CUBA IS CONSIDERED AN

EXCEPTION IN THE LAC REGION

CUBA
Teachers are trained at university
level.

By: Erika Duran

MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN:
A REALITY TO BE TRANSFORMED
 Basic training for
teachers is
satisfactory in
mathematics

The university-level Cuban Advanced

Pedagogical Institutes Network (Red de
Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos Cuba
-
nos) for teachers is very important for
the island’s educational system,
specifically
in the mathematical field. The island has
solid mathematical curricula for
mathematics
and computer science teachers. Here,
public policies for science and
technology
not only offer strong support for
mathematics, but for science in general.
SOME GOOD
PRACTICES
Primary education gets great priority in the country.
There are several schools in Cuba. School
attendance is compulsory from ages 6 to 15 or 16
(end of basic secondary education). All students are
required to wear there school uniforms with the color
denoting grade level. Primary education lasts for 6
years. On the other hand there are 2 separate
sections in the secondary education. These are the
basic secondary education and the pre-university
secondary education. The curriculum in primary and
secondary schools is based upon principles of “hard
work, self-discipline and love of country”. After the
students accomplished the secondary education,
they have the option to choose from pre-university
education and technical and professional education.
Bachillerato are awarded to those students that
finished the courses of pre-secondary education.

References: http://www.studycountry.com/guide/CU-education.htm
 According to Cuba’s strategic plan,
exact sciences are essential not
only for technological
progress, but also to strengthen
education at all levels, and for
capacity
building among the new
generations of Cuban scientists.
For Cubans, the need to involve the
whole scientific community in order
to
strengthen education is clear,
especially in regard to mathematics
education,
which is achieved by all kinds of
means, even non-formal ones.
Cuban teacher education is tightly
controlled by the Ministry of
Education, which insists that
teachers know how to teach the
curriculum. When young teachers
begin teaching, experienced
colleagues and the principal mentor
them for several years. Students do
not change schools, and at the
elementary level, usually have the
same teacher for at least four
grades. References: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-carnoy/are-cubas-schools-better_b_109280.html