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Session Submission Summary

Developing local research networks: a profile from the Central American early grade reading network

Wed, April 17, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Pacific Concourse (Level -1), Pacific M

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Introduction

Global development efforts have led to increased enrollment in schools around the world while cutting in half the proportion of out-of-school children (United Nations 2015). What remains a challenge however, is translating early enrollment success into improved learning (Wagner & Castillo 2014). While developing strong reading skills is a fundamental goal of any education system, many schools in developing countries fail to support literacy development for too many of their students (Montoya 2016; Perelman et al. 2016). USAID has dedicated to improving reading outcomes for 100 million learners as a primary component of its new education strategy (USAID 2011).

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), data highlights reductions in the rural-urban reading gaps for all but three LAC countries (UNESCO 2014). Additionally, class sizes are smaller on average, while the proportion of trained teachers has increased regionally (UNESCO 2014). However, findings from a recent systematic review reveal that much of what we know about improving early grade reading interventions is predominantly informed from non-LAC contexts or are of poor empirical rigor where available (LRCP 2018). In critical areas such as early grade reading, few comprehensive overviews of relevant research exist, or lack sufficient rigor. As a result, policy makers, education specialists, and other stakeholders in the region lack the necessary evidence to inform policies and programming.

According to the Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (TERCE), less than 40% of third graders across 15 LAC countries assessed were proficient in reading skills beyond the basic reading levels (Levels I and II; LLECE 2016). Of the countries representing Central America, only Costa Rica scored higher than the regional average across all LAC countries. In fact, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama all scored more than 2 standard deviations below the regional average (LLECE 2016). These findings illustrate the clear need to continue advancing context-driven research to design programs and test hypothesis locally for improving reading outcomes across the region.

Driving sustainability through local solutions

Beginning in 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a development reform agenda known as USAID Forward. This initiative sought to strengthen the agency through new partnerships for delivering results. A central pillar of this campaign was to promote sustainable development through high-impact collaborations and locally-driven solutions (USAID 2016). It was within this orientation that led to the conceptualization of the Red de Lectoescritura Inicial de Centroamérica y el Caribe (RedLEI; Central America and the Caribbean Early Literacy Network).

RedLEI is an initiative funded by USAID with the intention of creating a network of scholars and locally produced research for improving early grade reading outcomes and policy planning across the region. Efforts to create the network followed a systematic review of Latin America highlighting the region’s research needs, and USAID’s desire for a LAC-specific research network (LRCP 2018).

RedLEI was officially launched in 2018 with the aim of producing and promoting local research to improve the impact, quality and sustainability of early reading policies and practices across the region. Specifically, RedLEI have five objectives that guide the network’s activities: (1) maintain a network of key stakeholders in Central America specializing in early literacy research; (2) develop a fellow training program to increase research in early grade reading for Central America; (3) promote a research agenda and high-quality publications in the area of early grade reading by local scholars; (4) establish a regional funding mechanism to sustain researcher training and scholarship in early grade reading; and (5) disseminate results for improved policy and practice.

This panel will describe the process of of establishing the RedLEI consortium and its impact on sustaining a rigorous research base for Central America. The first paper, will introduce the state of education research in Central America. The discussion will be centered around findings from a regional field scan to provide a detailed picture of the local education research trends and opportunities, and the alignment of local institutions with national education agendas. An additional component of the report findings is the role of international cooperation in building capacity for local educational research.

Building on the first paper, the second paper will move into a discussion of the antecedents that went into establishing the regional research network by convening the founding institutions and developing the central mission. These early efforts led to the formal institutionalization of the network across the member countries, which was a critical first step in the sustainability plan for RedLEI.

The panel will conclude by discussing the intermediate activities of the network with a discussion of the capacity development activities and outcomes of the inaugural cohort of RedLEI fellows, their preliminary research products, and plans for the next phase of the network. Lessons learned and key recommendations from the Central American experience will be discussed to inform local research network development in other regions of the world.

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