RERA: El Salvador
Rapid Education and Risk Analysis Final report
The USAID Mission to El Salvador and the USAID Goal 3 Education Team in Washington asked the USAID Education in Conflict and Crisis Network (ECCN) to conduct a customized RERA in El Salvador. The in-country implementation of the RERA El Salvador took place on March 9–18, 2016. The analysis focused on risks associated with gang violence, general insecurity and, to a lesser extent, natural disasters, and their interaction with different aspects of the education sector, such as schools, education staff, learners, families, and school communities. (p. 4)
The RERA El Salvador was a qualitative situation analysis, which combined secondary data and key informant interviews at the national level with primary data from a limited, purposive sample of school communities in nine high-risk municipalities: Ciudad Delgado, Ilobasco, Sonsonate, Soyapango, Lourdes, Puerto la Libertad, Ciudad Arce, Ilopango, and El Congo. Primary research was guided by a community and youth resilience approach. (p. 4)
Some of key findings are:
- Respondents in all schools sampled considered themselves safer inside their schools than in their external environments, but they also cited gang presence and influence over internal school affairs;
- Gang violence, intimidation, and territoriality constrain access to all schools in the sample and are reported as key drivers of school dropout;
- Teachers and principals report feeling overwhelmed and under-equipped to handle the emotional needs of students, stating a need for psychosocial support;
- Implementation of education policy and programs is constrained by community insecurity;
- Schools, teachers, and students value USAID-funded programs and would like more support. (p. 5)