The following paper is a very good example of a literature search. Actually, it is a " re-write" of the student's  first version, which has some characteristics of a term paper.  That first version appears after the bibliography so you can compare the two and see the differences.

Should rural people be allowed the same educational opportunities as urban people? Does our location often dictate the quality of our education? Education in rural areas of Latin America is extremely poor. Is it the fault of the government, teachers, amount of available materials, or apathy on the part of the people? This goal of this literature search was to identify the problems with rural education in Latin America and highlight how those problems can be solved. The following paper summarizes the information found and the sources which contribute to the literature on the subject.

1. All Latin American students should be attending school everyday.

2. Quality of education in Latin America depends on where one lives.

3. Northeast Brazil has become the example for rural education at its worst.

Sources often cite economics as the key downfall of education in this region of the world, claiming that a lack of investment by the government has lead to the stagnation of education (Birdsall and Sabot 1996, Schiefelbein 1997). With education free and compulsory now, all Latin American students should be attending schools on a daily basis, regardless of where they live (Country Profile Mexico 1998, Schiefelbein 1997). But large amount of rural children are still unable to access school (Reimers 1990). The quality of the education depending on ones location has become the major issue.

Rural education in Latin America has a history of being unequal with its urban counterparts. Although there are rural areas in all of the Latin American countries, Northeast Brazil has become the focus of study for rural education. Many of the sources examine Northeast Brazil in detail, attempting to explain those reasons why it’s educational system is considered poor and backward (Birdsall & Sabot 1996, Plank 1996, Hanusek & Harbison 1992, Purcell & Roett 1997). These sources all argue that there is a huge economic gap between the Northeast and the more industrialized states of the South, corresponding to better quality of education in the Southern urban areas (Birdsall & Sabot p. 132-133, 341, 1996, Plank p. 73,169 1996, Hanusek & Harbison p. 29-30 1992, Purcell & Roett 1997). Plank localizes his argument to socio-economics, claiming that Brazil spends less money on its children in the North than its children in the South (Plank p. 73 1996). David N. Plank provides an excellent table of expenditures per student in each region, clearly demonstrating that the urban in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil receive upwards of two to three times more allocated dollars (study was done in U.S. dollars) than the North and Northeast students (Plank 1996).

1. Teacher training in Latin America must supercede all educational reform efforts.

2. Teachers salaries must improve in order to attract highly qualified people into the process of teaching students.

Teachers are one of the largest determining factors in the quality of education in Latin America. The quality of a teacher will depend on his or her preparedness. Teacher training will dictate the quality of a school and the education that is occurring inside that school. Many of the sources that discuss teacher training, claim that it is the all encompassing problem in education in Latin America (Maia 1991, Rama 1986, Smith 1991, Plank 1996, Alvarez, Arcia, & Scobie 1997). These sources highlight the idea that rural education cannot possibly improve until teacher education advances. As Rama (1986) and Smith (1991) point out, in rural areas teachers have been neglected and forced into positions which they may not be fully prepared to handle.

David N. Plank (1996) highlights this problem by giving statistics which show that less than half of primary school teachers have completed primary school. How can education improve with a statistic like that? Critics of teacher training (Maia 1991, Rama 1986) point to teacher education programs as the problem, claiming that the programs maintain low standards and poor content with little pre-service field experience. It becomes difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs because in many Latin American countries there is not an established evaluation system (Alvarez, Arcia, & Scobie 1997).

The other issue lies in the amount of quality teachers in the field. Teacher salaries have remained comparatively low in many areas of Latin America (Plank 1996, Smith 1991). Yet, Alvarez, Arcia, & Scobie (1997) question whether or not increased salaries will improve education. Many of the sources discussed the short term problems associated with teacher salaries, such as protests, a lack of showing up to teach, and the overall stagnation of educational activities (Tedesco 1989, Schiefelbein July 1990). While teachers salaries are increasing in many areas, it is still not a large enough salary to draw increased levels of men and women into the teaching profession (Reimers 1989). Ernesto Schiefelbein, a leading author on the quality of Latin American education, feels that the best solution is to place the rural teacher’s salary in the hands of local communities (Schiefelbein July, 1990). He argues that if teachers were to move to their local communities where they were teaching, they would soon resume the role of community instructors, eventually gaining the respect and large salaries paid by their local community (Schiefelbein July, 1990). Schiefelbein’s suggestion should not be ignored because historically it has found some success. In Mexico in the 1930's and ‘40's, teachers moved into local communities and worked as community instructors, but they were paid by the State and Federal Government (Vaughan 1997). The project found limited success overall, but appeared to work in those areas where rural people had a strong desire to improve their education.

1. Teaching materials are not readily available for rural Latin American schools (Plank 1996, Kugler 1991, Hanusek and Harbison 1992, Schiefelbein 1990).

2. Technology can only vastly improve the quality of education in rural schools (Birdsall and Sabot 1996, Hanusek and Harbison 1992, Sanchez 1991, Joia 1997).

The little information available on the topic generally discussed textbooks and not software or any other forms of technology. One of the few sources I located discussed textbook availability in Argentina (Kugler 1991). Kugler (1991) contended that textbooks are rarely available to poor rural students because in Argentina (for example), parents are expected to purchase the textbooks for their children. He also suggests that the solution to this textbook crisis is to provide subsidized books or free textbooks to those children of poor families (Kugler 1991). Hanusek and Harbison (1992) have shown that while textbooks do improve student performance (p. 103), they are still unavailable to many schools (especially those in Northeast Brazil).

Technology in rural schools (software and Internet implementation) was null and void in a vast majority of rural schools. Software appeared to be more available than Internet resources, but that is not to say that all rural schools have software capabilities (Hanusek & Harbison p. 196 1992). Like textbooks, software is highly beneficial but also highly expensive for these poor areas (Birdsall & Sabot p. 413 1996). Birdsall and Sabot studied the efficiency in software and hardware investment, finding that investing in technology greatly improved education for children in Brazil (p. 412 1996). Computer and Internet implementation in Latin American schools, in general, appear to be increasing at a steady rate (Sanchez 1991, Joia 1997) but I was unable to find any evidence of Internet capabilities in any rural schools in Latin America. With the formation of a global community as a result of the Internet, Latin American children in rural areas would greatly benefit from the mass of information available. Unfortunately, I could find no evidence that this was occurring.

Fe y Allegria and Escuela Nueva.

1. Fe y Allegria affects all levels of education by working with both the government and local communities to build and maintain schools (Reimers 1993).

2. Escuela Nueva combines training, curriculum and content, and education for the rural areas through multigrade systems (Torres 1992, Reimers 1993, Psacharopoulos, Rojas, & Velez 1993).

In my search for improving education in rural Latin America I came across two programs which have been integral into the changing nature of education in Latin America. The Fe y Alegria program affects twelve countries and upwards of a half a million children (Reimers 1992, Reimers 1993). Fernando Reimers is the foremost author on the program. He points ou that the program’s goal is to provide quality education to rural and poor children and its motto really expresses this idea, "Where the asphalt road ends, where there is no water, electricity, or services, there begins Fe y Alegria" (Reimers 1993). It trains teachers and supervises them in the classroom (Reimers 1993). It has attempted to increase the expectations and standards for all teachers, especially those in rural areas. Tackling the textbook problem, several teachers in the program have produced nearly one hundred prototype texts to be used in the classroom (Reimers 1993). While the program varies from country to country (Bolivia’s program has been developing towards a boarding school), the basics in teacher training, material available and state and community involvement have remained the same (Reimers 1993).

The other program, Escuela Nueva, developed in the mid ‘70's in Colombia, has become another solution to the problems of Latin American education (Reimers 1993, Psacharopoulos, Rojas, & Velez 1993, Torres 1992, Schiefelbein July 1990). Like Fe y Alegria, Escuela Nueva is a system which Instead of offering each grade level with an individual teacher, Escuela Nueva programs maintain one or two teachers to teach up to five grades. It orients its curriculum around a rural life, making the material more meaningful to rural students (Psacharopoulos, Rojas, and Velez 1993). It solves the problem of teacher quality and teacher quantity, as well as tackling the textbook problem. Studies done by Psacharopoulos, Rojas, and Velez (1993) have shown that in the early grade levels, Escuela Nueva competes academically with traditional primary schools. Although this programs has become quite successful can it be expanded (like Fe y Alegria) to other areas of Latin America? Torres (1992) has examined that question and she offers problems with expansion such as language barriers (Colombia has just one language), infrastructure, human resources available, and of course, money. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any studies which could inform about implementation of Escuela Nueva in any other country.

Other Solutions

Other solutions do exist (Schiefelbein 1990, Fuenlabrada & Taboada 1992). Schiefelbein (1990) has suggested that teachers be held responsible to their local communities, especially in rural villages. His suggestion stems from the problem that in many villages in Mexico, the school teacher is unreliable, habitually not showing up for classes. Communities would provide textbooks and instruction guides for the teacher and the teacher would adjust school schedules so that attendance will improve (changing school times or school days so that students may help their family with the farming) and the teacher is reliant upon the community for support and salary (Schiefelbein 1990). Another study proposes community classes which are organized where the children live (Fuenlabrada & Taboada 1992). One instructor is in charge of upwards of thirty children in a multi grade classroom. This approach, similar to Escuela Nueva, limits the amount of teachers needed, although teacher quality is taken care of because these teachers have left secondary school and have been trained in this formal program (Fuenlabrada and Taboada 1992). Both of the programs listed above attempt to bridge a gap between the teachers and the community, hoping to gain support and recognition from all parties involved.

Conclusion

The literature available on rural education in Latin America is vast. Organization of the literature is a necessity in order to be able to analyze the sources and their arguments. While sources differ on solutions, it has become strikingly clear that rural education in Latin America must change and alternate in order to bring it up to speed with education in urban areas.

**************************

Annotated Bibliography
CODING SYSTEM:    **** Best Background Reference

Alvarez, Carola, Arcia, Gustavo, and Scobie, Tanya (1997, May). Education Finance and Education Reform: A Framework for Sustainability. Center for International Development. Policy Paper. Found on ERIC No. 412 612.

I felt that this paper was extremely helpful to the overall goal of the literature search. I cited it a few times, because I felt that the material present on teacher’s salaries and teacher training was especially useful.

Arvello, Garcia (1986, December).
Experiences of Educational Innovations: Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. Major Project in the Field of Education in Latin American and Caribbean Region. Paper. Found on ERIC documents.

Unfortunately, this article is a bit dated, although the information still holds true. The article discusses the many reforms and laws that have passed (historically) which affect educational services, especially to the rural and poor.

Birdsall, Nancy, and Sabot, Richard H., Ed. (1996). Opportunity Forgone: Education in Brazil. Washington D.C.: Johns Hopkins University Press. Specific Book. Call Number: LA 556.0665. Borrowed through ILL from Northern Illinois University.

**** This book provides a plethora of information on education in Brazil. It identifies almost all of the problems which were talked about in the summary. It is an amazing text and I was so pleased to have been able to locate it.

Cookson, Peter W., Jr., Sadovnik, Alan R., and Semel, Susan F. (1992). International Handbook of Educational Reform. New York: Greenwood Press. Call Number: LA135.I 58.

This book is divided up in a way which it compares several countries to each other. I found it on accident (which has become a proven success for me) and I thought I would check it out. I like how it compares Mexico to Eastern European and Asian countries in terms of education. Although it was information that I did not bring into the paper, I still found it interesting to read.

Country Profile: Brazil (1998). The Economist Intelligence Unit, London. Profile.

I found this skimming in the library. It is a general overview of the entire country with a small (very small) section on education. It highlights statistical information concerning the population and literacy rates.

Country Profile: Mexico (1998). The Economist Intelligence Unit, London. Profile.

This profile was very similar to the one aforementioned. The section on education is very small and barely noteworthy, but good for a broad (and I mean broad) overview.

Fuenlabrada, Irma and Taboada, Eva (1992). Curriculum and Educational research: Innovation proposed for basic education. Prospects, 22:1, p. 93-101. Journal Article. Call Number for Periodical: L11.P95701.

**** I was really happy to stumble across this article, by accident. It provided so many interesting solutions for dealing with the problem of rural education in Latin America. Many of the projects replicate the Fe y Alegria or Escuela Nueva programs.

Hanusek, Eric A. and Harbison, Ralph W. (1992). Educational Performance of the Poor: Lessons from Northeast Brazil. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Specific Book. Call Number: LB2822.84.B6 H3. Located through ILL from Governors State University.

**** Again, this text is a staple to any researcher on this topic. Like many of the other sources, the book focuses on Northeast Brazil. The book covers almost all of the topics engaged in this search, which made me extremely happy. I have read through the articles several times and I find myself coming across things I had not picked up on prior. A very good source, indeed.

Joia, Luiz Antonia (1997). Internet Implementation in Brazilian K-12 Schools. Internet Research, 7:4, p. 301-304. Journal Article. Acquired through ILL.

A good article about the Internet and technology in Brazilian schools, but the article fails to mention which schools are receiving the technology. I imagine that the schools which apply in this setting are those schools in the major urban centers, such as Sao Paulo and Rio.

Kugler, Bernardo (1991). Argentina: Reallocating Resources for the Improvement of Education. A World Band Country Study. World Bank, Washington, D.C. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 332 916.

This source was quite lengthy and dull, but I was able to find the information I needed after doing a lot of reading. Kugler hits on some valid points, especially in his discussion of the poor in Argentina. With all of the Northeast Brazil sources, it was essentially to have a source which discussed the poor in another setting. His information on textbooks was extremely useful.

Maia, Nelly Aleotti (1991). Teacher Education in Brazil: Problems and Issues. Action in Teacher Education, 13:1, p. 86-96. Journal Article.

This was the first article I found in my search for information. I find that it is all encompassing of all grade levels. I appreciated how it discussed the problems of teacher education and the possible solutions. The historical background provided me with some thought, as well. Overall a very useful article indeed.

Plank, David N. (1996). The Means of Our Salvation. Boulder: Westview Press. Specific Book. Call Number: 370.981 P712m. Acquired through ILL from Columbus College Library

**** This book really surprised me. It was one of the last that I ordered through ILL and yet I have found it to be one of the most helpful. I felt that the book hit on all of the key issues that I was searching for, so it ended up being a real find. His information on student expenditures is fascinating and I think Plank does an excellent job contrasting the North with the South.

Psacharopoulos, George, Rojas, Carlos, and Velez, Eduardo (1993, August). Achievement Evaluation of Colombia’s Escuela Nueva: Is Multigrade the Answer? Comparative Education Review, 37:3, p. 263-276. Journal article. Call Number for Periodical: L11.C69

I spent a great deal of time searching for information on the solutions to rural education problems and at the time I found this article I had only one source on Escuela Nueva. This article provides a lot of scientific data and statistics which prove the effectiveness of the program.

Purcell, Susan Kaufman, and Roett, Riordan, Ed. (1997). Brazil Under Cardoso. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. General Book. Call Number: JL2431.B73.

I had read this book for another class and found it extremely interesting. I remembered the small section on education in Brazil so I found the book myself, not through any online searching strategy. I felt like the section on education was too small (complained of this before) but what was left in the book was useful and was cited.

Rama, German W. (1986). Latin American Education in an Era of Change. Prospects, 16:2, p. 161-175. Journal Article.

**** I felt that Rama’s article offered a lot of excellent information about the problem of Latin American education. He even highlights it all and classifies what is a problem and what isn’t. He offers a few suggestions, nothing too specific, but very informative and useful. I cited Rama often.

Reimers, Fernando (1993). Education and the Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America Innovations to Provide Quality Basic Education with Equity. Agency for International Development, Washington D.C. Paper. ERIC document.

**** Of all the information I found helpful to the topic of Fe y Alegria and Escuela Nueva, this document was the most helpful. Reimers spells it all out, explaining the good and the bad, the details, everything about the program anyone would want to know. I was so excited when I came across this document!

Reimers, Fernando (1992). Towards a Policy for Early Childhood Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Bureau of Latin America and the Caribbean. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 368 503.

I found this document while skimming through microfilm. I basically took any information that I cited (in this paper) from a Box on page 28. The book highlights the information and provides a nice chart with the number of children who attended Fe y Alegria schools in 1991.

Reimers, Fernando (1991). The Impact of Economic Stabilization and Adjustment on Education in Latin America. Comparative Education Review, 35:2, p. 319-353.. Journal Article.

Reimers is one of the most well spoken sources that I have been able to come across in a long time. I spent a great deal of time tracking down all of his new information and as you can see it has paid off. Another excellent source highlighting the educational problems of Latin America.

Reimers, Fernando (1990, November). Education, Adjustment, and Democracy in Latin America. Development and Discussion Paper No. 363. Institute for International Development. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 328 952.

What I felt was most useful from this source was the statistical data that Reimers uses in his many tables. I was able to conclude my own interpretations from his data tables, which were well constructed and clearly explained. He does an excellent job comparing salaries and populations, also.

Reimers, Fernando (1989, October). Educational and Structural Adjustment in Latin America. Development and Discussion Paper No. 314. Institute for International Development. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 318 112.

I found a great table (Reimers is a big fan of tables and charts) in this paper so that is why I have used the source. This table shows the rate of growth in teacher salaries in eighteen Latin American countries over a six year time span. Although he does not go too far into depth with a discussion over the table, it is clear that he wants his audience to draw their own conclusions.

Sanchez, Jaime Hernan (1991, December). Major Trends in the Use of Computers in Latin American Schools. Educational Technology, 31:12, p. 56-58. Journal Article.

This was one of the first articles I found during my literature search. Like the other article on technology and computers in Brazilian schools, this article doesn’t say much about who has the technology and who doesn’t. I think that is the big flaw in this topic. I did a lot of searching on availability of the Internet in rural schools and each time (there were many) I could not come up with a single source. Otherwise, a good source for information concerning computers in urban schools.

Schiefelbein, Ernesto (1997). Financing Education for Democracy in Latin America. Latin American Education: Comparative Perspectives. Edited by: Carlos Alberto Torres and Adriana Puiggros. Boulder: Westview Publishers. Article from a Collected Works. Call Number: LC92.A2L38. Acquired through ILL from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Schiefelbein, like Reimers is big on statistical data and conclusions. Schiefelbein, another exceptional writer on the topic of Latin American education, makes excellent points about finances and student expenditures. This article also includes information on literacy and the communication.

Schiefelbein, Ernesto (1990). Basic Elements to reflect on the Quality of Education in the Latin American Context. International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 343-279.

**** I felt that all of the documents by Schiefelbein were extremely helpful and informative. I felt that he spelled out the information clearly with excellent clarity. His ideas were very interesting and as you can see, I cite him often. I felt that his paper provided excellent information on alternatives to education in rural areas.

Schiefelbein, Ernesto (1990, July). Seven Strategies for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of the Education System. International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris. Paper. Found in ERIC No. 331-601.

**** Again, like other Schiefelbein works, I was not disappointed. He is so extremely interesting to read. I just feel like all of his literature explains his points so well that one cannot help feel persuaded by his information. This was especially helpful for the information on teacher pay and teacher quality.

Smith, Sara Dawn (1991-1992). Crisis in the Caribbean: Teacher Education in the Dominican Republic. Action in Teacher Education, 13:4, p. 37-42. Journal Article.

I felt that this article was really helpful in understanding how the teachers felt about their status in society. Smith uses a lot of first hand accounts which make her points much stronger.

Tedesco, Juan Carlos (1989). The Role of the State in Education. Prospects, 19:4, p. 455-476. Journal Article. Call Number for Periodical: L11.P95701.

Unfortunately, the article is quite dated, but still full of information that pertains to the subject. I felt that this article was really useful for teacher salary information. Tedesco provides a nice analytical look at the topic. He gives good generalizations but does not bog them down with statistics which I find terribly confusing.

Torres, Rosa Maria (1992). Alternatives in formal education: Colombia’s Escuela Nueva programme. Prospects, 32:4, p. 510-519. Journal Article. Call number for Periodical: L11.P95701.

Another document extremely helpful to understanding Escuela Nueva. Of all the documents I could find on the program, Torres was the only one to cover the implementation (or lack thereof) of the program in other countries. I feel like she questions the program, which provides a nice analytical outlook on the topic.

Vaughan, Mary Kay (1997). Cultural Politics in Revolution. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. General Book. Call Number: LC92.M4V38.

**** I purchased this book for my own library and read it for another class, so I have been able to get analytical with the book. I really like the historical setting that Vaughan gives in this book, discussing education as a means of negotiated control on the part of the state and the rural people. I think that the book, while an excellent source for any educational study, also provides a good source for post-Revolutionary Mexican studies.

****************************

Emphasis on Teacher Education and the Availability of Educational Materials

Should rural people be allowed the same educational opportunities as urban people? Does our location often dictate the quality of our education? Education in rural areas of Latin America is extremely poor. Is it the fault of the government, teachers, amount of available materials, or apathy on the part of the people? This goal of this literature search was to identify the problems with rural education in Latin America and highlight how those problems can be solved. The following paper summarizes the information found and the sources which contribute to the literature on the subject.

Education in Latin America has been a contentious issue for decades. It’s history lies in colonialism and independence and the massive growth of change and modernization that has become a trademark of the Twentieth Century (Maia 1991, Plank 1996, &Vaughan 1997). Yet, educational reform remains a problem in Latin America. Sources often cite economics as the key downfall of education in this region of the world, claiming that a lack of investment by the government has lead to the stagnation of education (Birdsall and Sabot 1996, Schiefelbein 1997). With education free and compulsory now, all Latin American students should be attending schools on a daily basis, regardless of where they live (Country Profile Mexico 1998, Schiefelbein 1997). But large amount of rural children are still unable to access school (Reimers 1990). The quality of the education depending on ones location has become the major issue.

Rural education in Latin America has a history of being unequal with its urban counterparts. Although there are rural areas in all of the Latin American countries, Northeast Brazil has become the focus of study for rural education. There is a huge economic gap between the Northeast and the more industrialized states of the South, corresponding to better quality of education in the Southern urban areas (Birdsall & Sabot p. 132-133, 341, 1996, Plank p. 73,169 1996, Hanusek & Harbison p. 29-30 1992, Purcell & Roett 1997). Sources point to socio-economics as the issue, claiming that Brazil spends less money on its children in the North than its children in the South (Plank p. 73 1996). David N. Plank provides an excellent table of expenditures per student in each region, clearly demonstrating that the urban in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil receive upwards of two to three times more allocated dollars (study was done in U.S. dollars) than the North and Northeast students (Plank 1996).

How do we define a good school? Prepared, content teachers, available teaching materials, perhaps even educational technology are all factors which we would think of when deciding whether a school is good or not. As mentioned, teachers are one of the largest determining factors in the quality of education in Latin America. The quality of a teacher will depend on his or her preparedness. Teacher training will dictate the quality of a school and the education that is occurring inside that school. In rural areas, teachers have been neglected and forced into positions which they may not be fully prepared to handle (Rama 1986, Smith 1991).

David N. Plank (1996) highlights this problem by giving statistics which show that less than half of primary school teachers have completed primary school. How can education improve with a statistic like that? Critics of teacher training point to teacher education programs as the problem, claiming that the programs maintain low standards and poor content with little pre-service field experience (Maia 1991, Rama 1986). It becomes difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs because in many Latin American countries there is not an established evaluation system (Alvarez, Arcia, & Scobie 1997).

The other issue lies in the amount of quality teachers in the field. Teacher salaries have remained comparatively low in many areas of Latin America (Plank 1996, Smith 1991). Yet, Alvarez, Arcia, & Scobie (1997) question whether or not increased salaries will improve education. Many of the sources discussed the short term problems associated with teacher salaries, such as protests, a lack of showing up to teach, and the overall stagnation of educational activities (Tedesco 1989, Schiefelbein July 1990). While teachers salaries are increasing in many areas, it is still not a large enough salary to draw increased levels of men and women into the teaching profession (Reimers 1989). Ernesto Schiefelbein, a leading author on the quality of Latin American education, feels that the best solution is to place the rural teacher’s salary in the hands of local communities (Schiefelbein July, 1990). He argues that if teachers were to move to their local communities where they were teaching, they would soon resume the role of community instructors, eventually gaining the respect and large salaries paid by their local community (Schiefelbein July, 1990). Other solutions for solving the problem with rural education will be examined later. Schiefelbein’s suggestion should not be ignored because historically it has found some success. In Mexico in the 1930's and ‘40's, teachers moved into local communities and worked as community instructors, but they were paid by the State and Federal Government (Vaughan 1997). The project found limited success overall, but appeared to work in those areas where rural people had a strong desire to improve their education.

While many of my sources discussed teacher training and salaries in depth, I found little information on the availability of educational materials such as textbooks and technology. The little information I was able to find generally concerned textbook availability (Plank 1996, Kugler 1991, Hanusek and Harbison 1992, Schiefelbein 1990). One of the few sources I located discussed textbook availability in Argentina (Kugler 1991). Kugler (1991) contended that textbooks are rarely available to poor rural students because in Argentina (for example), parents are expected to purchase the textbooks for their children. He also suggests that the solution to this textbook crisis is to provide subsidized books or free textbooks to those children of poor families (Kugler 1991). Textbooks improve student performance (Hanusek & Harbison p. 103 1992). Hanusek and Harbison (1992) examined Northeast Brazil and their policy of textbooks, claiming that regardless of the importance of these materials, they are still unavailable to many rural schools.

Technology in rural schools (software and Internet implementation) was null and void in a vast majority of rural schools. Software appeared to be more available than Internet resources, but that is not to say that all rural schools have software capabilities (Hanusek & Harbison p. 196 1992). Like textbooks, software is highly beneficial but also highly expensive for these poor areas (Birdsall & Sabot p. 413 1996). Birdsall and Sabot studied the efficiency in software and hardware investment, finding that investing in technology greatly improved education for children in Brazil (p. 412 1996). Computer and Internet implementation in Latin American schools, in general, appear to be increasing at a steady rate (Sanchez 1991, Joia 1997) but I was unable to find any evidence of Internet capabilities in any rural schools in Latin America. With the formation of a global community as a result of the Internet, Latin American children in rural areas would greatly benefit from the mass of information available. Unfortunately, I could find no evidence that this was occurring.

While it is easy to pinpoint the problems of education in Latin America, it becomes increasingly difficult to find solutions. But there are solutions, which makes for a very promising future. I searched for two specific solutions, called Fe y Alegria (Faith and Joy) and Escuela Nueva (New School), which are the most documented of solutions for improving Latin American education. Other solutions offered are not necessarily as implemented and established as Fe y Alegria and Escuela Nueva.

The Fe y Alegria program affects twelve countries and upwards of a half a million children (Reimers 1992, Reimers 1993). The program’s goal is to provide quality education to rural and poor children and its motto really expresses this idea, "Where the asphalt road ends, where there is no water, electricity, or services, there begins Fe y Alegria" (Reimers 1993). Fe y Alegria affects five levels of education, day care, preschool, primary, low secondary and high secondary, grasping a large age range (Reimers 1993). The program works with the state education ministry (who pays the salaries of the teachers) and the local communities who help build and maintain the schools (Reimers 1993). It trains teachers and supervises them in the classroom (Reimers 1993). It has attempted to increase the expectations and standards for all teachers, especially those in rural areas. Tackling the textbook problem, several teachers in the program have produced nearly one hundred prototype texts to be used in the classroom (Reimers 1993). While the program varies from country to country (Bolivia’s program has been developing towards a boarding school), the basics in teacher training, material available and state and community involvement have remained the same (Reimers 1993).

Escuela Nueva, developed in the mid ‘70's in Colombia, has become another solution to the problems of Latin American education (Reimers 1993, Psacharopoulos, Rojas, & Velez 1993, Torres 1992, Schiefelbein July 1990). Like Fe y Alegria, Escuela Nueva is a system which combines training, curriculum and content, and education for the rural areas (Torres 1992, Reimers 1993, Psacharopoulos, Rojas, & Velez 1993). Instead of offering each grade level with an individual teacher, Escuela Nueva programs maintain one or two teachers to teach up to five grades. It orients its curriculum around a rural life, making the material more meaningful to rural students (Psacharopoulos, Rojas, and Velez 1993). It solves the problem of teacher quality and teacher quantity, as well as tackling the textbook problem. Studies done by Psacharopoulos, Rojas, and Velez (1993) have shown that in the early grade levels, Escuela Nueva competes academically with traditional primary schools. Although this programs has become quite successful can it be expanded (like Fe y Alegria) to other areas of Latin America? Torres (1992) has examined that question and she offers problems with expansion such as language barriers (Colombia has just one language), infrastructure, human resources available, and of course, money. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any studies which could inform about implementation of Escuela Nueva in any other country.

While these two programs have become two of the best known solutions for the problem with rural education, other solutions do exist (Schiefelbein 1990, Fuenlabrada & Taboada 1992). Schiefelbein (1990) has suggested that teachers be held responsible to their local communities, especially in rural villages. His suggestion stems from the problem that in many villages in Mexico, the school teacher is unreliable, habitually not showing up for classes. Communities would provide textbooks and instruction guides for the teacher and the teacher would adjust school schedules so that attendance will improve (changing school times or school days so that students may help their family with the farming) and the teacher is reliant upon the community for support and salary (Schiefelbein 1990). Another study proposes community classes which are organized where the children live (Fuenlabrada & Taboada 1992). One instructor is in charge of upwards of thirty children in a multi grade classroom. This approach, similar to Escuela Nueva, limits the amount of teachers needed, although teacher quality is taken care of because these teachers have left secondary school and have been trained in this formal program (Fuenlabrada and Taboada 1992). Both of the programs listed above attempt to bridge a gap between the teachers and the community, hoping to gain support and recognition from all parties involved.

Although this search located literature available on all aspects of the topic, I was disappointed that I could not locate more. I felt that the majority of the material that covers Latin American education focused on literacy and adult education, not necessarily rural educational problems. Many of the sources I found discussed Northeast Brazil, because it is known for its poor rural education problem. Most of my research was dated and although I had a few new sources (1997 and newer) I was agitated that my search for recent material neglected to bring me any results. I can only imagine the amount of source material that will appear in the future as Latin America struggles with its rural education.

Return to Literature Search Home Page