Administrative history of El Salvador"s educational reform

IT WAS COMPILED TO PROVIDE A CONTEXT IN WHICH TO INTERPRET THE RESULTS OF RESEARCH ON EL SALVADOR"S SCHOOLS AND AS A REFERENCE FOR EDUCATIONAL PLANNERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES. FOUR QUESTIONS ARE ASKED IN THIS REPORT: 1) WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR INTRODUCING ITV INTO EL SALVADOR? 2) WHAT PROBLEMS AROSE AS A RESULT OF ITV? 3) HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS ITV? AND 4) WHAT WERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FORTY FOREIGN ADVISORS? TO ANSWER THESE, FOUR MAIN DATA SOURCES WERE USED: 1) A SERIES OF MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DOCUMENTS; 2) THE FILES OF THE USAID OFFICE IN EL SALVADOR; 3) THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF THE STANFORD EVALUATION STAFF OBSERVING THE REFORM, AND 4) INTERVIEWS WITH EDUCATION MINISTRY LEADERS AND USAID OFFICERS. CONCLUSIONS DRAWN WERE THE IMPORTANCE OF STRONG LOCAL CONTROL OF THE REFORM, OF INTEGRATING ITV INTO EXISTING PROGRAMS RATHER THAN OVER THEM, OF SUPPORT FROM THE HIGHEST GOVERNMENT LEVELS AND OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF FOREIGN ADVISORS. ON THE WHOLE, THE REFORM WAS SEEN AS A SUCCESS.