The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

school and classroom level, establishing effective models of school management
and student-centered teaching in the classroom. The BASE Projects introduced
a method of active instruction adapted from the Escuela Nueva model to meet
the needs of Nicaragua. The model was specifically designed to address the
needs of teachers working in the most disadvantaged rural, multi-grade schools,
where all grades are taught together in one room, but it is also effective in larger,
urban schools. From an initial start in 40 model schools in 1995, the project has
expanded over time through additional model schools and through a network of
satellite schools linked to each model school, reaching 170 schools at the end of
the BASE II Project in 2005 and 3,015 in 2009. The program currently supports
48 percent of the country’s primary school students. Along with the formal
expansion network of mentors schools and satellite schools, teachers who are
reassigned to new schools have often carried the reforms with them and in this
way increased the overall receptiveness of the program across the country and
expanded the reach of the project. The program now reaches all municipalities in
the country and is currently being institutionalized in the Ministry as part of the
Minister’s model for quality education.
Institutional Dimensions
Education in Nicaragua has often been highly politicized, and for much of the
time period from 1990 to the present, the central-level Nicaraguan Ministry
of Education was institutionally weak and did not develop or articulate a clear
and consensus-based policy framework that defined national priorities and
commitments. Frequent changes in Ministers, the tendency to discontinue
policies started by predecessors, and the lack of technical capacity and financial
resources that beset the Ministry have limited the Ministry of Education’s
institutional effectiveness. Certain Ministers of Education, such as Humberto
Belli and Silvio de Franco, however, did exhibit strong leadership that proved
instrumental to the implementation of policies.
For example, the Autonomous Schools Policy (ASP) was a high-profile program
that was a priority for Minister Belli, and he was able to initiate, implement,
and expand it rapidly. In part this was due to the absence of an initial legal
framework, as Minister Belli was able to implement ASP right away using only
ministerial directives. As opposed to having established a legal framework before
implementation of the programs, the ministry was afforded some flexibility and
time for trial and error before its institutionalization into policy (Gershberg,
2002). Had he waited for the legal framework to be in place, ASP never would have
expanded to national level as quickly as it did. Additionally, Minister Belli’s drive
and conviction, and his ability and willingness to work closely with donors, were
instrumental in the establishment and rapid implementation of the program.
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SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES