Learning to Educate: Proposals for the Reconstruction of Education in Latin America

In their carefully constructed and detailed account, Schiefelbein and McGinn suggest that, if Latin America is to catch up with the rest of the world, a broader view of education, and particularly teaching, is required. This book includes a close examination of learning and teaching in the classroom, the administration of schools and school districts, the management of systems of education in ministries, and the political processes that generate educational policy and law—and consensus.

The authors base their arguments on what research tells us and they dismiss a great number of time-honoured 'truths' that have no basis in fact. In a jargon-free and readable style, the authors propose five major strategies for a radical improvement in the quality of teaching and learning in Latin America:

• greater emphasis on learning how to learn;
• converting teachers from producers of learning to managers of learning;
• fundamental improvements in teacher training;
• shifting the emphasis for change from the central to the local level;
• emphasizing learning that will lead to increased freedom for all.

Although focused on Latin America, a great deal of the authors’ recommendations are applicable to other regions of the world.