Education in the Dominican Republic

Literacy is defined by The as having the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential. According to the CIA World Factbook, 91.8% of the population over the age of 15 is considered literate. Literacy for females is listed at 92.3% while literacy for males is listed at 91.2%. Compared to the world, these numbers are higher than the average. Worldwide literacy is at 86.1%. For males, worldwide literacy is at 60.9% and for females world literacy is at 82.2%. The CIA world factbook also shows data on the school life expectancy of students in the Dominican Republic. For males, this life expectancy is at 13 years old which is slightly lower than the female school life expectancy of 14 years old. The Dominican Republic National Education Profile reflects this showing higher levels of completion for both primary as well as secondary schools. In 1980, the percent of the Dominican Republic's GDP that went towards education was 2%. This value dropped to 0.88% in 1990. The education spending has since gone back up to around 4% of the GDP. There were 373,000 university students in 2013. And a goal to increase this to 660,000 students by 2018. ==Educational system==

The Dominican Republic Education System is governed by four government organizations: the State Secretariat for Education (part of the executive branch of the government), in charge of the management and orientation of the education system; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology; and the National Institute of Professional and Technical Training. The school year in Dominican Republic begins in mid-August and classes are held from Monday to Friday. The school year consists of two terms, which are separated by Christmas holidays in winter season, and an eight-week-long summer break. The year structure is summarized in the table below. Pre-primary school The pre-primary stage of education in the Dominican Republic includes children under 6 years of age. There are three cycles of the pre-primary stage. The first cycle is for children ages 0–2 years old, the second cycle is for children 2–4 years old, and the third cycle is for children 4–6 years old. The Dominican Republic provides the last year of pre-primary education for families and this year is considered mandatory. The earlier years are not paid for by the Dominican Republic and are thus not required. The body in charge of providing vocational and technical education in the Dominican Republic is the Instituto Nacional de Formación Técnico Profesional (INFOTEP), which is funded by three sources: A study on sex education in developing countries noted that when developing resources for sex education, the context of the country and the local areas, such as literacy rates and school attendance, needs to be taken into consideration to ensure the effectiveness of the program. From a study looking at sexual health of men who have sex with men in the Dominican Republic, 14% of males surveyed were found to have HIV antibodies. Female sex workers are also at an increased risk of STI infections. Kerrigan identifies that there is a need for the development of educational resources regarding sex education in order to decrease the prevalence of STIs. In a separate study in the Dominican Republic, those who received sex education were 1.72 times more likely to report having high HIV/AIDS knowledge. Additionally, those who received sex education were also 2.52 times more likely to use condoms during sex. A study on sex education in developing countries noted that when developing resources for sex education, the context of the country and the local areas, such as literacy rates and school attendance, needs to be taken into consideration to ensure the effectiveness of the program. Special education The Dominican Republic provides specialized education programs for children with special needs or physical disabilities to accommodate these needs. It has not only a school for special education, but programs for speech therapy, physical therapy, workshops, evaluation of disabilities, medical diagnostics and rehabilitation, and more. Human rights education A study instituted a 3-month course in human rights to a school in the Dominican Republic. The course focused both on global issues as well as local issues such as discrimination against Haitians. Bajaj notes that the course was not perfect, however, 100% of the students were able to explain what human rights were. Additionally, students were found to be more likely to be willing to stand up for others. ==Performance==

Teacher performance A study by Mihir, Manas and Aryan compared four countries in Central America on three indices concerning teachers and teacher quality. Of these four countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, the Dominican Republic in general had higher ratings for their teachers, however, the article notes that there is much work that is needed to be done. The first index that was measured was whether the teachers were prepared for effective teaching. The study found that there were standards set for teachers. However, the study notes that the teachers in the Dominican Republic lacked an awareness of these standards and were thus unable to properly use them. In the Dominican Republic, there are 25 institutions that are dedicated towards training teachers. There is no structured system for the certification of teachers. Teachers are not required to obtain classroom practice prior to becoming a teachers. The second index studied was the process of attracting, hiring, and retaining teachers. It was found that there was a job application process that encompasses a logical reasoning exam, an exam on pedagogical knowledge and planning skills, and either an interview or oral exam. After being hired, teachers are coached during their first year of teaching. The education system collects data on student performance is often collected. The study does note that there is no usage of this knowledge towards increasing the quality of education. The researchers also found that teachers are paid a competitive salary. Part-time teachers are paid 32% higher than the average full-time worker and full-time teachers are paid 53% higher than the average university graduate who is working full-time. Studies have shown that many students have not been well prepared to face the challenges of university courses. This is shown by a large dropout rate of students who attend a university as well as a need for intense remedial work to prepare students for the rigor of college courses. ==Parent education==

Some parent education programs have been implemented into the Dominican Republic to help improve the healthy development of children. Farrelly and McLennan produced a research study looking at the participation rates of parents in parent education programs as well as barriers that lead parents to not participate or be unable to complete the program. Their research found that, on average, parents only complete 59% of the course. However, they did find that reducing the time commitment and focusing on an intensive child nutrition component lead to higher completion rates. Common barriers that participants noted were a lack of money for transportation to the class, lack of childcare while the parent was at the class, and mothers who worked and were unable to take time off. McLennan produced a second research paper documenting efforts to implement a Canadian parent education program in the Dominican Republic. This program was focused on training parents on how to support the development of their children and focused on health, safety, and behavioral topics. The researchers trained local workers at a hospital to teach the program and adapted the curriculum that was used in Canada to be more relevant towards topics in the Dominican Republic. ==Issues==

Participation Educational opportunity in the Dominican Republic is important not only for increasing social status but also for health outcomes. De Tavarez and Andrade discuss how higher educational attainment in the Dominican Republic is negatively associated with the use of both alcohol and tobacco. This association is especially profound in tobacco use as there is a significant social gradient in tobacco use. Those with higher socioeconomic status, are less likely to smoke and education plays an important factor in socioeconomic status. Children in the Dominican Republic have listed education as one of their greatest concerns. Inequality in access to education is a primary concern for those living in the Dominican Republic as well as outside organizations such as UNICEF. UNICEF discusses how children in rural zones are much more likely to have a high rate of repetition and dropout. This is partially due to the distance that some children must travel to arrive at school. The average years of schooling of the adult population older than 15 is 7.43 years. This value is less than the number of years required to complete primary schooling. One policy that was implemented to increase participation was to provide three different shifts of school that students could attend. Schools would provide a shift during the morning, afternoon, and evening to allow for students to continue working while also attending school. With these efforts, 75% of students complete grade 4, 63% complete grade 6, and 52% complete the full eight years of primary school. The Dominican Republic has higher levels of participation in the education system than many other Latin American countries. ==Steps for improvement==

The World Bank has made steps to help fund improvements in the Dominican Republic education system. The World Bank has financed the Dominican Republic Early Childhood Education Project. This project has led to the construction of hundreds of new schools and technology centers, thousands of new classrooms, increased training for teachers as well as an increase in the number of teachers, and provision of resources to reinforce and enhance the quality of classrooms. The project is estimated to have directly benefited 52,000 children and 106,000 children indirectly. In 2015, The World Bank approved $50 million to help finance efforts to improve pre-university education. The money is aimed to "recruit and train primary and secondary school teachers; assess student learning in primary and secondary schools; evaluate early childhood development services and help decentralize public school management." The money is part of a National Pact for Education and the project will be implemented by the Ministry of Education (MINERD). ==See also==