Developing capacity in LAC to produce high quality EGL evidence

• In Event: Translating evidence to practice in the LAC region- Practical EGL tools for development practitioners

Proposal

Through the LRCP, the team has developed, disseminated, and built capacity to use local evidence in the LAC region. Since the program’s inception in 2014, LRCP has worked through local partner organizations in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Eastern Caribbean. The program conducted a systematic review on EGL in the LAC region, followed by a stakeholder analysis to identify the key EGL players and to determine their strengths and needs. We then disseminated to stakeholders the findings of these studies in various media and formats. Through knowledge translation and capacity building, the LRCP has also helped local partners break down the evidence into usable and actionable steps that can be applied to improve their practices.

To ensure that a culture of evidence production, dissemination, and use to inform policy continues beyond the life of the project, we established the Central American and Caribbean Early Literacy Network (RedLEI), which aims to develop regional capacities to connect research to improved EGL policies and practices in the LAC region. RedLEI consists of seven member universities and one regional body, Coordinación Educativa y Cultural Centroamericana (CECC/SICA), all of which were selected for their strong research abilities and their connections to the ministries of education and other education stakeholders in their countries. The work of RedLEI fills a critical gap in the LAC region in terms of producing, disseminating, and advocating for the application of EGL evidence to policy and practice.

This presentation will focus on RedLEI’s approach to building local capacity to produce and apply high quality EGL research. RedLEI focuses on technical staff from Ministries of education, teacher trainers and coaches, and educators supporting them to produce and apply evidence-based practices and policies. RedLEI’s capacity development strategy focuses on: research and training.

RedLEI promotes the development of local capacities through providing grants and mentoring to young researchers. These grants ensure that research continues to be conducted on key gaps in the region and at the same time mentors young researchers through the process of writing research proposals, developing a methodology, analyzing data and publishing in an academic journal.

RedLEI also has a strong focus on capacity development through its series of virtual courses which focus on key areas of early reading and writing development. Courses seek to build on the latest evidence and bring it to life through readings, modeling, practice and other hands-on tools that let teachers experience what they will be expected to teach.

Taking into account the above, this space will present how RedLEI has been able to articulate training and research initiatives at the regional level to address the knowledge gaps on EGL, and how it has promoted the mobilization of knowledge to advance in the construction of a culture of evidence use to inform policy decision making in the field of EGL. RedLEI’s specific research agenda for 2020-2025 will be highlighted as well as the areas of focus for capacity development.

Authors

• Paola Alejandra Andrade Calderon, Universidad Del Valle De Guatemala

• Mariela Zelada, Universidad Del Valle De Guatemala