Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce our new study “Temporary Teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean” (by G. Elacqua, L. Marotta and C. Morales), available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.  Our research explores trends and policies on temporary teachers across Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Argentina.  While temporary teaching arrangements are widespread for economic and administrative flexibility, the data shows concerning patterns.  Research in the region consistently demonstrates that temporary teachers have lower skills and are less effective than permanent teachers.   Brazil has seen temporary teachers increase from one-third to over half of all teachers in just 10 years.  While temporary teachers represent over 1 in 5 teachers in all countries analyzed, with Colombia having the lowest percentage (20%), the proportion rises to over 30% in Ecuador and Guyana, and exceeds 40% in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil.

Our data reveals stark geographic and demographic inequities in temporary teacher distribution.  Across all studied countries, rural areas have significantly higher percentages of temporary teachers – in Guyana, nearly 60% of rural teachers hold temporary positions compared to 30% in urban areas.  Secondary education, particularly TVET programs, shows higher rates of temporary staffing; in Costa Rica, 35% of high school teachers are temporary, compared to only 15% of primary school teachers.  The disparity is even more pronounced in indigenous schools, where Costa Rica and Brazil report over 80% of teachers on temporary contracts, often resulting from requirements that teachers come from indigenous communities themselves, severely limiting the qualified candidate pool.

Most countries lack coherent policy frameworks for temporary teachers, but our recommendations point to promising approaches: (1) establishing minimum qualification standards as Colombia has begun implementing; (2) creating “bridging” professional development pathways following Chile’s model; (3) implementing targeted incentives to attract qualified teachers to disadvantaged areas as Peru is attempting; and (4) developing transparent allocation mechanisms for temporary teachers such as Ecuador has adopted in recent years.

We welcome your comments.

Gregory

Gregory Elacqua

Principal Economist

Social Sector

Education Division

Website: gregoryelacqua.com

Email: [email protected]

Cel: +1 (202) 826-6448