This document summarizes a study on education in Peru that analyzed data from the Young Lives study. Some key findings: - While average education indicators in Peru have improved over the past two decades, there remain significant gaps between socioeconomic groups. Children from poorer families, indigenous backgrounds, or with less educated mothers had lower scores. - These gaps are evident as early as age 5, indicating the importance of early childhood education. However, children attending non-formal preschools had lower results than those in formal programs. - Vulnerable children tend to attend schools with fewer resources, less qualified teachers, and less support. The education system may thus reinforce inequalities by not providing equal opportunities. Investing more

1. Reproducing Inequality: Family Background and
Schooling in Peru
Santiago Cueto, Alejandra Miranda, Juan León, and María Cristina Vásquez
GRADE - Young Lives (Peru)

2. Introduction
• Over the last few decades, education has been proclaimed as a
high policy priority or even the focus of work. Yet, while there
have been interesting improvements on average results, there
has also been high inequality.
• Peru is an interesting case study on how education indicators
evolve in a context of stable democracy and economic growth
(since 2000).

3. Background of the education
system in the country (I)
Net attendance rates in preschool, primary, secondary and higher education by sociodemographic characteristics (2013)
Attendance in
preschool
Attendance in primary
Attendance in
secondary
Attendance in tertiary
education, technical or
vocational
Attendance in
tertiary education,
university
Average 74.4% 92.7% 81.0% 11.4% 22.2%
Gender
Boys 74.1% 92.2% 80.3% 10.6% 20.3%
Girls 74.8% 93.2% 81.8% 12.3% 24.2%
Mother tongue
Spanish 75.0% 92.7% 82.4% 11.7% 23.6%
Indigenous 71.1% 93.9% 72.2% 9.2% 10.2%
Poverty
Not poor 78.9% 92.7% 85.3% 12.2% 27.0%
Poor 66.8% 92.8% 74.7% 9.4% 4.3%
Extreme poor 63.8% 92.4% 58.2% 3.2% 2.1%
Area
Urban 76.8% 92.2% 85.6% 12.0% 26.5%
Rural 68.5% 93.8% 71.1% 9.5% 7.8%
Maternal education
Higher Education 83.0% 93.3% 92.1% 9.8% 53.6%
Secondary incomplete or
complete
75.1% 91.5% 87.5% 14.3% 24.9%
Primary complete or incomplete 67.1% 93.1% 76.3% 12.7% 14.1%
No education or preschool 56.5% 92.9% 63.2% 7.9% 8.0%
Source: National Household Surveys (ENAHO) 2013; analysis conducted by the authors based on a question of whether or not children attended school. We used the ratio of live
children attending school / existing children for ages 3 to 5 (preschool), 6 to 11 (primary), 12 to 16 (secondary) and 17 to 21 (tertiary).

4. Average Reading Scores in Student Census
Evaluations (second grade)
Background of the education
system in the country (II)
Average Mathematics Scores in Student
Census Evaluations (second grade)

5. Methodology
• This study analysed data from the international study Young Lives
(YL). This longitudinal study follows around 12,000 children over
15 years from India, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Peru.
• YL follows two cohorts of children, the younger cohort (born
around 2001) and the older cohort (born around 1994). The study
has information about the family and the child from four rounds
of surveys carried out in 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2013.
• Additionally, in 2010, school survey data was collected from a
subsample of 572 children from the younger cohort in order to
have information about the school, peers, teachers and
principals.

6. Early childhood education: Score in PPVT at age 5
years by type of preschool attended (younger
cohort)
PRONOEI Public Jardin
Private
Jardin
Did not
attend
Average 17.2% 23.9% 36.9% 15.9%
Gender
Boys 18.0% 24.7% 37.1% 15.5%
Girls 16.5% 23.1% 36.8% 16.3%
Gap (%) 1.6% 1.6% 0.3% -0.8%
Indigenous home
Spanish 19.2% 25.1% 37.7% 17.0%
Indigenous language 13.5% 14.6% 6.4% 12.0%
Gap (%) 5.7% 10.5% 31.3% 5.0%
Maternal education
Complete secondary or more 25.6% 31.0% 39.4% 27.6%
Incomplete secondary or less 15.1% 19.0% 29.9% 14.1%
Gap (%) 10.5% 12.0% 9.4% 13.5%
Baseline wealth index
Top quintile 36.3% 35.7% 40.1% 27.8%
Bottom quintile 12.6% 15.2% 21.8% 11.3%
Gap (%) 23.7% 20.5% 18.4% 16.5%
Source: Young Lives Study (2006, 2009)
Note: Scores are presented as a percentage of correct answers over total possible score.

7. Primary education (6-12 years old): Overage at ages
8 and 12 years by cohort
Younger cohort Older cohort
Overage at age 8
years (2009)
Overage at age 12
years (2013)
Overage at age 8
years (2002)
Overage at age 12
years (2006)
Average 12.3% 30.4% 17.6% 44.4%
Gender
Boys 11.7% 29.4% 17.4% 42.5%
Girls 12.9% 31.4% 17.8% 46.5%
Gap (%) -1.2% -2.0% -0.4% -4.0%
Indigenous home
Spanish 9.4% 23.9% 15.1% 39.7%
Indigenous language 21.4% 56.6% 23.5% 55.7%
Gap (%) -12.0% -32.7% -8.4% -16.0%
Maternal education
Complete secondary or more 5.5% 12.6% 8.2% 23.3%
Incomplete secondary or less 15.7% 39.2% 20.4% 50.3%
Gap (%) -10.2% -26.6% -12.2%
Baseline wealth index
Top quintile 4.5% 10.7% 1.7% 11.9%
Bottom quintile 20.7% 48.1% 21.0% 52.0%
Gap (%) -16.2% -37.4% -19.3% -40.1%
Source: Young Lives Study (2002, 2006, 2009, 2013)

8. Primary education (6-12 years old):
Teacher characteristics (2010)
Private Public urban
Rural in
Spanish
Rural EIB
Spanish mother tongue 100.0% 98.6% 88.2% 60.4%
Attended university 72.4% 59.8% 31.9% 49.5%
Years of experience 10.0 20.8 14.9 16.3
Received educational support 40.0% 30.7% 24.4% 28.9%
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
score 7.17 5.89 5.68 4.22
Missed school in the last month 10.0% 18.5% 32.4% 30.7%
Note: Pedagogical Content Knowledge score has a maximum of 10 points
Source: School survey (2010)

9. Primary education (6-12 years old):
School characteristics (2010)
Private
Public
urban
Rural in
Spanish
Rural EIB
Running water 100.0% 93.3% 38.7% 45.0%
Telephone 95.0% 71.7% 3.2% 0.0%
Auditorium 25.0% 21.7% 12.9% 0.0%
Laboratory 35.0% 35.0% 6.5% 0.0%
Court for sports 40.0% 66.7% 29.0% 30.0%
Psychologist 60.0% 11.7% 3.2% 0.0%
Auxiliary personal 75.0% 21.7% 3.2% 5.0%
Source: School survey (2010)

10. Educational outcomes: gaps over
time
Source: Young Lives study (2006, 2009, 2013)
Note: Scores are presented as a percentage of correct answers over the total possible score
PPVT score by age for the younger cohort

11. Educational outcomes: gaps over
time
Source: Young Lives study (2006, 2009, 2013)
Note: Scores are presented as a percentage of correct answers over total possible score.
PPVT score at age 5 (divided in terciles) and achievement in reading and
mathematics at older ages (younger cohort)

12. Achievements and challenges in
education (I)
• Over the past two decades, several indicators in Peru´s education have
improved: Progress is evident in enrolment, which is almost universal in
primary education. Overage, as well as scores in standardized tests have also
improved on average. We have found that in general the younger cohort of YL
had higher educational indicators than the older cohort when they were the
same age.
• However, there are important gaps in achievement between groups of
students: students that were born in relatively poor homes, with mothers who
had less than complete secondary, or came from an indigenous family had
lower scores; the gap was in many cases larger when children presented more
than one of these characteristics.

13. • The gaps in achievement are evident by the age of five years, which reinforces
the importance of investing in early childhood: while enrolment in preschool
has increased, children who attend non-formal preschools (i.e. PRONOEI) show
lower results than children who attend formal preschools (i.e. Jardines). This has
important implications for equity, as in general poorer students attend PRONOEI
(or do not go to preschool).
• Educational opportunities and investments in basic education are distributed
in an unfair way: we have found that more vulnerable children attend schools
that have lower resources (e.g. infrastructure), with teachers that have lower
pedagogical skills and receive less support. Thus, the educational system may be
reinforcing inequalities since it does not provide equal opportunities for all;
ideally, it should prioritize the opportunities of children and young adults who
we know are more likely to have poor educational outcomes.
Achievements and challenges in
education (II)

14. For more information:
In English:
www.younglives.org.uk
In Spanish:
www.ninosdelmilenio.org
Methods, instructions to download data bases,
publications and surveys available.