Inequality in educational inputs and its effect on the educational outcomes of minority populations in Cuba and the Dominican Republic

• In Event: Exploring educational marginalization: from individual voices to structural inequities

Abstract

The question of how to decrease disparities in educational achievement between students who belong to groups that have experienced social and economic marginalization and the general population is an issue of great importance to those concerned with issues of racial and economic equality. School systems often replicate and perpetuate pre-existing racial and economic inequality, but they also have the potential to act as equalizing agents in society. There is a wide body of research that attempts to discern the impact that pre-existing cultural, economic and social status has on student achievement and outcomes for minority students, compared to the role of that school quality and school inputs such as teacher quality and classroom resources can have on improving student achievement of minority students. In my research, I will explore the impact that an equal distribution in the level of school resources and teacher quality can have on minority populations. I will focus my panel on the education systems of two Caribbean nations, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and will examine the relationship between the level of equality in the distribution of educational inputs and the academic performance of students who belong to historically marginalized groups, such as students of African descent.

Author

• Laurel Staab, Stanford University