Spatial Educational Inequalities in Peru

Many developing economies are characterised by large gaps in educational achievement between rural, urban and peri-urban areas, a trend of urbanisation and inequality in provision across geographic areas. The aim of this proposal is to study spatial inequalities in achievement in primary schooling, in a middle-income country, Peru. The research team will study the determinants of inequalities in learning and provision across both geographic areas (urban and rural) and within cities. The role that population characteristics and the distribution of public resources have will be separated, and geographic areas beyond the urban-rural division will be distinguished. The project team will also study the role of political factors, such as political under-representation on inequality in learning and school resource provision. The opportunities for this type of research in low- and middle-income countries is often limited by the lack of high-quality school census data. There is limited longitudinal research on spatial educational inequalities in this context.

Dr Sonja Fagernas, University of Sussex; Dr Edwin Cohaila, Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Peru; Dr Panu Olavi Pelkonen, University of Sussex