Browsing by Author "Näslund-Hadley, Emma"

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    Improving Education Finance Equity in Belize through Formula Funding
    (Academia Letters, 2021-06) Näslund-Hadley, Emma; Arcia, Gustavo
    In 2011 the government designed and implemented a funding formula based on enrolment, poverty, and the proportion of disadvantaged students in school, with the goal of improving financial equity. Under the formula, some schools that used to receive above average funding would get their budget reduced. These schools were designated as Above Average Funding Schools and their grant amount was left untouched. Schools that would receive more funding under the formula were labeled Below Average Funding Schools, and the gap between their past funding and the funding determined by the formula would be closed incrementally over a period of seven years.
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    Improving Education Finance Equity in Belize through Formula Funding
    (2021-07) Näslund-Hadley, Emma; Arcia, Gustavo
    Before the educational financial reform of 2010, the government gave schools block grants to private schools to cover 70 percent of teacher salaries and 100% of tuition fees, while paying 100% of all expenditures to public schools. This input-based funding resulted in gross inequities, where schools in more affluent areas captured a disproportionate share of public funds by employing more experienced and expensive teachers. Also, urban schools with more diverse curricula, and more teachers, captured more funding that public schools in poor areas with a basic curriculum and fewer teachers. In 2011 the government designed and implemented a funding formula based on enrolment, poverty, and the proportion of disadvantaged students in school, with the goal of improving financial equity. Under the formula, some schools that used to receive above average funding would get their budget reduced. These schools were designated as Above Average Funding Schools and their grant amount was left untouched. Schools that would receive more funding under the formula were labeled Below Average Funding Schools, and the gap between their past funding and the funding determined by the formula would be closed incrementally over a period of seven years.
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    Skills to shape the future: Employability in Belize
    (Inter-American Development Bank, Social Sector Department, Education Division, 2020-01-13) Näslund-Hadley, Emma; Navarro-Palau, Patricia; Fernanda Prada, María
    This study yields new insights on the changing landscape of Belize’s economy and the challenges of equipping students and workers with the skills they need to thrive in an evolving labor market. Using census and labor force data, we show that Belize’s economy is transitioning toward services and away from agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. We find that the country has potential for workforce development in a range of soft and digital skills that are in high demand in various sectors. We also show that women constitute an untapped resource for economic growth, especially given Belize’s growing need for an educated workforce and women’s higher education attainment. Using a survey of employers and training institutions, we document a skills mismatch between employers’ needs and workers’ skills. Finally, we propose five principles that could guide education and employment policies to help close the skills gap.