Gabriela Guerrero and Santiago Cueto, joined in the opening day of the Evidence Week 2019, “Education and early childhood”, held by the Ministry of Education (MINEDU). During her presentation, Gabriela addressed the relevance of ensuring quality services in two dimensions: structural quality, as key inputs for the deliver of the service; and quality of processes, linked to the way […]
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María Balarin joined a Columbia University South-North Dialogue on Contemporary Education Policy in Latin America
03/10/2019 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Nueva York, Estados Unidos Education and learning
Our Research Director and Senior Researcher, María Balarin, joined a South-North dialogue on contemporary education policy in Latin America, organized by the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) at Columbia University. María presented evidence on educational markets in socioeconomic and educational segregation. She recently (together with Aurora Escudero) published a study on the trends of school segregation […]
- 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






