Background

High inequality, low mobility and weak social cohesion constitute one of the three development traps that, according to ECLAC, limit the progress of Latin America and the Caribbean towards a more productive, inclusive and sustainable future. Among the factors that feed this trap are the weakness of the region’s education and vocational training systems — one of its ten major structural gaps — and an essential area of transformation and change for advancing towards more productive, inclusive and sustainable development (ECLAC, 2024a).

The region faces a dual challenge in education, related to both coverage and learning outcomes. Despite the progress made in recent decades in terms of coverage, progression and completion of compulsory education, an inclusion gap persists, while at the same time a learning crisis is evident. The document to be launched at this event presents new methodological proposals for measuring educational inequality by integrating these two dimensions. It was prepared within the framework of the ECLAC cooperation project with the Ford Foundation, “Transforming regional development models in Latin America and the Caribbean and advancing towards the reduction of inequality”.

This type of analysis makes it possible to monitor educational progress beyond averages over time and across levels of education, thereby helping to identify comprehensive strategies to address inequality in education.

Objective of the Panel
Launch of the Social Policies Series publication “Education, inequality and inclusive social development”.